My sources

The Holy Bible

From facts to Faith Dvd- Douglas Jacoby

The Case for the real Jesus Christ- Lee Strobel

http://www.christiancourier.com/

www.gotquestions.org

http://www.zeitgeistmovie.com

Bill Maher's "Religulous"

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Friedrich_Nietzsche

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Darwin

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sigmund_Freud

Love is the greatest risk you will ever take.

Love is a hard thing, because it makes us vulnerable. When you show love and compassion, you open yourself up to be hurt or maybe killed.

Jesus teaches to not only love our neighbors, but to love our enemies. That's not the American way of life and it's not how humanity functions. No, we're suppose to hate our enemies, and persecute those who attempt to persecute us. But this is not what Jesus teaches. His teachings are different and more profound.

"Love for Enemies

43
"You have heard that it was said, 'Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.'
44
But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,"

That is a hard teaching for me to follow, because I struggle with anger. So you mean that when a person yells at me, curses at me, or spits at me, I have to love that person? Or turn the other cheek? Well according to Jesus, yes I do!

"An Eye for an Eye

38
"You have heard that it was said, 'Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth.'
39
But I tell you, Do not resist an evil person. If someone strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also.
40
And if someone wants to sue you and take your tunic, let him have your cloak as well. 41
If someone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles. 42Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you."

This is another hard teaching that I must apply to my daily life. If the whole world just followed these two teachings, it would be an entirely different place. But we don't, so this teaching challenges us to look at ourselves and change our character. If some wants to strike, or strike me, I must turn the other cheek. Because of this teaching, Martin Luther King , Jr made a huge impact in the world. And if it were not for his stance on non-violence, I don't think racial segregation and racial discrimination would have ended as quickly. Of course, there's still racism in the world, but Martin Luther King Jr, is one of the many reasons to why the Jim Crow Laws ceased to exist.
In 1964, Martin Luther King Jr, was the youngest man to ever win the Nobel Peace Prize for his work to end racial segregation and racial discrimination through civil disobedience and other "non-violent" means. And that was because of Jesus's teachings. Martin not only listened to the word, he applied it to his life. Ghandi did the same thing, and he had an entirely different faith from my own.

"James 1:22 (New International Version)

22
Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says."

Many of Jesus's accomplishments were unheard of during his time. He healed people by touching them; he healed the sick, the blind, the deaf, and people with leprosy.

Here are some compelling, and highly impacting scriptures that show Jesus's character and how much he truly loves us!


"Mark 1:40-42

A Man With Leprosy

40
A man with leprosy came to him and begged him on his knees, "If you are willing, you can make me clean."
41
Filled with compassion, Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man. "I am willing," he said. "Be clean!" 42Immediately the leprosy left him and he was cured."


"Mark 3:1-5

1
Another time he went into the synagogue, and a man with a shriveled hand was there. 2
Some of them were looking for a reason to accuse Jesus, so they watched him closely to see if he would heal him on the Sabbath.
3
Jesus said to the man with the shriveled hand, "Stand up in front of everyone."

4
Then Jesus asked them, "Which is lawful on the Sabbath: to do good or to do evil, to save life or to kill?" But they remained silent.

5
He looked around at them in anger and, deeply distressed at their stubborn hearts, said to the man, "Stretch out your hand." He stretched it out, and his hand was completely restored."


"Mark 7:31-37

The Healing of a Deaf and Mute Man

31
Then Jesus left the vicinity of Tyre and went through Sidon, down to the Sea of Galilee and into the region of the Decapolis.
32
There some people brought to him a man who was deaf and could hardly talk, and they begged him to place his hand on the man.
33
After he took him aside, away from the crowd, Jesus put his fingers into the man's ears. Then he spit and touched the man's tongue.
34
He looked up to heaven and with a deep sigh said to him, "Ephphatha!" (which means, "Be opened!" ).
35
At this, the man's ears were opened, his tongue was loosened and he began to speak plainly.

36
Jesus commanded them not to tell anyone. But the more he did so, the more they kept talking about it.
37
People were overwhelmed with amazement. "He has done everything well," they said. "He even makes the deaf hear and the mute speak."


"Mark 8:22-26

The Healing of a Blind Man at Bethsaida

22
They came to Bethsaida, and some people brought a blind man and begged Jesus to touch him.
23
He took the blind man by the hand and led him outside the village. When he had spit on the man's eyes and put his hands on him, Jesus asked, "Do you see anything?"
24
He looked up and said, "I see people; they look like trees walking around."

