Christianity Archives

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 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 14, 2025February 10, 2025

Conquering Fear Through Faith

We live in an age of anxiety. The American Medical Association says that fear is the number one health issue in the United States. Americans spend massive amounts of money on alcohol, marijuana, prescription drugs, and pop psychologists and psychiatrists to help them deal with fears. The problem of conquering fear is not new, and the Bible uses the phrase “fear not” 366 times.

Susan Giboney, writing in the March 17, 2025, issue of Power For Today, tells of a person she calls the superhero “Anxiety Girl” who can jump to the worst possible conclusion in a single leap. One of the causes of fear in our day is collateral damage from rejecting God. If this life is all you have and you are in danger of losing it, you have a lot to be anxious about. Here are five suggestions about how to reduce the effect of being an “Anxiety Superhero.”

#1) Building faith leads to conquering fear. This program offers courses, DVDs, and books to help fearful people actively build faith in God. Faith can help you realize that this life is not all we have. We are not talking about blind faith but evidential faith.

#2) Listen to the teachings of Jesus Christ. Read Matthew 6:25-34 and think about the questions it raises. What do you worry about? Having water, how you look, what you wear, what will happen tomorrow? Read the words of Christ and think!

#3) Know what the Lord will deal with the wicked. Read Psalms 94:16-23 and 1 Corinthians 10:13 and understand that Christians have relief from the awful things in this world.

#4) The Bible calls us to repent. That means we must learn to think differently. Repentance is not just sorrow for our mistakes, although that can be part of it. Read Philippians 4:8 and follow its advice. Focus on the good things. If the news upsets you, don’t watch it. If the TV show is negative or violent, turn it off. Don’t watch depressing movies or listen to songs full of profanity. Avoid abusive people. The Church is the “called out ones” and can provide help and support.

#5) Trusting God to do what He says leads to conquering fear. Read 2 Peter 3:9 and understand God wants you to be saved and to live with the forgiveness promised through Christ. God provides continuous cleansing and a better existence beyond this life. (See 1 John 1:6-10.)

We all have an instinctive drive to avoid death, but the fear that fills us with anxiety is what affects our lives from day to day. Faith addresses and reduces that fear. Drugs and other alternatives to God do not.

— John N. Clayton © 2025
Reference: Power For Today

January 29, 2025January 28, 2025

Muhammad and the History of Islam

One of the interesting things about Islam in our day is that most Muslims have never read the Qur’an. They also know little or nothing about Muhammad and the history of Islam.

Muhammad was born in Arabia in 570 when the region had many Christian and Jewish towns. There were even several large Jewish communities in Mecca and Medina. Muhammad believed that both Christians and Jews would accept him as a prophet who fulfilled both faiths. When they rejected him, he attacked the Jews in Mecca and Medina. He forced the male members of the Jewish group in Medina to dig a mass grave and then beheaded six- to nine hundred of them and sold the women and children into slavery.

Shortly before Muhammad’s death in 632, he began attacks on Byzantine Syria and Persia. In his farewell address, Muhammad said, “I was ordered to fight all men until they say ‘There is no god but Allah.’” Qur’an 9:5 says, “Slay the idolaters wherever you find them, and take them (captive), and besiege them, and prepare for them each ambush.”

The rest of the story of Islam was one of war, with Muhammad’s followers killing all the Jews and Christians they could find in the Mediterranean area. In 711, Muslim forces invaded Spain and later Italy. Most of my Muslim friends are quiet people who would never want to resort to war or force to establish Islam in America. The reality is that Muslims in America have set up their own communities, putting fences around them and not allowing other belief systems in – not even police, fire, or military personnel.

Contrast Muhammad and the history of Islam with that of Jesus Christ and Christianity. Jesus did not allow his followers to use military force to establish His Church. When Peter cut off the ear of Malcus, the servant of the high priest, Jesus healed the wound and said, “Put your sword in its place: for all they who take the sword shall perish with the sword” (Matthew 26:51, Luke 22:50-51 and John 18:26). The difference between the history of Islam and Christianity is huge. We still see it today in the “Holy Land” and in the lives of those who follow Christ in America.

For those who wish to explore Muhammad and the history of Islam more deeply, we recommend Dr. Rodney Stark’s book The Triumph of Christianity: How the Jesus Movement Became the World’s Largest Religion, pages 200-211 (ISBN 978-0062007698).

January 27, 2025January 26, 2025

Mark Twain Quotes Display Wisdom

These two quotes of Mark Twain have special relevance to several issues today.
“No amount of evidence will ever convince an idiot.”
“The truth has no defense against a fool determined to believe a lie.”

