What is really real (to borrow a phase from Universe Next Door)

I was at a BBQ the other day with some people from Ruth's work, it was a good time but the conversation turned to religion for a brief moment. A comment was made that most of the people there seemed to agree with. The statement went something like this: "I believe that all religions are correct, you can't say that only one is right. There is no way that you can know that, the universe is to big!". The statement wasn't new to me, it has been around awhile and has gained in popularity over the two decades or so. But the way that this statement was worded made me stop and think about it (in reality I didn't really give it a second thought there but later that night when I was laying in bed), the specific part that made me stop and think was "there is no way that you can know that".

Is that statement really true, if religion is true then is it possible to know if one is right? Is it even reasonable to think that there is only one true religion? In order to answer those questions I really had to examine what religion was at its core, beyond denominations, politics, etc and really get at what is the base of religion. The answer that I came up with for that is that religion is the combination of two things. First is Faith, meaning what you think is ultimate reality, whether that is that there is a God or gods, an essence, or nothing at all. All of these at some point ask you to take a step of faith in order to believe them and your faith is one of the main parts that help to define religion. But the steps that you take by faith or informed by the second part of religion, your Beliefs. By beliefs I mean the culmination of your life experiences (up to whatever part of life you are in) and your world view, which both actually help to define each other through out your life.Both of those two parts, Faith and Belief, are really just about the universe and the way that it works. Faith is about who or what is in control of the universe and belief is about how everything else works or should work.

Now that religion is clear what we do know about the universe is that it works within curtain rules and boundaries, Physics, Mathematics, the other Natural Sciences. The way that the world works within these, somewhat specific, modes. Since we only live and operate within one universe and the universe operates in specific ways it would follow that only one religion would be right, the one that would most closely resemble the way in which the universe really works. Therefor the statement of "...you can't say that only one is right. There is no way that you can know that, the universe is to big" is untrue because if religion is true then it would necessarily follow that there would only be one true religion.

P.S. I am listening to Slacker right now and they are playing "Sleep" from Copeland but it sounds like a remix or something...it is amazing.

Truth, Justice, and the American Way

Truth, Justice, and the American Way (Maybe not the America way according to superman returns), for the past week my mind has been consumed with the first word "Truth". Truth and Knowledge can be two concepts that are hard to pin down a definition of, Wikipedia says on truth

The meaning of the word truth extends from honesty, good faith, and sincerity in
general, to agreement with fact or reality in particular.[1] The term has no single definition about which the majority of professional philosophers and scholars agree. Various theories of truth continue to be debated. There are differing claims on such questions as what constitutes truth; how to define and identify truth; the roles that revealed and acquired knowledge play; and whether truth is subjective, relative, objective, or absolute.

On the subject of knowledge Wikipedia says "...Philosophical debates in general start with Plato's formulation of knowledge as "justified true belief"..." The Idea of truth permeates our society, we are told as children to tell the truth, we get up onto witness stands and swear to tell the WHOLE TRUTH and nothing but the TRUTH. As we get older and out into the "Real World" we start to be told that truth is relative and can change depending on your perspective.

This idea of relative truth is convenient but when I look at it I don't see it as being practical, it seems to me that if truth was relative then everything that could be called truth would be called into question, every lie could just be called a "truth from the wrong perspective". Therefor it could be said that we weren't led in to a war under false pretenses but under right pretenses from the wrong perspective, Hilary didn't lie about landing under sniper fire in Bosnia she told the truth but from the wrong perspective.

Absolute truth would have to come from some where, there would have to be a way that we can look out into the world and say that is wrong and that is right. Gandhi is quoted as saying that God is truth (which he would latter change to say truth is God), Jesus says in John 14:6 "Jesus *said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me." In one verse He states that He is both God and that He is truth, there is no separation from God and Truth.

When we look at what most would consider truth you can see the same sort of pattern emerge, Don't steal, murder, cheat, lie all things that can be found in the Bible. Even if someone doesn't believe in God the chances of them not believe in one of the those simple moral codes are slim. This (at least in my mind) proves that Truth isn't relative, the aplication of truth may be but truth is self isn't, it is only found in Jesus and any seeking after truth is therefore a seeking after God Himself.

Matt's sayings

A while back my friend Matt from Ravencrest posted this as a myspace comment on things that he had learned, I saved it to my computer with the intent on reposting it to this blog, I didn't think that this would take my two years. There are a lot but they are good, take a look.