25
Once more Jesus put his hands on the man's eyes. Then his eyes were opened, his sight was restored, and he saw everything clearly.
26
Jesus sent him home, saying, "Don't go into the village."


"Luke 7:36-50

Jesus Anointed by a Sinful Woman

36
Now one of the Pharisees invited Jesus to have dinner with him, so he went to the Pharisee's house and reclined at the table.
37
When a woman who had lived a sinful life in that town learned that Jesus was eating at the Pharisee's house, she brought an alabaster jar of perfume,
38
and as she stood behind him at his feet weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears. Then she wiped them with her hair, kissed them and poured perfume on them.
39
When the Pharisee who had invited him saw this, he said to himself, "If this man were a prophet, he would know who is touching him and what kind of woman she is—that she is a sinner."

40
Jesus answered him, "Simon, I have something to tell you."
"Tell me, teacher," he said.

41
"Two men owed money to a certain moneylender. One owed him five hundred denarii,[a] and the other fifty.
42
Neither of them had the money to pay him back, so he canceled the debts of both. Now which of them will love him more?"

43
Simon replied, "I suppose the one who had the bigger debt canceled."
"You have judged correctly," Jesus said.

44
Then he turned toward the woman and said to Simon, "Do you see this woman? I came into your house. You did not give me any water for my feet, but she wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair.
45
You did not give me a kiss, but this woman, from the time I entered, has not stopped kissing my feet.
46
You did not put oil on my head, but she has poured perfume on my feet.
47
Therefore, I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven—for she loved much. But he who has been forgiven little loves little."

48
Then Jesus said to her, "Your sins are forgiven."

49
The other guests began to say among themselves, "Who is this who even forgives sins?"

50
Jesus said to the woman, "Your faith has saved you; go in peace."

"Luke 8:43-48

As Jesus was on his way, the crowds almost crushed him.
43
And a woman was there who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years, but no one could heal her.
44
She came up behind him and touched the edge of his cloak, and immediately her bleeding stopped.

45
"Who touched me?" Jesus asked.
When they all denied it, Peter said, "Master, the people are crowding and pressing against you."

46
But Jesus said, "Someone touched me; I know that power has gone out from me."

47
Then the woman, seeing that she could not go unnoticed, came trembling and fell at his feet. In the presence of all the people, she told why she had touched him and how she had been instantly healed.
48
Then he said to her, "Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace."

"John 13:1-10


Jesus Washes His Disciples' Feet

1
It was just before the Passover Feast. Jesus knew that the time had come for him to leave this world and go to the Father. Having loved his own who were in the world, he now showed them the full extent of his love.
2
The evening meal was being served, and the devil had already prompted Judas Iscariot, son of Simon, to betray Jesus.
3
Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under his power, and that he had come from God and was returning to God;
4
so he got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist.
5
After that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples' feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him.

6
He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, "Lord, are you going to wash my feet?"

7
Jesus replied, "You do not realize now what I am doing, but later you will understand."

8
"No," said Peter, "you shall never wash my feet."
Jesus answered, "Unless I wash you, you have no part with me."

9
"Then, Lord," Simon Peter replied, "not just my feet but my hands and my head as well!"

10
Jesus answered, "A person who has had a bath needs only to wash his feet; his whole body is clean. And you are clean, though not every one of you."

That is extraordinary. Because Jesus was not only the Son of God, but God in the flesh. Which means that God himself came down to Earth to love us, and to serve us. He came down and washed his disciples feet. That is unheard of. He is the creator of all things, he is the king of kings. And yet, he shows his love for us, by healing us, curing our diseases, protecting us, and washing our feet. Of course I ask, why? Why would a being so powerful and so supernatural do this for a flawed person like me? He did it because he loved us, and calls upon us to do the same for one another.

Here's one last scripture, which is one of the best, and most important scriptures in the Bible.

"1 Corinthians 13:4-8

4
Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5
It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.
6
Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.
7
It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

8
Love never fails."

Most Rabbi's(if any) have never done this. To this day, they don't follow the actions of Jesus.
One of the sisters at my Church told me about the experiences she had when she visited Israel 5 years ago.
She was sitting with probably 5 or 6 other Rabbi's, and she was having a good conversation with one of them. When she had to go, she tried to shake his hand, and he said "no." She asked him why, he said, "I'm cool, but I'm not that cool." At first she thought he didn't want to shake her hand, because of her ethnicity or something she couldn't imagine. Later, she realized it was because she was a woman.