One of those issues is the political situation in America, where people will follow their chosen political party no matter how many lies the leaders tell. A relative responded with, “I hold my nose and support him,” when I pointed out that what the person had said was a complete fabrication. Both parties have been guilty of falsehoods.

More to our point is the reaction of atheists, agnostics, creationists, and philosophers to what we try to present. If there is no evidence to support one person’s opinion, it has no validity. Many of the claims of evolutionary theory have no evidence to support them and a great deal of evidence against them. The same is true of many claims of denominational creationists. These competing claims are the source of most of the supposed conflict between science and faith.

Denominational creationists may claim that the flood of Noah produced the Grand Canyon, but that can’t be true. The rocks in the canyon are not flood deposits, and the fossil placement does not indicate violent water movement. Still, creationist groups claim that the fossils are evidence of a global flood. The point is not that the Biblical flood didn’t happen but that it did not produce the geological record of the Grand Canyon.

Evolutionists assume that no process operated in the past that is not going on today. This belief, called uniformitarianism, is a foundational assumption of evolution, but evidence from astronomy and the fossil record shows that uniformitarianism is not true. Many more facts give evidence against Darwinian evolution.

We are all guilty of holding to beliefs despite evidence to the contrary. Many proponents for and against climate change refuse to accept the evidence. This results in doomsday predictions on one hand and refusal to do anything on the other. Both those who deny global warming and those who say destruction is unavoidable are ignoring evidence.

Science is knowledge, and knowledge can never conflict with truth. The truth is that evidence supports the existence of God and the teachings and life of Jesus Christ. As the Mark Twain quotes said, we are fools if we ignore evidence, and all people will pay the price for that in the future.

January 20, 2025January 20, 2025

The Example of Jimmy Carter

Regardless of your political or religious views, you must admire former president Jimmy Carter, who died at age 100. Several days of Carter’s funeral services concluded in Plains, Georgia, on Thursday, January 9, 2025. Debates about Carter’s presidency will continue for a very long time, but nobody will question the quality of the man. He promised that as president, he would never lie to the American people, and he kept that promise. We can all learn from the example of Jimmy Carter.

Carter ran for president in 1976 and was in office for only one term. What is amazing about him is what he did after leaving office. His work with Habitat for Humanity involved him in building 4,400 houses. He was a peace broker, using his diplomacy to cool global conflicts. The Carter Foundation attacked the Guinea worm, a horrib l e scourge in Africa and Asia. As a result, the Guinea worm problem has been eliminated in virtually all places. Carter received a Nobel Peace Prize in 2002 for his actions.

Through all of this, Carter continued to live in Plains, Georgia, and teach a Sunday school Bible class at the church he attended. For a former president to demonstrate integrity, be a humanitarian worker, and spend energy and time doing things to help others is a stark contrast to the typical politician. If we can all learn from the example of Jimmy Carter, perhaps a change will eventually come to our country.

January 17, 2025January 12, 2025

Reasons for Divorce

The Saturday Evening Post reprinted a survey of the reasons for divorce compiled in 1950 based on 425 divorce case files. The author, David G. Wittles, ignored what he called the “symptoms” and listed these nine as the actual causes of divorce:

1) Emotional immaturity
2) Our modern industrial civilization, which has wiped out many of the material reasons for family life.
3) The idea that romantic love is the main reason and sufficient basis for marriage.
4) Parental disapproval and mother-in-law trouble.
5) Differences in background.
6) Finances and lack of housing.
7) Jobs for women.
8) Ambition.
9) Infidelity.

We can speculate whether those are the same reasons for divorce today, but the bottom line is that when we throw out God’s plan, divorce is likely. A current survey would be very interesting.

Biblical marriage came about because (1) It is not good for men (or women) to be alone and (2) Men need a helper to fill in for what they cannot do by themselves – also true for women. (See Genesis 2:18). In 1 Corinthians 7:1-5, Paul explains the physical side of marriage, and all studies have shown that the best sex is with one faithful partner. Those who look for modern solutions to their sexual needs are 100% sure not to find them. The effect that marriage has on raising children is another essential part of this discussion. Blended families can work, but a stable nuclear family is the long-term best way to raise a child.

Ephesians 6:1-4 and Colossians 3:21 spell out what God intended for fathers to be. This has nothing to do with conception but how children are loved and cared for by the male image in their childhood. God’s plan has worked for centuries, and the basic needs of men, women, and children have not changed.