1. God specializes in How. 2. When wisdom enters your heart, and knowledge is pleasant to your soul. 3. There are different kinds of wisdom. Some is found like a man panning for Gold, searching and sifting through information looking for pure truth. Some is found like a treasure hunter searches for treasure, on the your journey. 4. If your outer life is different from your inner life, then you are living in divorce. 5. Gandhi said he would have been a Christian if it wasn’t for Christians. 6. Niche said he would believe in a redeemer when he saw people redeemed. 7. Man’s feelings are not God’s Facts. 8. Love does not remember a wrong suffered. 9. You don’t tell your baby to clean themselves up before you kiss their spaghetti faces, you kiss them and then you clean them. You point them to the living water and He will wash them. 10. We try to change people, their bad habits, attitudes, etc., but we don’t go out into our yard and pull all the dead leaves off the tree. We wait till the leaves fall off in season. 11. We are God’s workmanship. God’s poem. 12. God’s strength is seen in our weakness, our handicaps allow him to showcase His power. 13. The way to judge a student is not by what he knows, rather by what he has become. 14. Though life changes on the surface I do my main living within. 15. We fight for our limitations, God fights for His strengths. (I can’t, He can) 16. That part of God He has set aside for me is uniquely mine. 17. I like His plan because I am alive. 18. Proverbs 3:5-7 19. Some people have already reached their destination. Now they are just Waiting To Die. If you are playing the game of life, you will lose, but you don’t have to. 20. Waiting to die is as bad as waiting to live. 21. All that God is you have. You can’t have more. You need not have less. 22. You cannot make up in speed that which you lack in direction. 23. Why does God say Fear and Love Him only? You become a slave to that which you fear and that which you love. If, however, you are a slave to that which only desires to set you free, you are a slave to freedom. What does that look like in your life? 24. Where do you put your faith. If the object of your faith is unable to save you, provide for you, etc…then it is nothing but a burden that cannot bear burdens. 25. You will worship something in your life. What is it. Sex, drugs, music, Fun, Happiness, Health, Life, Time, Wealth, Marriage, Kids, Doing Good? Your soul is hungry and will eat these all and still be hungry. Don’t believe me—don’t give them a taste, dig in! 26. Life is full of things that offer an increasing appetite for decreasing pleasure. 27. Specialist—knowing more and more about less and less until you know absolutely everything about nothing at all. 28. It is always safe to trust a unknown future to a known God. Know Him, and then you can begin to understand yourself. 29. Don’t put the cart before the horse. If you want respect, courage, and confidence then you must practice the fruits of the spirit, love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self control. I hear love in songs, but not real love that manifests itself in the life of the people singing it, I have not heard much of any of these qualities since Guns N Roses sang about Patience. It is obvious what kind of life develops out of trying to get your own way all the time: repetitive, loveless, cheap sex; a stinking accumulation of mental and emotional baggage, frenzied and joyless grabs for happiness, trinket gods, magic show religion, paranoid loneliness, cutthroat competition, all-consuming yet never satisfied wants, brutal temper, an impotence to love or be loved, divided homes and divided lives, small minded and lopsided pursuits , the vicious habit of depersonalizing everyone into a rival, uncontrolled and uncontrollable addictions, ugly parodies of community, etc. Gal. 5:22 30. If it doesn’t work in your own life don’t export it. Don’t sell me a car with a hood scoop that doesn’t have a supercharger! If it doesn’t work I don’t want it. 31. The only reason for discipline is restoration. 32. If you want a friend be a friend. 33. If you want a good woman be a good man. 34. If you want life then you must give your life. That is what Christ did. 35. Don’t just give people advice, Share their Burdens! 36. The moon reflects the suns light, what do you reflect? 37. Make a careful exploration of who you are and the work you have been given, and then sink yourself into that. Don’t be impressed with yourself. Don’t compare yourself with others. Each of you must take responsibility for doing the creative bet you can with your own life. 38. God has already given you everything you need to do that which He has planned for you. 39. You don’t have to strive for victory your already standing on it. 40. Hebrews 4:12 41. “whatever” is the result of not thinking. 42. The spirit of God does not muck around. I cannot explain my life apart from Christ. 43. Pray for God to write His truths on your heart and to ignite your passion for Him. 44. It is not BLIND faith. Just like you see the invisible wind moving the world around you pray for God to open your eyes to the things of God that you may see Him moving the world and people around you. 45. Rules for arguing. Attack ideas not people. 46. Ephesians 4:29 47. A lesson forgotten is a lesson that must be re-learned. 48. You will always have a dance partner. 49. The selfishness in me can not tolerate the selfishness in you. 50. Your theology takes place when no one else is watching. 51. True beliefs manifest themselves in your life. 52. sow a thought, reap an action, sow an action, reap a habit, sow a habit, reap a lifestyle, sow a lifestyle, reap a destiny. Words are important. 53. So are names. If you are making love to your wife/husband and you call them by a name other than their own IT WILL MATTER! Your name speaks of your specific character. Jesus’ name speaks of His specific character which He freely gives to those who call on His name. 54. We are letters read by all creation. 55. Experience is not what you have done, where you have been, or what has happened to you. Experience is what you have done with it. 56. Your life is not for people it is for God. An audience of one. 57. You don’t thank the gift! You thank the Giver! 58. Phillipians 4:6 59. As long as you are one step ahead, you can teach one thing. 60. Emotions are a good thermometer, bet they are a horrible compass. They can tell you how hot a situation is, but they don’t always point north. 61. Proverbs 27:17 62. People want to be set free. 63. If the messenger isn’t credible then neither is the message. Preach life, but live like hell. 64. Christ is my measure for truth. He is the way, the truth, and the life. 65. Lord we will be restless till we rest in the. You have created us for thyself. Augustine. 66. You get 100% where you are challenged. If you take someone else’s test you might fail. So don’t compare yourself with others. 67. Who defines you? I told myself I was a drug dealing brute. I was wrong. It is bad enough to lie to yourself, but it’s even worse to believe it. 68. I’m the equipment, Christ is the life. 69. Love is not based in how I feel, but in my commitment to the Lords will. Feelings are fickle. 70. The cost of obedience is not as much as the cost of disobedience. 71. When satan is knocking on your door let Jesus answer it. 72. You can’t win the lottery if you don’t play. Jeremiah 6:16 73. Romans 8:26-28 74. “God is limited” according to the measure of my availability to all that he makes available to me. 75. Can’t live His life our way. 76. God I got myself here and I can’t get out. I give up. Not quitin! Didn’t get run off! God Moved Me! 77. Surrender is not quitting, it is placing more trust in that which I am surrendering to than in myself left to my own devices. 78. Are you more satisfied with the promise than the fulfillment. The only good part about the pictures in your wallet is that they are real and you know them. A picture of a supermodel in your wallet isn’t so cute 20 years from now when your still alone. 79. Christ lives forever to save forever. A personal relationship with God is here and now. Substantiate the reality of Christ’s existence when He appears to you. Not Blind. 80. Point A is where your sitting, point B is glorifying God. Every decision between A and B should be that which Glorifies God. The decisions will be the hardest part of the journey. Going against your own nature to take the roads MOST traveled. Christ will enter in to your live in His strength making all things possible. 81. If you don’t put oil in your car you will destroy the engine. When someone asks “what did you do to destroy the car” you can say “nothing”. Doing nothing destroyed the car. Likewise there must be a response to the word of God. No action = ruin. 82. 75 year old man on happiness. Every day I jump out of bed and drop dead. 83. My Grandma on life. You never know what to expect, be sure you have on clean underwear. It is good to give the seeds a nice dirt home. I love digging in the Dirt! 84. Grandpa Harry Henry 91 on food. Great! Hamburger steak! You don’t even have to chew! 85. Richard Mendola. on life. The path of deadly clarity. That path of life which is too comfortable. It requires little of you and gives you little in return. You can see far into the future. You are basically filling time till you die. Richard on God. One day you will know it in your bones. 86. C.S. Lewis on living in the future. It is the farthest from God you can get. 87. Beau klose on close. Horse shoes and hand grenades 88. The universe is a soul making machine. Invite people deep into your life. 89. Do not imitate a man of God to be Godly, Know God and He will make you the godly man He wants you to be. 90. If your waiting to get all your ducks in a row, all your problems fixed before you go to God you will never go. 91. The life God purposes is abundant. 92. 3 things if you go it alone. Sin will take you places you never thought you would go, you will stay longer than you ever thought you would stay, you will pay more than you ever thought you would pay. 93. Maturity = time + the application of TRUTH. 94. What is real, valuable, and true? 95. Have you come to the realization that you cannot change your life? If you could wouldn’t you have done it by now? 96. If you quit trying and relax you will enjoy the ride. Hebrews Ch4 97. If God is your co-pilot you need to change seats. (available vs. surrender) 98. My faith doesn’t get me through. The object of my faith gets me through. 99. How do we know if a tree is prosperous? By the fruit that it bears. I discussed this with my mom and we were debating why it is that trees need to be culled. That is, removing fruit from heavy laden branches so that they do not break. She proposed that from this analogy some cannot stay close to the tree, because the tree cannot support it. The question then was, are some damned because the tree cannot support them. We decided to give it further thought. My mind first went to the strength of peach trees growing in Idaho (a climate not their own), but that seemed a week argument as culling is common wherever peach trees grow. I asked for clarity from the Lord on this matter while I was in the shower. And this is what I was given. First the peaches are not people, but fruit of their lives. I cannot judge other peoples fruit as it’s purpose is to Glorify God and God knows best what glorifies Him. Also when thinking of God as the gardener (vine dresser) he removes some fruit so that more attention may be devoted to that fruit which best pleases Him. Which brings to mind that any fool can count the number of seeds in an apple, but only God can count the number of apples in a seed. 100. Listen to the cry of people within the crowd. Think of what people are doing to be noticed. Then spot the lies. 101.My problem is not my problem. I am my problem and that is a problem. When problems are in your face, who can actively look away to God? 102. Don’t come to me with your cap gown and diploma, come to me with your play clothes on- dirt on your face and skinned up—and know that I am better. 103. Is Jesus Lord of your problems? Then let Him. 104. For He who promised is faithful. 105. He had things because he was willing to give up, I had nothing because I would not let go. 106. Matthew 6:25-34 107. You cannot know rest if life is full of emptiness. Rest and Peace are like a fuel gauge. 108. Isaiah 48:10 109. Jennifer Sands on strangers. At my worst a series of stranger and events entered my life with the message of hope. 110. J.S. on anger. Yes there is a God and no I can’t stay mad at him forever. 111. J.S. on trust. I had to trust God’s best interest was my best interest. 112. J.S. on re-modeling. Sometimes God throws a new coat of paint on our lives and sometimes he knocks down major structural walls. John 16:33 113. Coose from Africa on getting out of bed. God what can I do to help make your dream come true. 114. 