Christianity Archives - Page 20 of 54

March 22, 2022March 21, 2022

Cryonic Eternal Life

One of the byproducts of naturalism is the desire to achieve immortality. If you believe this life is all there is to your existence, the logical thing is to try to make this life eternal. One way to do that could be to have your body frozen when you die until science can find a way to make you live forever. Organizations such as the Cryonics Institute in Michigan are offering cryonic eternal life.

When you pay the fee for cryonic eternal life, technicians will prepare your body. When you are declared dead, technicians cool the body with ice water and keep the tissues oxygenated using CPR and an oxygen mask. Then, they fly the iced body to a laboratory and connect it to a heart-lung bypass machine that circulates the blood. Next, they pump in a solution to act as an antifreeze to prevent cell tissues from being destroyed by ice crystals. Finally, they cool the body to minus 320 degrees F in a tank of liquid nitrogen.

The idea is that when medical science advances and finds a cure for whatever caused the person’s death, they can revive the body, reverse the aging process, and give the person another shot at life. This is obviously a very theoretical idea. However, Shannon Tessier, a cryobiologist at Harvard University, points out that when scientists attempt to freeze a sample of human tissue, “the tissue is completely obliterated, the cell membrane is completely destroyed.”

Atheists have responded to our material by saying that they are going to be cryonically treated at death so they can live forever. However, it is obvious that the technology to make that possible is a very long way off and probably will never happen. More to the point, the only reason to do this would be a desperate attempt by people opposed to God’s plan to bypass the biblical injunction “it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment” (Hebrews 9:27).

Even if the proposed ideal of cryonic eternal life became real, think of the problems it would cause. Population issues would be astronomical, and all of the limitations placed upon us by our physical situation would still be present. How much greater would it be to accept a better eternal existence that God offers for free through Jesus Christ.

Reference: Discover magazine March/April 2022, page10.

March 16, 2022March 15, 2022

End-Times Religion, Ukraine, and Jesus

Any rational human being has to be horrified by the tragic acts of Vladimir Putin as he orchestrates a military attack on innocent people. As Putin directs the killing of babies, he is also causing incredible loss of resources needed for the peace and well-being of millions of people. This is the act of a madman drunk with power and in total rejection of God. In America, we are disheartened by teachers of end-times religion. Those people are supposed to be Christian leaders, but they are showing incredible ignorance of the teachings of Jesus.

End-times religion is based on the doctrine of dispensationalism. One of the best known of these leaders is Pat Robertson. He claims that Putin “is being compelled by God to invade Ukraine, but that wasn’t his goal. His goal was to move against Israel.” Robertson attempts to base his claim on his interpretation of Old Testament prophesy.

Robertson is just one of several end-times religion preachers who misinterpret prophesy and fail to understand what the Kingdom of Christ is all about. It is “Christian Zionism,” which promotes the idea that Jesus is going to return in something called the “rapture” to take his people away. The doctrine says that He will return to conduct a war against Arab countries, Russia, China, and Iran. Then He will establish Israel as the one world power with Jerusalem as the world’s capital and Jesus as the supreme king. This teaching is destructive, and it opposes the Bible on every turn.

The word “rapture” comes from the Latin “raptus,” which is the translation of the Greek word “harpazo,” meaning to be caught up or caught away. We find “harpazo” used in Acts 8:39, 2 Corinthians 12:2, and Revelation 12:5. Christian Zionists misuse Matthew 24:39-41; 1 Thessalonians 4:16-18; and 1 Corinthians 15:51-53 as references to back up their teaching. There are several versions of this teaching, but they are all in contradiction to the words of Jesus, “My kingdom is not of this world” (John 18:36).

The biblical picture of Christ’s second coming is not political, nationalistic, or geographic. Second Peter 3:10-12 indicates the entire physical universe will be annihilated. Revelation 20:1 and 21:1 tell us that the cosmos and Earth will vanish. This material world will be dissolved, and all the ills that go with it will be gone.

End-times religion conveys a discouraging false promise. None of us wants more war, pain, politics, hate, racism, pollution, or tears. The invasion of Ukraine is the result of atheism, greed, power struggles, and materialism conducted by a madman. It is not endorsed by God, and it opposes all that Jesus taught. Jesus weeps with us at the pain inflicted by Satan’s agents as they show that they are without compassion or empathy.