Jesus was ahead of his time, his teachings demonstrate how he showed his love towards humanity.

When I become a disciple, I must imitate Jesus Christ. I must show love towards the people who hate me, want to persecute me and disrespect me.
I must always show love and compassion to people who need it because that's what Jesus did.

Human suffering.

I want to talk about human suffering. There is the intellectual Christian evidence: Can God's existence be proven? Can one prove the existence of atheism, or the existence of science in the Bible?

Yet they're intellectual discussions, and I would like to focus more on the heart.
I want to become more personal. The era of human suffering is one that involves the heart. It is the biggest obstacle to faith. Its most present and pervasive influence makes people discount God. I would know, because it's happened to me.

I began to lose my faith, when my father chose to castigate me for wearing a cross. He asked me if I were a Christian now. MY father is an agnostic.

I almost completely lost my faith when 9/11 happened. I asked God "Why did you allow this to happen?" I asked the same question with Hurricane Katrina in 2005, and received no answer. I lost my faith completely. Suffering pain and unanswerable questions affect non-believers, and believers alike. Because we ask, "How did a loving God allow this to happen?" "How did he cause these events to occur?"

I recall the pain I felt when I saw people jumping out of the World Trade Center on 9/11. I remember the anger that I felt, when the Government didn't move fast enough to help the people stuck in New Orleans during Katrina. And I'll never forget the pain and anguish I felt when my grandmother passed away on the day before Thanksgiving, in November of 2004. You can only imagine the sorrow and emptiness that I felt during her funeral in December.

People criticize God in the Bible. People claim that God must be all powerful and good. But given all the suffering in the world, he may be all powerful, but he's not doing anything. As George Carlin once said, he probably just doesn't care. That he is simply not doing anything. Or he might be good, but he lacks the power. That he's not all omnipotent, and that he's not all powerful. Now that is a powerful objection, and it is highly understandable, when you have extremely high expectations of what you want from God.

While the world is beautiful, majestic, and fun to explore, we have to deal with the reality of it. There is suffering all over the world. There is poverty. There are genocides being committed right now, as I'm creating this book. There is famine and hunger.

People like to point the finger at God and ask, "why is this happening?" Everyone realizes that there are enough resources to meet the needs of people around the world. The resources aren't the problem, it's the distribution of our resources. Some people sin and keep other people from obtaining certain resources, meanwhile keeping the precious materials for themselves; this is sad but true reality of our time.

Crime occurs all over the world. There is crime in the streets, unexpected crime in schools and places of business.
There is pollution, and a lack of ecological concern! This is what we are doing to our selves.

There is the tragic and dismal history of slavery, which has nearly been eradicated in the world today. There has always been tremendous suffering throughout history and people ask "Where is God?"

Alcohol and drug abuse takes many lives. People smoke and they get cancer. We do this to ourselves. I don't want to point the finger, or blame anyone or anything. I just want to talk about the suffering that we put ourselves through.

Then there is War and all the suffering it entails. The escalation of unspeakable atrocities done to others with each war.
The suffering that emanates from inflexible political ideologies.
In the 20th century alone, how many people have died from starvation or have been murdered by execution because of atheistic ideologies?
And I'm talking about the larger situations, like the old Soviet Union, or Hitler's power in World War 2. Nearly 100 million people have died under atheistic ideologies, which is more then the combine deaths of all religious wars put together.

In our world, we face the horror of terrorism. There has been genocide, after genocide throughout the world. Like in Rwanda, and in many parts of Asia. In the Holocaust, over 13 million people were exterminated. Half of them were Jews, others were gypsies, the handicapped, homosexuals, and people who were deemed undesirable. Where was God?

How much suffering have I gone through, when I become deeply depressed. I suffer from a severe case of OCD, I was diagnosed with PDD as a child and Aspergers, which draws similarities to OCD, and Bi-polar disorder.

I don't blame my disorders for my having had conflicts with people, and my family, but because of my disabilities, I've had to deal with suffering and conflict..

My mother has gone through a lot of physical and emotional pain, because of our family history. We had to move from San Antonio to New York City, because she felt that her life was being threatened by my father, when he hit her on her right arm. I wasn't there when it happened, but she told me about the incident. She called the police , and basically had him kicked out of our house.

I was over at a friends house playing X-Box when all of this was happening, and my friends family made sure that I wouldn't leave and go to my house and confront my father for what he did to my mother.