1Corinthians 10:13, Romans 5:3-5, Deuteronomy 29:29, 2Cor 4:18, Romans 8:28, Psalm 107:24 115. To fear God is to recognize who God is and to respond accordingly. 116. Jesus is going to invite you to find rest and you will find it in the most unlikely place. In a Big OLE YOKE! 117. Jesus reveals the Father to me. 118. The abcdef of salvation. Accept, Believe, Confess, Disciple, Encourage, Finish. 119. Preach the Gospel all the time and if necessary use words. 120. What one fool can do another fool can do. 121. I don’t make time for my family. I make time for work. 122. Cucumber goes into vinegar and so vinegar goes into pickle. That’s Baptism! An irreversible change takes place. You can never take the coffee out of a dunked doughnut It’s changed for the better forever. A believer in Christ because Christ is in the believer. 123. Matthew 28:20 124. I have been teaching this donkey too long.(picks up a 2x4)Now Im gonna learn him! 125. Pain is God’s megaphone. No correction without restoration. 126. Mississippi Mike on Fear. Fear of God ..1 Fear of public speaking ..2 127. Everyone likes the idea of being a servant until they are treated like one. 128. The chicken made a contribution, the pig made a commitment. 129. If you want to be happy and have lots of kids you gotta get rid of 2 things. Things that rust and things that don’t hug you back. 130. Though we stand in Grace, if you do not respond it will not show itself in your life. 131. World says if understand then faith, bible says if faith then understand. 132. Freely you have received so freely give. 133. Jim Wright on plane passengers. Satan is the prince of the air and we’re flying right through his territory. 134. Christ’s death to sin, Our death to self. Sets us free in Him and Him free in us. 135. People see Christ as your personal life becomes a highway to the world. 136. When your salty it makes people thirsty for Him. 137. Anything born of your own strength will not survive. 138. Teaching, reproof, correction, training 139. Don’t hook on to people, connect them to Christ. A road map pointing to Christ. 140. God wants spiritual fruits not religious nuts. 141. Christ in you. The hope of Glory. 142. How can you turn a Hope into a reality? Faith is the substance of things hoped for. 143. Chris Thomas on living. I want to live until I die. 144. Chris Thomas on Love. I know what it is to love a T-bone steak. When I say I love you I say, “I’m committed to you.” 145. Hondo on crossing the street. Even Hindus look both ways before they cross the street, because its not “both and” its either me or the bus. 146. Frank on truth. Know the truth, be convicted of the truth, act on the truth. 147. Lewis on lies. A little lie is like a little pregnancy. 148. Hondo on Exegesis. You don’t want to find extra Jesus where there is no Jesus. 149. Big John Russ on planning. 2 ways to know God’s plan, willingly or unwillingly. 150. Mississippi Mike on mans best friend. Mans best friend is a dog. That is sad. Dog love anybody- he don’t care what you look like. 151. You do enough bad things you will pay for it with your sanity. 152. Happiness from happenings is different from Joy which only comes from being in right relationship with God. Peace comes from conforming to the will of God. Peace is everything in order despite life’s problems. Peace with God is your soul in order with God. 153. God does something within and it shows itself without. 154. Chris Thomas on being good. I don’t like being good either. 155. Chris T. on conservative. Conservative in Spirit, Radical in application. 156. Chris T. on sin. My sin wasn’t found out, it found me out. 157. ---More easily found out than destroyed from the inside out. 158. Chris on the flesh. Kick the flesh in the face. 159. CorrieTinBoom on the pits.There is no pit that is deeper, that God is not deeper still. 160. Mother Theresa on things. We don’t do great things here. We do little things with great love. 161. Major Thomas on lings. There are big lings and there are little-lings. 162. Bonnie Thomas on prayer. Prayer is giving it to God and leaving it, toothpick and all. Prayer is a barometer for how much you trust the Lord. Prayer is the most perfect form of love. 163. Bonnie Thomas on children. Boys are noise with dirt on them. You train up a child in where they are going by going there yourself. 164. Bonnie on the2 worst things. Not getting what you want, and getting what you want. 165. Man makes his plans, but the Lord directs his steps. 166. He’s the shepherd I am the sheep. Don’t take yourself to seriously. 167. Inferiority = inverted pride. 168. God + 1 is a majority. 169. You can be sincere and still be sincerely wrong. 170. Tony on Judas. Judas knew the cost of everything, but the value of nothing. 171. Marco Perez, prior to his rapture. God is good, no matter what happens God is still good. 172. Brian Green on William Burrows. I would not suggest reading William Burrows. 173. BG. On the bible. Read it and heed it. 174. Greatest declaration of a redeemed life is thankfulness. 175. Are you educated beyond your obedience? 176. Dave on dogs. The dog can either help or hinder the process. Fighting or Willing. 177. You can either get better or get bitter. 178. Marco. Some people here seem determined to prove that God can’t change their lives. 179. Stand where you are, look for where God is working, and join in. 180. If you have to remind people of your importance then your not sure of it yourself. 181. Bonnie on love. It is better to be loved in spite of than because of. 182. The problem with getting comfortable is that you begin to fear losing it and that is uncomfortable. A cage with golden bars. 183. I AM your hearts father. 184. Bonnie on struggle. If you help a butterfly out of it’s cacoon it cannot fly and develops no color. You must allow struggle. 185. Jess Mann on choices. We become the composite of our choices. 186. It’s intoxicating to think that you can be the captain of your own ship. Hemmingway shot himself. He was the captain of his own ship. 187. God will confirm truth over and over again. 188. Bonnie on courage. Courage is fear that has said it’s prayers. 189. Bonnie on rebellion. “Oh Lord I’m such a rebel, I don’t even know all the sin of my heart. Please forgive me.” 190. Lewis on marital love. Love is not sitting looking into each-other’s eyes, but looking out in the same direction. 191. Geared to the times, but anchored to the ROCK. In the world, not of the world. 192. Don’t be so heavenly minded that your of no earthly good. 193. Model the way. Challenge the process. Like Jesus. 194. So polluted for so long I could not think another way on my own. Christ will restore your mind and reconcile your relationships. Ezekiel 34:15-16 195. Do not sacrifice others on the alter of our own personal happiness. There is great danger in a right cause, for wrongs suffered are quicker to excite revenge. 196. Christian truth in the service of Christian love. 197. Frank on seeking. Cut a trail and leave a path to follow. 198. foolish = full of self, makes fool out of self. 199. Hondo on R&R. We are called to be revolutionaries for the kingdom of God. Flying upside down to the worlds economy. The downside up revolution. 200. The world says climb to the top, God says he who is last is first. World says save your life, God says lose your life. See through our eyes not with our eyes. 201. Chris Thomas on Rubbish and gooseberries. A Christian tree with rubbish fruit, avoid them! They are liars! Rubbish trees bear Rubbish fruit! Gooze burries in fact! 202. Matt Lynn on Country Music. My parents played county music in the car when I was little and that was a negative influence……I’m kidding. 203. When my emotions drive, they put me in the ditch. 204. Thoughts that used to plague me, through God, I see them as opportunities for forgiveness and sanctification. 205. Not living for Jesus, rather letting him live for me. 206. Ungratefulness is the greatest sin of America. 207. Freedom in Christ constrained by love. 208. Reformation begins with spiritual leaders. 209. Do you go to church to be blessed or to be a blessing. 210. Phil 2:12-16 211. When we walk the narrow path it leaves no room for worldliness. 212. Love can wait to give. Lust can’t wait to take. 213. Pride is the ground from which all other sin grows. It is spiritual cancer. 214. If you cannot see the hand of God, are you willing to trust the heart of God? 215. God requires our faithfulness he rewards with his fruitfulness. 216. Satan wants to paralyze with the pain of the past or hypnotize with the fear of the future which leaves us utterly helpless in the present. 217. When it comes to leadership- I have nothing to prove, nothing to hide, and so nothing to lose. 218. The written word exists to introduce us to the living word. 219. We have all earned death. Love and Grace allow another to take our place. 220. Rejection of authority is rejection of God’s authority. 221. Jesus came to fulfill the law. 222. Jerry Benjamin on moving back in with the parents. I moved back and I paid my parents rent, them being Jewish they were willing to accept. 223. You maintain your salvation the same way you obtained your salvation. By faith alone. 224. If you have little faith or great faith in thick ice it will support your weight. It is the object of your faith that saves you not the amount of faith. 225. The best commentary on the bible is the bible. 226. When you here a good testimony from someone it is not to impress you with a story, but with a savior. 227. Darth Vader on perception. When we first met I was only a student, Now I’m the master. To which OB1 responds “only a master of Evil.” 228. To see myself I must see Christ for who He is. 229. Read the Gospel of John everyday for 90 days. 230. Choose not to be obedient you won’t walk with intimacy. 231. 4 requirements. Love Christ, serve in community, tithe, if you blow it- come clean 232. Peace with sacrifice rather than no sacrifice and no peace. 233. To know God is to learn to love Him. To love him is to desire to serve him. 234. Zug on boxes. Don’t put God in a Box. 235. Bonnie on pressure. Don’t worry about the pressure, only where the pressure is. If not between you and God then the pressure will push you closer to the heart of God. 236. Matt on great struggles. Listen. 2 ears, 1 mouth. 237. Major Thomas on enthusiasm. Unenlightened enthusiasm perpetuates ignorance more than anything else. So sit down and keep your mouth shut. Because you’ve got nothing to say worth saying for the simple reason you don’t know enough. Listening yes, but have you heard anything. 238. Don’t look for the living among the dead. 239. Major of friendship. Being my good friend and my chum he wanted to tell me about salvation. 240. Major on notes. Don’t really need notes, most of it’s in the bible. 241. We are most free to succeed when we are free to fail. 242. Christ is the one through whom you can be the one you have become. 243. Through God teaching your mind and controlling your emotions he directs your will by the Holy spirit and so governs my behavior. This is how Christ shows himself through me. 244. Good apples don’t make bad apples good. 245. Julie Michalak on addiction. I started smoking Cheetos at the age of 11. 246. Mark B. God does not reveal what we are unprepared to receive. 247. Lou and Harv on people. People are more important than the work. 248. On every point that we judge another God can demonstrate (and often does) that we are equally Guilty. 249. Richard D. To be fully known. Body, spirit, emotions, the power of touch, talk openness. All these create accountability. Accountability without commitment, hurts. 250. It is far better that I know God, that he came to me to free me from sin, otherwise I would not have known freedom. 251. Sin is fun, but it is costly. Holiness and obedience are awesome. 252. Enough is enough…more will cost you. 253. intimacy = in to me see 254. I’m not what I do, I do what I love. 255. The end of man is the beginning of God. 256. Control your pay-offs or they will control you. 257. God on my defunct relationships. Matt if I am the Lord of your life then what is she doing in my place. The only thing you need to like someone is that they like you first. 258. Matt on my roommate ZUG. Though I thought Zug and I were worlds apart, Every time I am critical of him, judging him, or fighting with him I find when the smoke clears and the dust settles I am wrestling with myself. 259. When someone speaks harshly they do it out of their weakness. Any injury you take or claim gives power to their weakness. 