March 14, 2022March 13, 2022

Lawlessness and Theft

A pandemic of lawlessness and theft is gripping our planet, and recently I had a personal experience with it. My wife and I were doing laundry for a needy family at a laundromat in our community. As we waited for the machine to finish a load of clothes, my wife laid her purse down, and someone stole it. The thief was careful to remove her cell phone and scrub her contact information. We notified the police immediately and canceled all of our credit cards. The police told us that this was becoming a significant problem. They said the thief was obviously experienced at grabbing women’s purses and running because they removed any possibility of tracing their location.

The next day, I took our car in for some service. My mechanic said I should not leave the car in the parking space near the service area because of lawlessness and theft. Thieves had become efficient in stripping the catalytic converters and drilling holes in the fuel tanks to drain and steal the gasoline. Another major problem we all face today is identity theft. In professional fields, research scientists, authors, and songwriters must hire legal protection organizations to avoid losing the rights to their creative work.

Lawlessness and theft are not new problems, but their magnitude and acceptance as part of everyday life are new. Eighty years ago, people considered it a breach of morality and civilized behavior to be caught shoplifting or stealing from someone’s home or business. In today’s world, stores must set their prices to cover losses to shoplifting, while many consider theft a survival tool. We have seen cases of parents teaching their children how to steal from stores.

The justification for this pandemic of lawlessness and theft is rooted in evolutionary assumptions. Some people suggest that survival of the fittest is the operating principle for life. Animals steal food, territory, and mates, so if humans are merely animals, why not use the same survival techniques as other animals? Saying we live in a “dog eat dog” world implies that the behavior we see in dogs is an acceptable survival method for humans.

God gave humans a unique identification separating us from the animal world. One of the Old Testament laws was “thou shalt not steal.” God would judge harshly those who engaged in any kind of stealing. (See Exodus 20:15 and referenced in Romans 13:9.) In the New Testament, honesty and respecting the rights and security of others were part of the Christian ethic. (See Romans 2:21, Mark 10:19, Luke 18:20, Ephesians 4:28).

As our society plunges into atheism and the rejection of God and Christianity, we can expect changes in what people consider right and wrong. For a growing segment of our population, lawlessness and theft are becoming accepted forms of survival, whether in goods, creative abilities, or relationships.

March 12, 2022March 8, 2022

Drifting Along With the Breeze

Plants disperse their seeds in various ways. Many of them allow their seeds to be carried away by the wind. A method used by other plant species involves allowing the entire plant to go drifting along with the breeze. We call them tumbleweeds.

Tumbleweeds have often been associated with the American southwest, but they exist in primarily arid or desert areas in many countries of the world. A tumbleweed is simply a plant that breaks off from its roots and rolls along in the wind. Sometimes only part of the plant carrying the seeds breaks off. Also, some plants that produce spores rather than seeds become tumbleweeds.

As the plant is drifting along with the breeze, it scatters the seeds or spores over a wide area. This seed dispersal system works well in dry, open, windy areas. Unfortunately, sometimes it works too well. Humans have accidentally transported tumbleweeds from their native environments into new areas where they become invasive species. Sometimes they get caught in fences or get tangled with each other. These tumbleweed clusters can even grow large enough to block roads or houses. On the other hand, tumbleweeds can be beneficial by serving as food for animals or livestock in the dry rangelands. What could be better than for your food to come drifting along with the breeze right to you?

For the tumbleweeds to disperse their seeds and bring new life, they have to die first. As the dead plant degrades, the seeds are released, and new life begins in the desert. Jesus Christ said, “Unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds” (John 12:24). Jesus spoke those words knowing that He would soon give His life. However, from His death would come new life for all who will accept it because He rose to conquer death. Jesus was not just drifting along. He knew exactly what he was about to do, and He did it for you and me.

March 3, 2022March 2, 2022

What Does Your Faith Do For You?

No matter who you are, you live your life based on faith. I don’t mean just religious faith, but belief in things that are the foundation of how you live and make decisions. We must determine whether that faith is justified no matter what we put our faith in. So what does your faith do for you?

