Bible Archives - Page 2 of 133 - DOES GOD EXIST? TODAY

March 7, 2025March 4, 2025

Being a Christian Is More than “Churchianity”

For many people in America, being a Christian means attending a worship service in a physical building once a week, once a month, twice a year (Easter and Christmas), or only when a tragedy or death strikes the family. That is far from what God intended as revealed in His Word. It is not Christianity but might be called Churchianity.

The word “Christian” originally meant “Christ-like” or belonging to Christ. Acts 11:26 tells us, “The disciples were first called Christians at Antioch.” It was not a label they put on themselves but what the people of Antioch used to describe the disciples of Christ.

In his book Why Aren’t Christians More Like Jesus? Michael J. Clemens coined the word “Churchianity” to describe those who feel that going to Church is all they must do to be in a saved relationship with God. Jesus said many times that being a disciple meant following Him 24/7, not just once a week or less.

Americans have been turned off by what has happened in Christian churches. We have all seen the arrogant pushes of televangelist fundraisers, political activism by churches, blatant hypocrisy by preachers and church leaders, cult activity, immorality, pedophilia, and abusive behavior of church leaders exposed in the media.

Galatians 5:22-23 describes what being a Christian (not a Churchianity participant) involves. Christians demonstrate love (agape), joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Romans 12:3 describes what authentic Christianity is all about: “For by the grace given me I say to every one of you, do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment according to the measure of faith God has given you.”

Reference: Why Aren’t Christians More Like Jesus? by Michael J. Clemens, Keledei Publications, ISBN 9781958139493

March 6, 2025March 4, 2025

Bad Geology and Theology

Young professionals with a church background often reject the Bible teaching they received, realizing it can’t be correct. Denominational dispensationalism teaches that the books of Daniel and Revelation predict Christ returning with His followers, defeating Russia and China in a war, and establishing a worldwide political system in Jerusalem for 1000 years. This dispensational teaching has several variations and is not only bad theology but also bad geology.

Christ’s return and establishment of a kingdom on Earth are not the whole story. This doctrine also teaches that creation took place only 6,000 to 10,000 years ago. That means all the geological events have happened in a few thousand, not billions, of years. Various video presentations by dispensationalists attempt to explain folded rock layers by saying they were laid down during the biblical flood when the rocks were soft and pliable. When the waters receded, those soft layers were folded and hardened as they dried.

Any young person with an earth science course or any college student with an introductory geology course can see the problems with this bad geology. There are different types of rocks, and they fall into three categories.

The first category is igneous rocks, molten material that can either be on Earth’s surface as lava or deep underground as an intrusive rock like granite. Erosion has exposed many layers of intrusive rocks, but they cool very slowly, allowing the formation of mineral crystals. You never see crystals in lava. The folded rock layers dispensationalists use in their presentations are granite or other intrusive rocks such as diorite or gabbro. They are not flood deposits and were never soft.

The second category is sedimentary rocks. They are usually produced by water. Chemical precipitates, like limestone, are produced by quiet water or sediment carried by moving water or wind. The size of the particles can vary depending on the violence of the water or wind. Sedimentary rocks can also be conglomerates made of cobble-sized particles or shale made of very fine grains, too small to be seen by the naked eye. Flood deposits are easy to identify and are not made up of a chemical precipitate or igneous rock.

The third rock type is metamorphic, in which the material has been changed. Marble is limestone morphed under heavy pressure. This brief summary of petrology shows that it is bad geology to suggest that folded rock layers, especially intrusive igneous rocks, were produced by a flood.

The Bible does not tell us Earth’s age. Jesus said that His kingdom was not of this world (Matthew 22:21), and Christ does not endorse war of any kind. The biblical message is spiritual, and the Kingdom Christ came to establish is His Church. The false teaching of dispensationalism drives many young people away from faith. Ignorance of what the Bible says makes a person vulnerable to false religious teachings. We offer free postage-paid Bible studies. Send your name and address to jncdge@aol.com, and we will mail you a course listing so you can choose a course to expand your Bible knowledge.

March 5, 2025March 4, 2025

Alcoholic Beverages and Cancer

In 1988, the World Health Organization’s International Agency for Research on Cancer first classified alcoholic beverages as carcinogenic. Since then, cancer research has shown that they are a significant cause of cancer of the mouth, throat, voice box, esophagus, breast, liver, and colon. A 2024 report in CA: A Cancer Journal for Clinicians indicated that in 2019, alcohol contributed to 54,000 cancer cases in women and 42,000 cases in men. Lancet Oncology researchers reported that about 4% of all cancer cases worldwide were attributable to alcohol in 2020. The British Journal of Cancer reported that female breast cancer was as much as 1.6 times more prevalent in women who drank.