260. Thank you to Andy for reminding me of 1 Corinthians 9:24-27. Everything I have seen you do, I have seen you give your best. 261. Thank you to Stephan for telling me that it will be okay. The Lord brought that message to my heart. The pain and struggles do have an end. It will be okay. 262. Thank you Tasondra for reminding me that if you don’t speak up you won’t get fed. 263. Thank you Ben the Denver Gondolier for showing me that it is not about what is said, great words, clever sayings. Only God knows the heart of each man. In God’s profound simplicity He speaks into our lives. For me it was “your mine” for Stephan it was “It will be okay.” These were life changing words to us. Thank you Ben for listening you allowed us to hear, by sharing in our pain. 264. Ashley first and foremost, thank you for your openness and honesty. You chose to hide nothing. I believe that because you choose not to hide you will be found. The best part of hide N seek to me was always, Being Found! 265. Erin thank you for reminding me that it is for an audience of one. It is all for Him. The extraordinary and the seemingly mundane are transformed by His presence. 268. Thank you to Smurf and Kyle for showing me hearts of Flesh. While I feel like I am farther away from the storm than I have ever been, I saw you both return to the storm with Joy that surpasses circumstances. With tears in your eyes you showed me love that I could believe. Thank you for being the men that God has created you to be. 269. Thank you to fellowship, Especially AA for the confidence that I have as a result of your visit. I am encouraged in my belief when I see Him working. I know the world is in business because I see it every day, but then I see soooooo many of you loving the light! 270. When I am injured where do I look? What is my source of strength? When I look to myself I am stressed, when I look to God I have rest. Only when you put your faith in that which is eternal will you never be alone. The world and everything/one in it is passing away. 271. 2 Corinthians 12:9 when God calls you to do something He will give you the power to do it. 272. Some people search for wisdom like a man panning for Gold. Some search for wisdom like a treasure hunter. We search. God will take care of the finding. If you are searching, good! You are exactly where you are supposed to be. 273. Pain = power to change. 274. Frank on parent hood. You never know what you will have to clean up. 275. If you want to know what someone believes look at how they spend, make, and manage their money. 276. Major Thomas on hats. I don’t want to wear a bola hat in Heaven! (Speaking as a young boy about his Sunday best) 277. Don’t sweat it out For Jesus, for without Him you can do nothing. You will be busy doing nothing. 278. We are human vehicles for divine activity. 279. What does the world around you say about God’s Character. 280. What does the world have that Christ is not sufficient for. 281. The answer isn’t “41” The answer is God’s Presence. Read the book of Job. 282. Jesus gave His life to me that He may live His life through me. 283. We are saved moment by moment, by appropriating the life of Christ. 284. Christ’s life is How to be what you have become. 285. The indwelling life of Christ is the saving life of Christ. 286. A hard heart allows us to go deep into sin without knowing or realizing the depths of depravity. Like walking down a mountain. Easy down, back up is a different story. 287. I found REALITY in the one who saved me. 288. Have you ever thanked Him? You can’t have more, you don’t need to enjoy less. Just say thanky. 289. How big is tomorrow? As big as God. 290. It’s not about getting out of Hell and into Heaven, rather Christ getting out of Heaven and into us. 291. Christ wants to live His life in me as He allowed the father to live His life in His son. Maybe you don’t want to live your fathers life. Remember that our heavenly father is jealous for us. He wants the best for us. Who knows you best? He who knows all or you who have trouble deciding what to order at a ice cream shop. (I like the cotton candy at the Boulder creamery) 292. Mr. Rogers on marriage. This marriage was made in Heaven, and so were thunder and lightning! 293. If you want lots of kids there are two things you need to get rid of. Things that rust and things that don’t hug you back. 294. If you can’t sleep don’t count sheep, talk to the shepherd. 295. How do you receive encouragement? 296. If you don’t know then who does? And if you did know what would it be? 297. What does the terrain of your heart look like? For me it is God’s will, He has shown me enjoyment everywhere He has taken me. Currently it is single track in the woods of Colorado. 298. That which we admire points to our weakness. You do not gain the confidence you want by marrying someone with confidence. It is not theirs to give. 299. I have never accepted less even when it was enough, because I was always trying to take that which was freely given. If you want more it will cost you. Learn how to receive gifts. Be thankful. 300. Stressed is dessert spelled backwards. 301. The law is like a thermometer. It can show how sick you are, but cannot heal you. It will bring awareness so that you can go to the great physician and let Him do the healing. 302. If you are free to then you must also be free not to. 303. We preach best what we need to learn most. 304. Jeap on make-up. If I where to much make-up my Dad tell me I look like a cake. 305. Jeap on listening. I’m not good listening, more than 100 time I get the stick. 306. Jeap on waiting. The Lord knocked many times, no, wait, I don’t care what you have to say. 307. Frank on humility. Learn humility today, so you don’t have to experience it tomorrow. 308. Justification is freedom from the penalty of sin. Sanctification is freedom from the power of sin. Glorification is freedom from the presence of sin. 309. Slow to verbalize, quick to live it. 310. Katie on shortcomings. When we see shortcomings in others we are less likely to give them grace. 311. The old nature is defeated, but has not departed. Romans 6 312. Sin is forgiven, but the appetite remains. When I gave up drinking I thought God would give me something to fill it’s place. Perhaps the gift was taking the appetite away, instead of giving me another appetite that I would struggle to control. Since then I have also been shown a world of new pleasures. 313. Choose life as opposed to death and yield to the spirit, so that you may live consistent with your position “in Christ.” 314. Chris Thomas on Mr. LAW. It is absolute Hell living with MR. Perfect (MR. LAW) Condemned in thoughts and actions. Every energy trying to please the law. Only way out is to die. It’s Hell. Mr. Christ is radically different, still perfect, but drastically different. Instead of pointing the finger, I want to help so that we may keep the law together. 315. John Taylor on where to look in times of trouble. 1Corinthians 2:9 316. God does not know relationship without sacrifice, because of sin. I will not offer to God that which cost me nothing. What does this look like in your life? 317. Have you tried the green eggs and ham? 318. If you want understanding you must be open before others. If you want change you must be accountable before others. 319. A lie is given its power by people believing it. When you know a lie is not true why does it bother you? 320. It all feels to good to be true. (me) It is! (Wayne) That does not change the fact that it is true. (Wayne) You can call a tail a leg, but that doesn’t change the fact that a cow has 4 legs. 322. Because Chloe cannot see me does not mean that I do not love her. How much more then, God who truly loves! Though I cannot see, or always feel him does not mean that I am unknown and alone in this world. He still loves. 323. Rachel (peanut) on being known. MATT! It is a wonderful and indescribable feeling when a child learns your name. Makes you want to live up to it! Because you can see in the way they say your name what they think of you. Trust. 324. Ian Thomas on child rearing. If God in his goodness should add to your union the chatter of little children at your knee, remember that the first Bible they will ever read will be written upon your hearts and interpreted in the flesh and blood of your humanity. And your children will have the right in your home, in everything you do and say and are to KNOW HIM, to look into your face, and know what God is like. 325. Dave on wanting. You can’t want more for people than they want for themselves. Don’t go where you are not invited, but speak the truth when you are. You can help people get out, but you can’t make people get in. Look at Israel from Egypt to the promised land. 326. Life and Death take God. Take Christ. That’s why He did it. 327. Taking it lying down hurts less than standing. When you fight it out nobody wins, but when you pray it out God wins. 328. Joe Erkovich. When Christ appears substantiate the reality of His Life! 329. Wayne on struggles. Good! That means that God is working! 330. Zug. Be available to God, it affects those around you. Zug did not have to say this to me, because he Did it. 331. Canada Matt on being there. I want my daughters to see me when they wake up and when they go to bed, so they know Dad is there. 332. Chris Thomas on child rearing. Chris asked his son (I think Ben) if he was eating one of his fathers Brussels mints Pepperidge farm cookies. His son lied. What’s worse my son lying or my son not feeling that he can be honest with his father. 333. Chris on Child rearing. The boys had been tormenting Bonnie (Chris’s Wife) so she told the boys that they would be punished when Dad got home. The penalty was set. There would be spankings when Dad got home. When Chris got home he was excited to see the boys. He did not want to spank them, but he loves Bonnie and He is committed to her and the penalty had been set. There had to be a spanking. Chris told the boys, “I want to take your punishment.” So the boys cried and spanked their Dad for something they had done. Profound Simplicity! 334. Die on impulse during a flight of intent or Die in the circus with the animals. I like it! To me this is adventure vs. the familiar. Heart knowledge and Head knowledge. It is safe to Trust an unknown future to a known God. What does this look like to you? 335. Do you want to have a good time or a bad time? Ask yourself this next time you are having a bad time. 336. If you don’t know the instructions and you can’t trust the source then what is it that you are building? 337. God on humble. “matt you are not humble” (God) “I humbly accept” (matt) “no you don’t” (God) “Oh! You got me” (matt) 338. Where I will fail and have, HE will succeed and Has. 339. People used to tell me that I had a death wish. My first probation officer told me that it wasn’t a death wish. It was a Life wish! The 2 times I have turned myself into Jail God has saved my life. The one time I went kicking and screaming He still saved my life, I just couldn’t see it. 340. God is pursuing us relentlessly. 341. God grieves more bitterly for our lost loved ones than we ever could. For He desired to give Jay life and could, all I could do was miss him. 342. It’s about Him and His not me and mine. 343. I can see God’s work because it is distinctly different from my own. 344. Wives submit, Husbands love, Children obey. 345. Proverbs 3 346. Mr. Ben on geese. “Matt life is not all about geese.” 347. If your not looking for the value in everything then what exactly is it that you are looking for? 348. Overcomers Outreach. “sometimes I wonder how long I’m gonna need all this….. I guess as long as I have fee will. 349. A simple man once said. “I had to cross the road, so I knew I had to pray, and when He made a way I went!” 350. Personify ideas if you are having trouble wrapping your mind around them. 351. We are saved by faith alone, but not faith that is alone. 352. When you see the word weaker used think of the difference between fine china and a 72 ounce slurppee mug. No one needs that much doctor pepper. 353. Chris T. we only hate what is evil to the extent that we love what is good. 354. Little Chris. Sometimes God uses Swiss watch tools on your life for fine tuning and sometimes He uses a sledge hammer and a blow torch. 355. Knowledge puffs up, Love builds up. 356. Its not to satisfy me, but to Glorify Him. 357. If in doubt then continue to grow in conviction. 358. Steak may look good, but sometimes you get beans to the glory of God. 359. Dave on point A. God has been preparing me all my life to be right here. The center of his will. My depending on Christ does not just affect me. 360. Patrick on the corner of pensive and pondering. Thank you for sharing in my pain. 361. Dad. Do you have trouble with submitting to unseen authority where you do not know the outcome. Will you trust. 362. Dad on perception. Golf is… hitting a ball that is to small, with a club that is to long, into a hole to far away and that is a good walk ruined. 363. Remember the past it will help guide you in the future. 364. Wherever you step out, people will step up. It is easier to fight for ones principles than to live up to them. We are a praying people loving each other within the context of a differing world. This is the way of the Christian in the world. 365. Set your mind on things above and lean not on your own understanding expecting the ramifications of that to change the world below…conquering while being defeated.