In our age, many people have rejected faith in God, but what has replaced that faith? The longer I live, the more times I have found my faith in something or someone was not justified. People I have had faith in have let me down. When the object of their faith crashes, including stock markets and marriages, some people take their own lives.

We all must ask if the things we have faith in relieve our fearfulness. It is hard not to be fearful when we see the political chaos in America and war in the world. If we have faith in the dollar, the effect of inflation can challenge that faith. Faith in a person can sometimes be ill-advised because people are prone to failure. Sometimes a marriage ends in divorce because faith in a person’s mate is destroyed by behaviors.

What does your faith do for you? The history of Israel was disastrous, and Deuteronomy 32:16-20 indicates it was because they failed to have faith in God. Jesus talked about the power of faith in Matthew 17:16-20 when He said that faith the size of a tiny seed could move the mountains we face in life. In Mark 4:34-41, when Jesus calmed the sea, He asked His followers why they were fearful. “How is it that you have no faith?” He asked.

If we base our faith on people or emotions, we are likely to fail. Instead, we must build our faith on evidence. A study of Thomas’ faith in John 11:16 and 20:24-28 shows that he based his faith on evidence. The purpose of this site is to help searchers find faith. I don’t mean just emotional faith but faith based on the evidence of God’s creation and design in all aspects of life.

No philosophy or belief system other than Christianity can produce stability in life and the ability to do things you never thought would be possible. Hebrews 11 gives us a picture of the role faith played in the lives of biblical people. Let me ask, “What do you place your faith in, and what does your faith do for you?”

February 26, 2022April 12, 2022

What Jesus Opposed – What Jesus Taught

Today’s misrepresentations of the teachings of Jesus Christ are often rooted in human traditions, atheistic beliefs, and denominational teachings alien to the Bible. Jesus opposed seven things:

1) Jesus was against abusive religious leaders. Matthew 23:4 “They tie up heavy loads and put them on men’s shoulders, but they themselves will not lift a finger to move them.”

2) Jesus was against abusive religious rules. Matthew 23:13,23 “You shut up the kingdom of God in men’s faces … you have neglected the more important matters … justice, mercy, and faithfulness.”

3) Jesus was against violence. John 18:36 “My kingdom is not of this world. If it were, my servants would fight.”

4) Jesus was against materialism and greed. Matthew 6:19 “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth.”

5) Jesus was against judgmentalism. Matthew 7:1-2 “Do not judge .. for in the same way that you judge others, you will be judged.”

6) Jesus was against racism. John 4:9,27 Jesus is talking to the Samaritan woman. “For Jews do not associate with Samaritans … his disciples marveled that He talked with the woman.” See also Galatians 3:28.

7) Jesus was against male chauvinism. John 8:7 “If any one of you (men) is without sin, let him be the first to throw a stone at her.”

Here are seven things Jesus taught:

1) Jesus is for loving all people. Matthew 5:44 “Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.”

2) Jesus is for the value of every person. Matthew 5:22 “Anyone who says ‘you worthless one’ will be in danger of the fire of hell.”

3) Jesus is for forgiveness and reconciliation. Matthew 6:14 “For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.”

4) Jesus is for fairness and good relationships. Matthew 7:12 “So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you….”

5) Jesus is for peace and well-being. Matthew 6:34 “Do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will have enough worries of its own.”

6) Jesus is for healing and happiness. Matthew 5:4 Blessed are those who mourn for they will be comforted.”

7) Jesus is for hope and a future for all of us. John 14:2-3 “In my Father’s house there are many rooms … I am going there to prepare a place for you… I will come back and take you there.”

Either the teachings and claims of Jesus are true, or Jesus was a liar or a lunatic. You can’t just write Jesus off as a good man. There is too much evidence to the contrary, and attributing sayings and actions to Christ which contradict the above is common in our world. We need to listen to what Jesus actually taught and claimed and lived.

Reference: John Cooper’s video series “Beyond Reasonable Doubt,” which is available on our doesgodexist.tv website.

February 23, 2022February 22, 2022

Grow Your Faith in God

In today’s world, many people are asking for more faith. Jesus never treats faith as a commodity. You don’t pour faith into someone like water in a glass. Faith is a part of our thinking and our education. Faith is something that needs to be fed and nurtured. What do you do to nurture and grow your faith, and what does Satan use to defeat your faith?