— John N. Clayton © 2025
Reference: “The Real Reason for Divorce” in the January/February 2025 issue of the Saturday Evening Post, page 76

December 31, 2024December 30, 2024

There Is No Time Machine

As we end another year, we look back and think about things we should have done differently. Hindsight is always better than foresight. There is probably no person alive who doesn’t wish they could change something from their past. Perhaps we made a bad investment or missed a good investment of either time or money. We may have spoken words to someone that we wish we could take back. Perhaps we failed to do something to encourage a person facing difficult times. We may have missed a golden opportunity to share Jesus Christ with someone. Whatever past regrets we have, we can’t do it over. There is no time machine.

Even if we could go back in time, we still might not get it right. Also, changing things in the past could have dramatic and potentially disastrous effects on the future. Seriously, we should be glad that there is no time machine. That also means we can’t see the future. What will the next year bring? Whether good or bad, we are probably better off not knowing. God is the only one outside of time who can see the future because it’s all present to Him. Being unlimited by time, God knows our past and sees our future.

Since there is no time machine and time for us moves in only one direction, we can choose to change the future. We can determine how to do things differently in the new year. Sure, we will continue to make mistakes, but that’s part of being human. The great thing is that the One who knows our past can forgive our mistakes because He entered time and did what we could not do. He took our sins on Himself so that we can look to the future with a clean slate.

Don’t beat yourself up over your past. In Christ, starting today, you have a new beginning. “As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us” (Psalms 103:12). There is no time machine, and we don’t need one.

December 30, 2024December 29, 2024

The Religion of Scientism

We get a lot of mail from skeptics and atheists who state that “religion is the opiate of the masses” and that they have no religion. Karl Marx made this statement, but it is not accurate. Britannica defines religion as “a human being’s relation to that which they regard as holy, sacred, absolute, spiritual, divine, or worthy of special reverence.” That applies to the religion of scientism, which says that science is the only source of knowledge.

Many people hold to a human system of belief. Scientist Stephen Hawking made science fit the definition of scientism. Hawking wrote that “scientists have become the bearers of the torch of discovery.” As a science teacher and a person trained in the physical sciences, I understand that science has taught us many wonderful things, but it does not have all the answers.

You can learn many wonderful things outside of what science can measure or discover. Why did the universe come into being? What is the meaning of human existence? What happens after we die? What is the basis for morality? Why is there something instead of nothing? How did gravity come into existence? These are all questions science can’t answer. John C. Lennox, in his book God and Stephen Hawking, points out that what is going on in our academic world today is not science versus religion, but rather it is theism versus atheism. Many have adopted the religion of scientism.

The dictionary defines science as knowledge. Wikipedia defines scientism as “the belief that science and the scientific method are the best or only way to render truth about the world and reality.” We can be amazed by what science can do, but science cannot answer many essential questions.

Science has given us many ways to kill one another. War has affected us all, and science offers no answer as to how to stop it. In contrast, the teachings of Jesus Christ tell us how to stop war. Read Matthew 5-7 and ask yourself what the world would be like if everyone accepted and applied those teachings. Now, consider what the world will be like if we continue to allow greed, selfishness, and political ambition to control all of humanity.

Those who reject God and Christ’s teachings will embrace some other human belief system. Will we allow atheism and the religion of scientism to govern our future, or will we accept the message of Jesus Christ?

December 20, 2024December 17, 2024

Doctrine of the Rapture

A denominational teaching that has brought significant doubt about the integrity of Christianity is the doctrine of the rapture. There are several versions of this human teaching, and with every war in Europe or the Middle East, some people claim it’s the start of the tribulation, and the rapture is coming soon. The general idea is that Jesus Christ will come again to gather a chosen few during the tribulation and then return to establish a utopian physical kingdom in Jerusalem after a war destroying all other physical political systems.

In my lifetime, I have seen a variety of rapture teachings. Some extremes have involved preachers like David Koresh and Marshall Herff Applewhite. In 1997, Applewhite told his followers that God was sending Comet Hale Bopp, and their souls would ascend to a spaceship. More rational denominational preachers have used the doctrine of the rapture to support political activity.

Rapture teaching embraces the idea that after Jesus returns and establishes a physical kingdom in Jerusalem, there will be a time of bliss for a thousand years in which many more will be saved. Some versions say that will happen secretly with those who are part of that denomination. Another version is the claim that those who have died before the second coming will be raised and given a second chance.

The word “rapture” is not found in the Bible. The second coming of Christ is not a political event, will not be centered on a physical reign in Jerusalem, and will not be secretive in any way. Revelation 1:7 says, “… every eye will see Him, even those who pierced Him, and all peoples on earth will mourn because of Him.” Second Peter 3:10-12 tells us that the physical cosmos will be dissolved. Matthew 25:31-32 tells us that everyone will be judged. Hebrews 9:27 tells us that all of us are destined to die once and then to face judgment. Regardless of what version you may be exposed to, understand that the Bible does not support the doctrine of the rapture.