Let's Kill God

I have noticed a trend recently, it seems like it is intriguing more and more people to try to prove that God doesn't exist. To some this isn't a huge surprise and for me it isn't a surprise that there are people who want to kill God but it is surprising to me about how many people there are right now. In a society that is in a transition to a postmodern world view, which is world view that is partly informed by the idea of God, it seems like there should be less people trying to prove that there isn't a God, instead it appears that the opposite is true. In the past week I have been pointed to sites like How Hubble Killed God, and for videos about how God never really existed and is made up. Now I am not going to make the argument that because you are thinking about God it would naturally follow that He exists, but I do have to wonder why is it that this idea is so pervasive in your culture today?

Trinity (Part Two)

So there has been a bit of discussion around my posts about the trinity starting with my Statement of Faith. I haven't been posting as much as I could because I have been rapped up in researching this topic. First I think that it is important to understand some definition in all this the main belief that I disagree with is called Unitarianism which is the belief that God the Father is God, Jesus the son is a man, and the Holy Spirit (From what I can understand) is an expression of God or a interpretation of God (More or less). The Trinitarian point of view would appose this saying that God the Father, God the Son (Jesus), and God the Holy Spirit are both three individual persons and yet one God (e.g. three in one).

The next thing is to simply clear something up, in my first post on this I said that the trinity was a well established belief by the time of Christ. I did miss speak a little on this statement, using the word trinity here is a little out of context on my part, the belief in the trinity would not have been fully understood until Jesus came but the understanding of the basics of the trinity would have been understood since Abraham (Gen 14:17-24).

Moving on from that my primary references for what I am saying (and this goes for my whole blog not just these past few posts):

• Wikipedia
• Basic Theology: Charles C. Ryrie-Moody Press
• Richards Complete Bible Dictionary: Lawrence O. Richards-World Bible Publishers, Inc
• Many Early Church Extra-biblical (Meaning out side of the Bible) Letters, mostly ranging from 50 AD to 150AD which include Justin Martyr and Apology of Aristides. Doing a quick Google on them will yield many results.
• Notes and Classes that I have taken. Unfortunately, at this time, there is no way for you to get this training with out spending several thousands of dollars (or in my case having my parents spend several thousands of dollars)
  
• The Bible (Primarily NASB). You don't need all of these commentaries to come up with the same conclusions, just carefully and faithfully examining the scriptures for what it says (exegesis) instead of reading your own ideas into it (eisegesis). In this endeavor, though, one book that I do suggest is Grasping God's Word: J. Scott Duvall, J. Danial Hays-Zondervan.
  