I've come to realize that maybe that's what my dad wanted me to do, so that I would be in jail. There have been times when I feel that he blames us for his girlfriend dumping him, and wanted to take his anger out on both of us. Where was God, when all this chaos was happening?

When people ask these questions, they're not looking for the answer. They are not looking for the "answer man." They are looking more for empathy, grace, and insight. And I can't give anybody a satisfying answer, just a perspective from the Bible.

The beginning of this answer is that God allows us to have free will, that's a part of humanity. If a person was preprogrammed to love me, and show affection towards me, that would not be love or affection. I don't know what that would be.

But because of free will, love means so much more, yet free will can be risky, because it can be abused.

Some of the Angels abused free will, and they fell from Heaven. Adam and Eve had free will and paradise, but they abused it, and caused the original sin to occur. I guess what I'm saying is that free will can be dangerous, even though it is apart of humanity.

Pain isn't a bad thing; it's good to feel pain. People pray to be "free from pain," but that's not the spirit of Christ. Jesus suffered, and went through pain that we'll never fully comprehend to be a ransom for us. My being a Christian, means that I have to suffer and go through pain as Jesus promised in the scriptures.

Luke 9:23 says,

"23
Then he said to them all: "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me."

Whatever pain, and suffering we are dealing with, that is the cross that we have to carry. The things that we struggle with in life, is the cross that we must always carry.

Colossians 1:29 says,

"29
To this end I labor, struggling with all his energy, which so powerfully works in me."

Suffering is apart of being a Christian. We've not only been granted to worship him, but to suffer for him as well.

John 16:19-24 says,

"19
Jesus saw that they wanted to ask him about this, so he said to them, "Are you asking one another what I meant when I said, 'In a little while you will see me no more, and then after a little while you will see me'?
20
I tell you the truth, you will weep and mourn while the world rejoices. You will grieve, but your grief will turn to joy.
21
A woman giving birth to a child has pain because her time has come; but when her baby is born she forgets the anguish because of her joy that a child is born into the world.
22
So with you: Now is your time of grief, but I will see you again and you will rejoice, and no one will take away your joy.
23
In that day you will no longer ask me anything. I tell you the truth, my Father will give you whatever you ask in my name.
24
Until now you have not asked for anything in my name. Ask and you will receive, and your joy will be complete."

Pain is always a great thing to have, because we learn from it. We grow from it, and if we persevere through it, we become even better and wiser as individuals. When you put your hand in a fire, it hurts, and it hurts so that you won't do it again. Pain enables us to stop doing hurtful things to others, because if you treat others badly, it ruins friendships and relationships.

If you've been hurt in a relationship or friendship, that pain reminds you to never go through that again.
Therefore, work must hard on finding a better friendship, or a better relationship. Pain is our reality. But pain is one of the greatest gifts that God has ever given us.

Pain also helps us to form bonds with others, and to help other people. Pain enables us to care for others, to shine, and relate to one another. We all respect those who have overcome their pain, risen up, and not have become embittered, but instead have been transformed by pain.

Romans 5:1-5 says,

"Peace and Joy

1
Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,
2
through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God.
3
Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance;
4
perseverance, character; and character, hope.
5
And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us."

Through pain, character is built. And with a hopeful attitude, that scripture doesn't disappoint.

Even death itself is a gift from God, because that is an end to suffering. And according to my faith, when we die, we meet our maker. When we die(believers and atheists), we will see God. So even death is a gift, that makes us appreciate life.

There are no easy answers. Formerly people thought that Christianity offered easy answers, and an escape from pain. But if that were true, more people would be flocking to it. But no, authentic Christianity is not an escape from pain. Christians need to be more honest about the reality of following Christ, and that it can be very painful at times. Because Satan will constantly attack us with myriad temptations and struggles.

Some Christians like to say "just pray about it." Well, while prayer does help, giving that advice is not empathy. Some say that it's better this way, or that it's because of our sinful nature. Those are cheap answers, and they don't help anybody. Some Christians will say that God only protects true believers. That isn't true.
A Christian might say that God blesses people who do good, and punishes those who do wrong. Well people who do wrong, seem to be blessed by God, and aren't suffering that much; While people who do good, constantly suffer daily.