In Luke 4, we read of Satan’s attempt to destroy the faith of Jesus. The temptations that didn’t work against Jesus are the same ones Satan uses on each of us. The first thing Satan did was tempt Christ with physical cravings. Jesus had not eaten for 40 days, and He was hungry. Satan knows when we have physical cravings, and he works to offer destructive things to meet those cravings – be it food or drink or sex or emotional needs.

The second thing Satan offered Christ is political power. Today, we are expected to embrace political positions that fly in the face of God’s commands. We see recreational drugs, prostitution, abortion, euthanasia, and immoral lifestyles asking for our support and endorsement. We don’t see people in the entertainment industry or political figures resisting these destructive forces, and many are leading others to practice them.

The third temptation Satan presented is expecting God to interfere in the normal processes of life. Satan has sold a big lie about disease and the consequences of the choice of gender change. Jesus responded to Satan’s challenge to violate the law of gravity and expect God to step in and prevent it from working. Jesus responded to each of the temptations by quoting scripture. This third one was Deuteronomy 6:16, which says not to test God. Expecting God to violate the laws He created when we practice destructive behavior is not logical or reasonable.

We need to profit from the biblical account of Satan’s activity and follow the lead of Jesus. Our daily articles on this site and our video series available free on doesgodexist.tv present positive evidence to build faith. You can also grow your faith by reading the Bible. We recommend Romans 1:19-20, Proverbs 8, Psalms 19:1, and Psalms 139:14-15. We have the tools to build our faith, and we urge you to use them!

February 17, 2022February 15, 2022

Teachings of Mohammad and Jesus Christ

One of the ongoing struggles in the world today is the conflict between the followers of Mohammad and the followers of Jesus Christ. When science forced me to realize there is a God, I had no compelling reason to believe that the God who created time, space, and matter/energy was the God of the Bible. Looking for answers, I examined the teachings of Mohammad and Jesus Christ.

I got a copy of the Koran translated into English by N. J. Dawood, a Muslim, and published by Penguin classics. My Muslim friends have told me that no English translation is valid, but recent events in Pakistan have shown that my reading was the same as the mobs in Pakistan.

In addition to some scientific errors, the Koran has teachings that denigrate women. (See Women 4:34 and the Confederate Tribes 33:51-52.) It also commands violence. For example, The Spoils 8:37-41 commands Muslims to “make war on the Christians and Jews.” In Repentance 9:4-7, 9:14, and 9:122-125, Mohammad says to “make war on the Christians and Jews who dwell among you.” Let me hasten to say that my Muslim acquaintances are as disturbed as I am with these teachings and would never participate in them. The problem is with the teachings of Mohammad, not what all Muslims do.

However, recent events in Pakistan have shown that Muslims in that part of the world follow those teachings of Mohammad. On February 14, 2022, the Associated Press reported that a mob stoned a man named Mushtaq Ahmed, whom the accused of burning a Koran. When police tried to intervene, they were stoned and injured, and Amed was killed.

In a separate incident, a couple with four children in Punjab, Pakistan, were accused of sending written text messages criticizing Mohammad. Neither of them can read or write, but the mob tortured the husband and threatened his wife with sexual assault. They put the couple in prison for seven years and gave their four children to relatives.

As a man convinced that God exists, I could not embrace a book that taught things I knew were destructive and untrue. When I read the teachings of Jesus Christ, I saw a plea for peace, love, and non-violence. He elevated women and refused to return evil for evil. I saw the striking contrast between the teachings of Mohammad and Jesus Christ.

If you have doubts about the teachings of Christ and Mohammad, I would encourage you to get a copy of the Koran and read all of it. Then read Matthew through at least chapter seven. Compare the teachings of Mohammad and Jesus Christ. I am thankful that most Muslims I know do not accept Mohammad’s call for violence, his embracing of polygamy, or the abuse of women. Although there are many good things in the Koran, it also calls for a cultural dependence on violence and servitude. It fails to deal with what can change the world and make it a better place.

We have a chart listing difficult passages in the Koran, which you can read or download HERE.

Reference: Associated Press for 2/14/22 reported in the South Bend Tribune, page 8 A.