As far as making a statement from silence regarding the need for a formal doctrine of trinity. I will restate what I said before, there was no need to have a formal doctrine of the trinity until the forth century, under the rule of Constantine because it was a relatively small group of people that thought differently, from the start of the church leaders and people believed in the trinity and it wasn't until Constantine that the small group became louder to the point that that had to sit down and work on the doctrine. This is not uncommon for any movement or belief, from Democracy to Platonism, in fact one of the great things about Christianity and Judaism is that we can actually read about the building of much of what we believe over several thousands of years in the Old and New Testaments. So you could say that this is an argument made from silence, but anyone who would say that has clearly not read any early church letters otherwise they would know that they are actually very vocal on the subject.

On the passage in 1 Corinthians 8:4,6 and on why Paul did or did not say something I can't answer that and no one can. I can however assume that since Paul founded the Church at Corinth he would have taught them the beliefs that he held which would include the trinity (2 Cor 13:14), because off that perhaps Paul didn't feel the need to teach what they already know. None of this is a sound argument because teaching and believing based on what isn't supported in the Bible is a great example of eisegesis (reading your own interpretation into the Bible), so for that reason any argument, for either side of this, should be disregarded in favor of what is in the Bible, which again goes back to this verse is not at all speaking about the trinity.

Referring to the word lords, 1 Pet 3.6, Matt 27.63, John 12.21 are used as verses to denote that the word here in Greek doesn't mean Lord as in God but lord as in anyone above you, saying that they are the same word. This is true, the same word is used in all four passages (the forth being 1 Cor 8:6) but that doesn't mean that it means the same thing, if you aren't confused by this statement you should be this is why the statement is made "it is all Greek to me". Now this is going to be a little hard because I understand that not everyone can read Greek (I have a hard time with it myself) and even if you can not everyone has an untranslated Bible laying around, so a great site to go to is Greek Bible you can go there and look up the verses for yourself and see what I am about to say. Now it is true that the words used in all four verses are the same word but they have different endings. What this means is that the word is changed slightly, in 1 Pet 3.6, Matt 27.63, John 12.21 the word used for lord is kurion but is 1 Cor 8:6 the word used for Lord is kurioV, this is a small change but a critical one it means the word goes from being translates with a lower case l to being translated with an upper case L. It is for that reason that we can say that Lord in 1 Cor 8:6 denotes God not just an elevated man.

Moving to the Holy Spirit, it has been argued that if you see the Holy Spirit as a person you could argue that power as well has person-hood, this isn't true for two main reasons first power isn't spoken of as having a anything that would with person-hood (e.g will, love, reactions), second power is attributed to the Holy Spirit (Rom 15:13,17-19, Acts 1:8). The Holy Spirit on the other hand is shown to have a will (1 Cor 12:11), love (Rom 5:5), intelligence (1 Cor 12:8), these all show the person-hood of the Holy Spirit. It was also brought up that words like God the Son and God the Holy Spirit aren't found in the Bible, this is a true statement you can search the whole Bible and never find either phrase, you also won't find Trinity, Unitarian,Trinitarian, Calvinism, Arminianism , Apologetics, Canon, and many other words that we use in Christianity. But for the sake of understanding just so anyone knows anytime I reference God the Father I am speaking of God or YHWH, God the Son is Jesus, and God the Holy Spirit is of course the Holy Spirit.

Now on to the video The Human Jesus, which is a two hour long video that can be found on Google video. As Craig said in the comments on the first Trinity post to ask people to watch a two hour long video is a lot to ask, which would be one of my critiques of the video itself (I really don't think that many videos that are that long are going to that affective at conveying a point). That being said I have watched it and found it, like most of the arguments for Unitarianism, an example of looking at the context of Bible verses. My first problem with the video is that it really doesn't reference anything, it speaks about history and makes no mention of any text by which they came about this information, we are just suppose to assume that these people in the video naturally know that mind set of the first century church well enough to come up with this belief. My second problem with the video is it takes several passages out of context and one example of this is when the video looks at John 1:1 (This is about forty two minutes in to the video). John 1:1 says "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God." (NASB). Now in the video the argument is made that no where in the verse is this talking about Christ, they then go into how "Word" here is the word logoV (Logos) and how this is literally the word of God. This a far interpretation of this verse, no where in here does it talk about Christ or anything like that, however Trinitarians don't simply use verse one here, if we pull out here and (As I have been saying through out these posts) look at the CONTEXT of the verse we see a different story come out and a different interpretation is to follow that.

John 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being. 4 In Him was life, and the life was the Light of men. 5 The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it. 6 There came a man sent from God, whose name was John. 7 He came as a witness, to testify about the Light, so that all might believe through him. 8 He was not the Light, but he came to testify about the Light. 9 There was the true Light which, coming into the world, enlightens every man. 10 He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him. 11 He came to His own, and those who were His own did not receive Him. 12 But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name, 13 who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God. 14 And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth. 15 John *testified about Him and cried out, saying, “This was He of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me has a higher rank than I, for He existed before me.’” 16 For of His fullness we have all received, and grace upon grace. 17 For the Law was given through Moses; grace and truth were realized through Jesus Christ.

Now here we see a logical progression in thought in regards to Jesus. We start with the "Word", now this "Word" was with God from the beginning showing that it is separate from God and at the same time it is God. This is a both and statement that is made in verse one. Moving then to verse two "Word" becomes "He" and in verse three and four "He" is now the "Light". In verse six through eight we see John the Baptist come into the picture, verse eight also shows us that this "Light" is not simply a man. Verse ten reiterates that it is through "He"/"Light"/"Word" that the world came into being, then in fourteen that this "He/Light/Word" became flesh and dwelt among us full of grace and truth. In verse fifteen we are told that this is the person in which John the Baptist was preaching about saying that He comes after but existed before, and last in verse seventeen this comes to fruition when it finally comes out that this "He/Light/Word" that the author has been talking about is Jesus Christ.

As C.S. Lewis said all of this forces us to one of three conclusions, one Jesus was liar who knew He was not God but still claimed to be, two He was lunatic who thought He was God, but was wrong, or three That He was indeed God.

Late to Rant

The post that I am about to make is not a new one, in fact my friend Matt showed it to me a while ago. I found this church (a term I use loosely with these people) while I was doing a little research for my last post about people killing God. The church called Westboro Baptist church and is led by a Fred Phelps believe that the reason that we are at war and anything bad happens to America is because God is punishing us like Sodom and Gomorrah. These people profess to know the word and follow it but there actions speak otherwise, the head pastor has been arrested for contempt of court, assault , battery, etc. The group, which is made up of anywhere between 70 and 150 members all loosely related to one another, has started several offensive sites all starting with the phrase god hates (America, Mexico, Sweden. Yeah that's right the swedes, the people who give us Swiss clocks, Swiss chocolates, and Swiss army knives). This is not a group of people who are displaying the fruit of the Holy Spirit of which is Love, Kindness, and Self-control. For more on some of their less then sanctified acts watch this video.

Good Questions (Part 2)

Here is the second part of those the questions, this post will be shorter then the last. Again if something doesn't make any since just post it in the comments and I will do my best to respond and make it clear what I mean.

Minor Questions

• If Christianity is right then why is there so much proof for evolution? Christianity and evolution are not actually mutually exclusive, there are many people who believe that the way that God created the world and all life was through evolution. In fact when you look at the theory of evolution and get down to the statistics of it evolution becomes a very unlikely thing and the only way to really explain it is with God.

• Was the virgin birth real? Couldn't someone just made it up? The answer to this is yes it could have been made up. But this isn't very likely because, to put in a modern example it would be like going around saying that you have aids but you haven't had sex, people would have just said that you where crazy. Not only that but the chances of the man staying with the woman would have been slim with out some intervention. You see back in those days there was a huge double standard and if a woman got pregnant the man could just leave and get away with little more then a stern talking to.

• Did they really find Noah's ark? This is a debatable question, many people say yes and many people say no. The facts are that for a boat to survive for thousands of years is very unlikely, but God has done more miraculous thing then keep a boat on top of a mountain before.