The companies marketing alcoholic beverages will fight all these studies, but some are now selling beverages with the same taste but no alcohol. Alcohol is the most destructive recreational drug in existence. If you drink, you are inviting cancer. The fact that the entertainment industry pushes alcohol in music shows the entertainment value of alcohol.

Our bodies are where God’s Spirit dwells (1 Corinthians 3:16-17). Alcoholic beverages destroy our bodies and will cause us to die, a fact that science is now confirming. Christians must educate their children and the world in general about the damage caused by drinking, both in this life and in eternity.

Reference: Science News for February 2025, Volume 207 # 2, pages 18-19

February 28, 2025February 27, 2025

Polytheism and the God of the Bible

Evidence of Christianity’s validity is the fact that every religious belief system outside of the Bible is a polytheistic invention of humans. People around the world, especially in Asia and Africa, believe in multiple “gods.” Historically, the same was true of the Greeks and Romans. Wikipedia lists 33 gods and goddesses, including Pelee (the goddess of volcanoes), Minerva (the goddess of weather), Zeus and Thor (the gods of lightning), Poseidon (the god of Horses and seafarers), Titan (the god of the oceans), to name a few. How can we compare polytheism and the God of the Bible?

The God of the Bible is incorporated in the Hebrew word “YHWH,” translated as LORD (all caps), or more correctly Yahweh. The events surrounding the death of Christ show that Yahweh controls all the things attributed to human-invented polytheistic gods. Matthew 27:45-56 describes each area of control: Three hours of darkness shows God’s control of astronomical events. The earthquake that splits rocks shows God’s control of geological events. Bringing people who had died long before showed God’s control of life. This description of God’s control over the creation is unique to the biblical account, giving evidence of the difference between polytheism and the God of the Bible.

The tearing of the veil was especially significant. The veil was commanded in Exodus 26:31-33 and Leviticus 16:2 to separate God from humanity. God was in the “Holy Place,” and humans could not even enter that place. Tearing that veil, removed it as a barrier no longer separating us from God. This incredible change is a cornerstone of Christianity. John 1:1-14 and Colossians 1:15-20 describe God taking on human form to draw people to Himself.

In Acts 17:23-30 Paul describes to the polytheistic culture in Athens the biblical concept of God: “…in Him we live and move and have our being for we are His children.” Throughout the New Testament, we find calls to “repent.” That does not mean to remember and beg forgiveness for every mistake you ever made. It means to “think differently.” In Acts 2:38, Peter calls his audience, and us today, to “repent and be baptized for the remission of sins.” We need to think differently about the nature of God.

As we compare polytheism and the God of the Bible, we are reminded of an excellent little book by J.B. Philips titled Your God is Too Small. That same admonition needs to be given to the world today. We cannot achieve the unity that Jesus prayed for and called us to (John 17:20-23) until we understand the uniqueness of Yahweh.

February 26, 2025February 26, 2025

The Mysterious Neutrino

A fascinating science story involves the mysterious neutrino. The famous Italian physicist Enrico Fermi gave it that name, which means “little neutral one.” When I was a graduate student at Indiana University, we were told that neutrinos are the binding energy holding neutrons together. A neutron consists of an electron and a proton held together, making a neutral particle. When a neutron decays, it releases an electron and a proton. Measuring the energy of these two particles leaves a tiny amount of energy unaccounted for. Neutrinos explain that missing energy.

Scientists later discovered that the mysterious neutrino is present anytime there is a change in a nucleus. Neutrinos are so tiny they can go through virtually anything, making them extremely difficult to detect or measure. Researchers obtained neutrino measurements by putting detectors made of glass spheres on the Mediterranean Sea floor and reported their findings in February of 2023. Now, we know that some neutrinos are 30 times more energetic than any previously known neutrinos. They are vastly more energetic than photons that make up visible light, X-rays, and ultraviolet rays.

The media has named the mysterious neutrinos “ghost particles” because of their properties. The truth is that neutrinos tell us that what holds matter together is not the physical material we can sense. Science does not fully understand matter and the particles of which it is made—electrons, protons, and neutrons. Those particles are made of energy in a form different from what we learned in chemistry class. What message about God can we see in the mysterious neutrinos?