February 16, 2022February 15, 2022

Mob Rule Mentality

One of the worst characteristics of humans is the capacity to allow mob rule mentality to destroy clear thinking, evidence, logic, morals, and kindness. Evolutionists point to the similarities between human mob behavior and the gang behavior of wolves, meerkats, monkeys, and killer whales as evidence for their theories. There is no question that humans can act like these animals, but these animals cannot behave in the way Jesus taught us to live.

The Bible is not ignorant about this issue. In Acts 7, you can read the account of a man named Stephen, who was accused of blasphemy by a group opposed to Christianity. The group’s claims were false, and Stephen made a defense of his activity. However, rather than consider the evidence and think about what he said, the mob “ground their teeth at him in rage.” Then “they cried out with a loud voice and stopped their ears and rushed at him, dragged him out of the city … and they stoned Stephen.”

Another biblical example of mob rule mentality is the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. In Mark 15, we see Pilate trying to reason with the crowd. Yet, in typical mob behavior, the same people who had honored Christ not long before cried out for His crucifixion.

In Acts 19, the teaching of Paul in Ephesus caused resistance from the followers of the goddess Diana (Artemis). This resulted in a mob action endangering Paul’s life and forcing him to leave Ephesus. When mob rule mentality takes over, people ignore logic, evidence, and knowledge. The result is always destructive. If you examine the biblical examples, you will see that there are people feeding the mob lies, false information, and emotionalism.

So here we are in 2022, and mob rule mentality is still around. Mob rule dominates American politics. It isn’t just the January 6 mob that is at issue here. Both political parties have been guilty of being driven by mob rule. The irrational and anti-science mob rule over vaccines is killing people and bringing significant economic damage to the United States and Canada.

I have a friend who was active in a religious crusade by a well-known evangelist. Her job was to go forward when the evangelist extended an invitation to come to Christ. She and ten of her friends were paid to respond to the invitation. The reason was that once people started coming forward, others would follow. I have seen young people at a youth rally or a Christian camp come forward because “everyone else was coming forward.” These may be trivial examples, but they have long-range effects on people’s lives.

The Church must not adopt a mob rule mentality. We must not ask people to follow a human leader or blindly do what others do. Biblical conversions were primarily one-on-one. Even when Peter preached to the people in Acts 2, the plea that he and all the apostles made was to individuals (see Acts 2:37). Individuals responded for themselves and were baptized. The first-century Church was not a mob but individuals meeting in people’s homes (Acts 2:46).

Christians need to avoid being influenced by mob rule mentality, whether it’s a political mob, a religious mob, or a nationalistic mob. Paul wrote, “..study to be quiet, and to do your own business, and to work with your own hands. That you may walk honestly toward those who are outside …” (1 Thessalonians 4:11-12).

February 12, 2022February 8, 2022

Genuine Faith Leads to Action

I remember an incident when I was giving my lecture series at Purdue University many years ago. A young man told me he couldn’t argue with any of the evidence I had presented. He meant it as a compliment, but he teared up when I asked what he was going to do with it. Finally, he said, “I am going to put it out of my thinking because I don’t want to quit the way I am living.” Isn’t that the way a lot of us are? Genuine faith leads to action.

In Deuteronomy 31:20, God says about Israel, “When I have brought them into a land which I swore to their fathers, one that flowed with milk and honey and they have eaten and filled themselves and grown fat. Then they will turn to other gods and serve them, and provoke me and break my covenant.” In Deuteronomy 32:16-21, we see that happening. A similar thing is happening in America today.

In Matthew 17:20, Jesus compares faith with the mustard seed, saying that we can move mountains if we have faith. Things have happened in my life that even people in my family don’t believe could be possible. If you don’t have faith, it is amazing what you don’t try. Even more amazing is what God causes to happen from the smallest of efforts with a little faith. Genuine faith leads to action.

In Mark 4:36-41, we read the story of a storm that was swamping the boat in which Jesus was sleeping. He quiets the sea by command, and His disciples were afraid. Jesus says, “Why are you so fearful? How is it that you have no faith?”

Faith drives out fear. The history of the Church is full of people who did things that most of us would be afraid to try. In some cases, they died for their faith. That isn’t a bad thing. We have incredible promises from Jesus, even if our faith results in losing our lives.

Faith is essential, and genuine faith leads to action. We all have faith in something, but what is the basis of your faith?