• If Noah's ark is true then why aren't we all inbreed freaks? First most people don't realize that there where 8 people on the boat; Noah, Noah's wife, Noah's 3 sons, and the 3 sons wives. This is an ok number to start with so that nothing goes wrong down the line. The second thing that most people don't realize is that problems with inbreeding don't USUALLY start in 1 or 2 generations, it USUALLY takes longer then that. You can look at dogs for an example, we have been breeding dogs in a relatively small gene pool for many years now and, while there are some problems that have come up, there aren't any 2 tailed dogs running around or any with 5 legs. Inbreeding happens when a small group of people (say about 5) have sex, then there children have sex, and then those children have sex.

• If Christianity is right then why are there so many other religions? It is in the nature of man to wonder about God, this makes us ask question of ourselves and the universe around us. This is great except that because we are sinful when we go searching for those answers we inevitably get lost, the ironic this is the time that we are, usually, closest to God but we may not reach out for Him and instead we go on to try to answer our questions by ourselves. This results in false doctrine and false beliefs.

• I want to learn more about this and start to go to church but I can't fit it into my schedule. If this is really true then in today's world there are a lot of things that you can do that fit your schedule. Podcasts are a good example, and two great ones to start with are Mars Hill Church with Mark Driscoll and Ravi Zacharias, blogs are another place to go as well as seeing if a local church has a podcast that they offer.

Good Questions (Part 1)

So this past week one of the things that kept me really busy is that some questions were asked that I really need to answer. Some of them were really basic and easy but others made me think in ways that I never had. I typed them all out but the file is four pages long, I am not going to publish that all in one so I decided to split it into two posts. When I was writing this I broke it up into two part: Major questions that are more important and minor questions that weren't as important, so here is the first one of two. Also some of this was written late at night after long days so some of it may not make since, if something doesn't just post it in the comments and I will try to make it as clear as I can there.

Major Questions

• Since I can't see God how do I know that he is real? This ultimately a question of faith, the chances of God coming and showing himself to you are slim to none but there are other things that you can look at. The analogy of the wind is a good one because humans didn't always know about the wind, there was a time when people thought that the wind was something mystical and mysterious and it really wasn't until the age of enlightenment that we started to think of natural things in light of what they where and not these mystical things. In a similar way we can look at the world around us and see the effects of God, if you are a poet you can see it in the actions of a small child growing and learning, if you are an artist you can see it in nature and the trees growing, but if you are a scientist you can see it in statistics. One simple statistic is about the chances of a single enzyme to form, the chances of this happening are 10 to the power of 20, to 1 then the chances of that enzyme to self replicate is 10 to the power of 40000 to 1. This is just one statistic but the list of things that if changed just a little bit would mean that life here on earth would never have been is seemingly endless which doesn't make much sense at all if you don't have someone or something behind the stage pulling the strings (so to speak).

• If you don't follow Christianity do you go to hell? In essence yes, but this is no more then most other religions assert. Jesus said in the Bible that He is the only way to true salvation and Christians hold this statement to be a foundational one. There are, however, different dynamics to the grace of God, primarily being that a person can only be held responsible for the knowledge that they have. This means that if a person in the middle of the African plains dies it is possible for him to go to heaven. The reason for this is because that man was created in the image of God which make him ask questions of himself (Who am I?, How did I get here?, What is the meaning of life?), these questions, when followed to there natural conclusion lead irrevocably back to God. A person doesn't need to know about the Bible or Jesus but when someone is confronted with more knowledge then they are responsible for that knowledge, like we are here in the west.

• Why is a monotheism better then a polytheism? In essence this is a very philosophical question so it will get a very philosophical answer. If we look at the nature of God or gods (for the rest of this answer just known as god) from an a priori (being what we can deduce about god simply because they are god) view. The nature of god is that of all power, when a person thinks of god it is not a stretch for them to say that an attribute of a true god is all power, anything less would simply be a lesser demigod. Still thinking of god another attribute that a god would have to posses is that of need, in other words we must need him for something even if it is as small as being simply god, therefor anything less would make this god a demigod. This means that if god exists then we would have to need him and if god is all powerful then there would be no need for two or more gods, this would make one god God and the rest demigods that would have nothing to do with us anyway.
  

• How do I know what is the right way to go with so many religions all saying that they have the truth? Ultimately this, again, comes down to faith, if every religion says that they have the right way to God and they are all different then it stands to reason that not all of them can be right. There are, however, somethings that you can look at with this to help make a decision on what you believe to be right. God would not create a world and not give it a way to live and communicate to Him, that would go against the nature of what god would be, so you know because of that God has given some means to interact with Him, we can also assume that this would be written (this is just logical since written text can be given to the most amount of people and can be past down through out time from generation to generation). In this text we know that God will not contradict Himself in anyway (this would just send mixed signals and would hurt rather then help), this text would also caring with it a good amount of historical evidence for its age and accuracy of writing (This comes mostly in the amount of copies that have been made through out time and how closely they match each other). With these understood if any text from another religion comes in and tries to say that it is the same or better but does not hold the accreditation of these logical steps it would be a very big leap of faith to believe any of them. The Bible on these accounts comes up clear over and over again, the Bible doesn't contradict itself and there is no other book ever written that can even come close to matching the amount of copies made of the Bible (from the dead sea scrolls all the way up to today) and all of those copies match up to within 99% of each other.

• Couldn't religion be made up to make you feel better and get people to live a good life? Yes, in fact no one on Earth can really argue that it isn't, many studies have brought back results that suggest that people who regularly practice religion (including praying, reading their Bible, consistent quite times, etc) have happier healthier lives, studies have also shown that prayer actually does speed up healthy in sick patients. There are many religions out there that are made up simply to make the people that are in them feel better, these are usually filled with rules and laws that you have to strictly follow to maintain a good spiritual life. All of this really speaks to a need in people, a need that even though people may try to fill it can't be filled by other things, and when you look at religions that are set up just to fill this need then most of the time the end result will be a person that is tired and more spiritually drained then ever before. The need of religion really just points to the fact that we are a lost people in need of someone to reach out and help us.
  

• What about before the bible came along, what did they do for religion? Some of this I already answered in question 2 so this may over lap a little. People can really only be held responsible for the knowledge that they have received not for what they haven't. This means that before the Bible was written a person couldn't be held responsible for not praying for forgiveness from God, they simply wouldn't have known that they would need to. At the same time, but looking at it from a different angle, when we examine cultures from around the world there are certain things that start to come to light, namely with 2 well known stories Noah's ark and the Garden of Eden. In every culture on earth there is a story of a flood whipping out the earth except for a few that the gods of the culture save to restart mankind. The second story that can be found in most, but not all, cultures in that of the Garden of Eden where people lived in some kind pf a perfect place but through some sort of sin they fell from grace and where kicked out. There are several conclusions and conversations that you can draw form these examinations but one that is clear is that early humans found these stories important enough to pass down from generation to generation for the purpose of teaching them, this in essence was the early religion and these stories were the bible before the Bible was penned down, so to say that they were out in the dark without a light is not a good examination of the facts.

• Does Christianity make you give up anything? If so what? Yes. In a, somewhat, figurative sense what it means to become a Christian is to give up your life, you are putting aside sin and taking up a righteous life style that would reflect that of Jesus, that is actually what the word Christian means "Christ follower". For many people this is a huge change in there lives and can effect them in many ways, it is for this reason that the step to become a Christian isn't one to be taken lightly. On the other side of that same coin would be, to barrow a phrase from Aladdin, "A whole new world, with a new fantastic point of view". This world and anything that comes after would take on new life and new meaning, the security that comes with Jesus is unmeasurable and at the same time impossible to ever experience it all. It sounds mystical and impossible and it is, that is what makes it so great.

Trinity

Recently I posted my Statement of Faith which caught the interest of a few who disagreed with my statement of the trinity saying that Jesus wasn't both God and man, just man. This isn't new statement at all, in fact it is a argument that is almost as old as the belief in the trinity it self. The reason for this, as far as I see it, is because the trinity is one of the hardest doctrines to believe, not so much because of God the father or God the Holy Spirit but because of the statement that Jesus is not just 50% God and 50% man but 100% God and 100% man.