The Bible tells us that God is not a man. Isaiah 55:8-9 finds God saying “…my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways. As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.” In Acts 17:28, Paul described the nature of God by saying, “…in Him we live and move and have our being.” John 1:14 tells us that the God of Israel BECAME flesh and lived for a while among us.” In Exodus 33:18-23, Moses asks God to show himself, but God tells Moses no human can see Him and live (verse 20). These passages tell us that God is not a physical being, and what He does is not by the processes that humans can use.

The more we know about what holds matter together, the more we realize that God’s methods and design are not by physical processes we know, understand, or can duplicate. It reminds us of the words of David in Psalms 8:3-4: “When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars which you have set in place, what is man that you are mindful of him, the son of man that you care for him. You made him a little lower than the heavenly beings and crowned him with glory and honor.”

References: CNN Science and Wikipedia

February 25, 2025February 24, 2025

Freshwater Mussels and Design

Humanity’s war with pollution has a surprising helper in freshwater mussels. They are susceptible to any change in the water in which they live. When anything disturbs the quality of the water, these mussels close their shells. In Poland, fifty water processing plants use these mussels to monitor any contamination of their drinking water. Technicians attach sensors to the mussel’s shells with hot glue. When four of the eight mussels close their shells, they trip a sensor alerting control computers to shut off the water supply. After three months, the mussels are removed from service and returned to the wild because they adapt to water quality and become less sensitive.

When Joe Kramarz sent this information, I thought it was a joke, but it’s true, as the National Institutes of Health reported. Our thanks to those who send us information we might miss. In this case, we find it interesting that mussels are designed to avoid pollution in their environment. Freshwater mussels are just one example of many animals that monitor their environment, including bats, whales, corals, moles, and even groundhogs. Some of these may not directly benefit humans, but they help us understand that God has designed animals for a complex and changing world.

When God challenges Job’s understanding in Job 38-41, He refers to many things in the creation that show wisdom and design. We are still learning about many of those examples, but all of them are beyond human capacity to duplicate.

February 24, 2025February 23, 2025

Evidence Against Marijuana and Alcohol

One of the tragic aspects of marijuana use is that scientific evidence and demographic evidence of damage have not yet been assembled. The National Center for Drug Use Statistics reports that there is a high cardiovascular risk in marijuana use, and the more it is used, the greater the risk. There is also a higher risk of stroke. More than ever, we are seeing evidence against marijuana and alcohol.

On the social level, Elton John, Time magazine’s “Icon of the Year,” told the magazine, “Legalizing marijuana in America and Canada is one of the greatest mistakes of all time.” John says that marijuana is addictive and leads to other drugs. He speaks from experience with a past of marijuana use. John’s personal experiences with drugs are explored in a new Disney documentary, “Elton John: Never Too Late.”

Taking care of the body God has given you is essential. It affects not only you but also your descendants. It is too soon to tell if marijuana contributes to babies born with physical or mental problems, but those of us who lived through the days of LSD have seen huge suffering among children and grandchildren of LSD users.

Alcohol, which is the most destructive drug available today, has been responsible for more suffering than all the wars put together in terms of the number of people affected. Proverbs 31:4-6 tells us, “It is not for kings to drink wine; nor for princes strong drink: Lest they drink, and forget the law and pervert the judgment of any of the afflicted.”

Proverbs 20:1 says, “Wine is a mocker, strong drink is raging: and whosoever is deceived thereby is not wise.” That was written before distillation, and it is even more true today. The evidence against marijuana and alcohol is growing.

References: Tufts University Health and Nutrition Letter for January 2025, page 2, and South Bend Tribune for December 16, 2024, Page 3A.

February 21, 2025February 19, 2025

Churchianity vs. Christianity

One of the things that frustrates congregational leaders and is used by atheists and skeptics to discredit the Church is that many Christians do not understand the difference between orthodoxy and orthopraxy. Orthodoxy is having the correct doctrine, and orthopraxy is having the proper practice. Both are essential, but a vast percentage of those who “attend church” are people who only practice orthodoxy. ”Churchianity” is saying to oneself, “I have doctrine, and I believe, so that’s all I need.” That is logically wrong, but more importantly, it’s biblically wrong.

Read Matthew 8:21-22, 9:9, 16:24, 19:21, and John 21:21-22. What phrase do all of those passages have in common? The answer is “follow me.” What did Jesus do? Did He go to worship service once a week?” Is that all He expects of us? Read Matthew 25:31-46. Does Jesus picture those who are saved as weekly church attendees who could quote selected biblical passages? Is that all there is to Christianity?