I will primarily be responding to a post made on Adoni Messiah because it seemed to give a good explanations and give a point by point argument. The first point that I see in the post is "that both Oneness and trinity doctrines try to make Jesus of Nazareth, the Messiah our Lord, into Almighty GOD!! And both doctrines state that you must believe that the Lord Jesus is Almighty GOD to be saved!!". On this point I have no problem, in fact if someone were to say that someone did have to have a full understanding of the trinity to become a Christian I would argue against them, the reason for this is because many people don't have a full understanding of the trinity when they are saved. In fact the only major saving elements is that Jesus was perfect, died for are sins, and was raised three days latter (give or take depending on your view of a day), those three elements satisfy the sacrifice system set up in the old testament for our sins.

Second "Both doctrines appeared hundreds of years after the ascension of Christ." This is also true, the formal doctrine of the trinity wasn't written down and worked out until The Nicene Creed (325-381 AD). The reason for this is there really wasn't a reason for it to be written down until then, There was a small contingent of people who would say that Jesus was just a man from the time that He set foot on earth but after His ascension among believers that group shrank a lot. The reason for this is that Christians adopted many of the views that the Jews had on God, you see the doctrine of the trinity in Christianity may have been defined years after Christ but it was actually a well established doctrine in by the time of Christ (you will notice that in the Gospels this is one of the few things that Jesus didn't have to teach, because it was already widely held before He came).

Third, this is where we really start to get in to the meat of the theology, and where it starts to get interesting/ fun "But the original faith which was once delivered unto the saints [Jude 3] did not suffer from this problem. The original faith has always been that there is solely ONE GOD, the Father. And Jesus of Nazareth, is the one man, the one human being whom Almighty GOD raised from the dead, made him, both Lord and Christ, and exalted him to His right hand. Hence, Jesus of Nazareth is the Lord Jesus Christ, a man approved of Almighty GOD, who is currently at the right of the ONE GOD in the heavens. Whom we await for his return. (1 Cor 8:4) ... there is none other God but one. (1 Cor 8:6) But to us there is but one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we in him; and one Lord, Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we by him."

For this one we have to start by looking at the full context of the verse 1 Corinthians 8

Take Care with Your Liberty

1 Now concerning things sacrificed to idols, we know that we all have knowledge Knowledge makes arrogant, but love edifies 2 If anyone supposes that he knows anything, he has not yet known as he ought to know; 3 but if anyone loves God, he is known by Him. 4 Therefore concerning the eating of things sacrificed to idols, we know that there is no such thing as an idol in the world, and that there is no God but one. 5 For even if there are so-called gods whether in heaven or on earth, as indeed there are many gods and many lords, 6 yet for us there is but one God, the Father, from whom are all things and we exist for Him; and one Lord, Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we exist through Him. 7 However not all men have this knowledge; but some, being accustomed to the idol until now, eat food as if it were sacrificed to an idol; and their conscience being weak is defiled. 8 But food will not commend us to God; we are neither the worse if we do not eat, nor the better if we do eat. 9 But take care that this liberty of yours does not somehow become a stumbling block to the weak. 10 For if someone sees you, who have knowledge, dining in an idol's temple, will not his conscience, if he is weak, be strengthened to eat things sacrificed to idols? 11 For through your knowledge he who is weak is ruined, the brother for whose sake Christ died. 12 And so, by sinning against the brethren and wounding their conscience when it is weak, you sin against Christ. 13 Therefore, if food causes my brother to stumble, I will never eat meat again, so that I will not cause my brother to stumble.

In regards to verse 4 it becomes clear that it is taken out of context, this verse is speaking about idols and saying that there is only one God, it is not speaking about the Godhead and does nothing to either support or reject the idea of the trinity. Verse 6 on the other hand does seem to be making an attempt at separating God the Father and God the Son, that is until you start to dig into the Greek of the words Lord in Lord, Jesus Christ means Lord of Lords which is a name used for God. Not only that looking at this verse we realize that this is speaking of roles with in that Godhead, in other words we exist for the Father and we exist through the Son.

(1 Tim 2:5) For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus; (1 Th 1:9-10) For they themselves show of us what manner of entering in we had unto you, and how ye turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God; 10 And to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, even Jesus, which delivered us from the wrath to come. Here, in 1 Timothy 2:5, you have one of the few verses in the Bible where the doctrine of the trinity could be in conflict, that is until you read it in light of 1 Thessalonians 1:9-10. In 1 Timothy there is no denying what is being said it is clear that the author is speaking about God and His Son, there is a clear separation here, as well as in 1 Thessalonians 1:9-10 we can see the same separation made and if we were to take these three verses by themselves never looking at what is said around them the conclusion would be that there would be two separate entities (in this case one God and His Son Jesus). But when we pull out from the verse just a little and look at 1 Thessalonians 1 in its whole we can see a different story being painted

1 Paul and Silvanus and Timothy, To the church of the Thessalonians in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ: Grace to you and peace. 2 We give thanks to God always for all of you, making mention of you in our prayers; 3 constantly bearing in mind your work of faith and labor of love and steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ in the presence of our God and Father, 4 knowing, brethren beloved by God, His choice of you; 5 for our gospel did not come to you in word only, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with full conviction; just as you know what kind of men we proved to be among you for your sake. 6 You also became imitators of us and of the Lord, having received the word in much tribulation with the joy of the Holy Spirit, 7 so that you became an example to all the believers in Macedonia and in Achaia. 8 For the word of the Lord has sounded forth from you, not only in Macedonia and Achaia, but also in every place your faith toward God has gone forth, so that we have no need to say anything. 9 For they themselves report about us what kind of a reception we had with you, and how you turned to God from idols to serve a living and true God, 10 and to wait for His Son from heaven, whom He raised from the dead, that is Jesus, who rescues us from the wrath to come.

Starting in verse 3 we can see Jesus motioned as Lord Jesus Christ, this is the same word translated Lord of Lords earlier. Again later in verses 5 and 6 the Holy Spirit is mentioned as another person yet equal here. with these verses it quickly becomes clear that this verse is talking about the trinity and what it is doing is giving a little outline of what the roles in the trinity are. When we go back to 1 Timothy 2:5 with this new realization the same thing can be seen there, this is speaking to the roles of God the Son and God the Father.

Hundreds of years after the pure, true, apostolic faith was propagated; Greek, Hellenistic and pagan philosophy/doctrines changed the human Jesus into a demigod then into a godman. And in response, both the doctrines of the trinity and Oneness tried to solve this self-inflicted problem! The solution then, is to return to the pure faith and doctrine as taught in the Scriptures: that there is solely ONE GOD, the Father. And there is solely one man, one human, whom the ONE GOD has made "Lord of all", the man Messiah Jesus. There are several problems with this statement. First as I said before the pure and true Apostolic faith would have said that there was a trinity because they would have taken the basic belief from the Jewish doctrine and the only real difference is that in the new Christian belief there would have been a greater understanding of the roles of the three persons of the trinity. Second this statement assumes that because this doctrine wasn't written out until a few centuries after the death of Jesus it must be false and made up but the simple fact is that in the history of God's people is has been that way. We can look back at the early and see that there were hundreds of years between God making a covenant with Abraham and the Ten Commandments, same with when Israel came to possess the their land and the time that an actual kingdom was set up. This is a weak argument to begin with and it only gets weaker as you examine it in greater detail. My third problem with this comment is that it seems to think that there is a problem to begin with that we need to solve. I will admit that we can't really know everything about the trinity and how it works but at the same time I will also say that we don't need to know everything about the trinity and how it works. In fact to try to get rid of it creates more problems and questions, from why are three persons mentioned in the Bible to if Jesus was just a man then what was so special about him. Unless we are ready to say that the bible is in direct conflict with itself we can't really believe this statement of One God.

And indeed the day is coming where ... (Phil 2:11) And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. Again as in the start of this there is nothing that I can disagree with, there will be a day that God (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit) sits in all his glory and we praise Him.

If there are any questions and/or comments please feel free to post them, I love talking about stuff like this and I will be sure to respond to any questions.