Read Matthew 6:19-21 and ask yourself what “treasures” Jesus is talking about. What good are earthly treasures when you face the end of life or the loss of someone you love? At those times, the value of following Jesus becomes clear. Is your heart set on earthly treasure or heavenly treasure?

The loss of young people from the Church today is not because they have a problem with Jesus Christ but rather because they see no practical value in Churchianity. We urge you to follow Jesus and practice orthopraxy as well as orthodoxy. Churchianity is a false way of life and has nothing to do with what Jesus intended for us to do and be.

— John N. Clayton © 2025
Reference: Why Aren’t Christians More Like Jesus by Michael J. Clemens, Keledei Publications, ISBN 9781958139493

February 20, 2025February 19, 2025

We Need Grace and It’s Freely Available

We Need Grace - A Cistern or a Well — The difference between a cistern and a well

One of the ways skeptics denigrate the Bible is to say it portrays God as an angry, violent, abusive being who deliberately looks for ways to inflict pain on innocent humans. Like most skeptical attacks on belief in God, this portrayal is full of ignorance and misunderstandings. The Bible clearly shows God’s real nature. God desires all humans to embrace good and receive the blessings He offers, rejecting evil and its consequences. Second Peter 3:9 says it well: “The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting to perish, but everyone to come to repentance” (think differently). We need grace, and God provides it.

An analogy that might help understand grace is comparing it to water. We need water for physical survival. We need grace to survive spiritually. Water has a source – a lake, well, river, etc. Grace has a source – God. (See Ephesians 2:8.) Most water must be treated to give us health, and that treatment is very complex. Grace is much simpler, coming directly from Christ. Only water saves a body dying of thirst, and only grace saves a dying soul. (See Romans 6:1-4.)

You must turn on a faucet to get water, and to get God’s grace, you must want it. The local water department will not force you to accept their water. You can refuse it, but you will die if you do. We need grace, but God will not force us to accept His grace, love, forgiveness, and the way of living He offers. But if we reject it, we will die spiritually.

In Jeremiah 2:13, the prophet identifies two evils: forsaking God and making substitutes that Jeremiah calls cisterns.

“My people have committed two sins: They have forsaken me, the spring of living water, and have dug their own cisterns, broken cisterns that cannot hold water.”

A cistern is an underground tank collecting and storing rainwater, usually from a roof. In a desert area, a cistern was essential. However, one problem was that sometimes the cistern, traditionally made of cement, would leak and no longer hold water. The substitutes Jeremiah talks about were human philosophies, religions, and psychological evasions. The prophet says these lifestyles (cisterns) can hold no water (grace). The result is pain, suffering, lack of purpose in living, and destructive lifestyles. We need the well of grace supplied by the endless spring of God’s love.

February 19, 2025February 18, 2025

Animal Coprophagy – Recycling Poop

One aspect of design in the natural world is that virtually no food goes to waste. To that point, researchers have discovered many instances of animal coprophagy, poop eating. A study published in the journal Animal Behaviour documents 150 species of animals ranging from adult black bears to baby koalas recycling poop.

Many of the animals could not survive if they didn’t eat the feces of other animals. One example is pikas, small mountain-dwelling mammals on the Tibetan Plateau. They could not survive the harsh winters if they didn’t eat the droppings of Yaks. Blind cave fish can’t leave the cave to forage for food, so they survive by eating the guano of bats that inhabit the caves. Cows have multiple compartments for processing food, but rabbits do not. Rabbits and other small animals survive by eating the droppings of larger animals that have eaten harsh foods, breaking them down to a form the rabbit’s gut can easily absorb.

You might think that animal coprophagy would lead to diseases and parasites, but the nutrition gained vastly exceeds the possible infection for many animals. Capybaras eat their own feces, so you can’t call it waste. An interesting fact is that lab rats eat up to 40% of the poop from other rats and even themselves. If lab workers prevent them from doing that, they become sick from vitamin B12 deficiencies. Insects such as dung beetles survive on animal dung.

Recycling poop gives evidence that God designed the animal world so food is not wasted. Meanwhile, humans are guilty of wasting food, leaving many people to starve. That is why Jesus Christ, in Matthew 25:35-46, told His disciples to give food and drink to those who are hungry and thirsty.

References: Science News for February 2025, page 27, and Animal Behaviour journal for December 2024, pages 75-86