There are hard realities in this world. Sin is a hard reality. There are laws in this world, moral laws, and the laws of gravity. A person can be dishonest with himself and jump off a cliff and say "I don't care." Well that doesn't matter, because you will either hurt yourself, or die. Dishonesty will create separation, i.e.cheating on your spouse. That is God's moral law, and a contract in America. Dishonesty destroys relationships, and friendships in any culture and generation. Dishonesty is wrong, and that's an absolute law.

These are hard realities, and there are no really good answers, but pain is still a blessing. Even things that one might consider to be curse, can also also be a blessing. I consider Earthquakes to be a bad thing, but according to scientists, without Earth Quakes, there would be no life on Earth. Storms frighten me sometimes, but without storms, there would be no life on Earth.

People also seem to blame God, while ignoring the fact that they probably caused their own suffering. Like the fact that alot of people live right next to Volcanoes, and then blame God for the Volcano erupting and destroying their homes. So then they'll probably blame God, and forget the fact that they were dumb enough to build their houses right next to Volcanoes.

There is also purpose in suffering. Romans 8:28 says,
"28
And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose."

So good comes out of evil. Good comes out of evil? Of course. The crucifixion of Jesus Christ was an evil act, but it lead to our redemption, our rescue, and ransom. Through Jesus's suffering, he took on the burden of our sins, in order for us to have a personal and loving relationship with God. He died, to save us, and then he conquered death by being resurrected. After all of that suffering, good prevailed. So good does come from suffering.

From a Biblical perspective, there are no easy answers. There are answers, but not cheap answers. And it is not wrong to question. Even the prophets and the people written in the Bible constantly questioned God.

Look at Habakkuk 1: 2-4. It says,
"2
How long, O LORD, must I call for help,
but you do not listen?
Or cry out to you, "Violence!"
but you do not save?
3
Why do you make me look at injustice?
Why do you tolerate wrong?
Destruction and violence are before me;
there is strife, and conflict abounds.
4
Therefore the law is paralyzed,
and justice never prevails.
The wicked hem in the righteous,
so that justice is perverted."

Habakkuk sounds very disturbed, and wonders why all of this destruction is happening.

Jeremiah's complaint in chapter 12:1-17 says,
"1
You are always righteous, O LORD,
when I bring a case before you.
Yet I would speak with you about your justice:
Why does the way of the wicked prosper?
Why do all the faithless live at ease?
2
You have planted them, and they have taken root;
they grow and bear fruit.
You are always on their lips
but far from their hearts.
3
Yet you know me, O LORD;
you see me and test my thoughts about you.
Drag them off like sheep to be butchered!
Set them apart for the day of slaughter!
4
How long will the land lie parched
and the grass in every field be withered?
Because those who live in it are wicked,
the animals and birds have perished.
Moreover, the people are saying,
"He will not see what happens to us."

I've probably thought that. Why do people who deny God, or do bad things seem to prosper, while believers who attempt to do God's work, always suffer for it? I constantly ask myself that question, and then I tell myself to trust in him and stay focused on what I must do as a Christian. If a Christian has never wondered about this, I don't think they've been honest about their feelings or thoughts.

Psalm 73 says,

"A psalm of Asaph.

1
Surely God is good to Israel,
to those who are pure in heart.
2
But as for me, my feet had almost slipped;
I had nearly lost my foothold.

3
For I envied the arrogant
when I saw the prosperity of the wicked.

4
They have no struggles;
their bodies are healthy and strong. [a]

5
They are free from the burdens common to man;
they are not plagued by human ills.

6
Therefore pride is their necklace;
they clothe themselves with violence.

7
From their callous hearts comes iniquity [b] ;
the evil conceits of their minds know no limits.

8
They scoff, and speak with malice;
in their arrogance they threaten oppression.

9
Their mouths lay claim to heaven,
and their tongues take possession of the earth.

10
Therefore their people turn to them
and drink up waters in abundance.

11
They say, "How can God know?
Does the Most High have knowledge?"

12
This is what the wicked are like—
always carefree, they increase in wealth.

13
Surely in vain have I kept my heart pure;
in vain have I washed my hands in innocence.

14
All day long I have been plagued;
I have been punished every morning.

15
If I had said, "I will speak thus,"
I would have betrayed your children.

16
When I tried to understand all this,
it was oppressive to me

17
till I entered the sanctuary of God;
then I understood their final destiny.

18
Surely you place them on slippery ground;
you cast them down to ruin.

19
How suddenly are they destroyed,
completely swept away by terrors!

20
As a dream when one awakes,
so when you arise, O Lord,
you will despise them as fantasies.

21
When my heart was grieved
and my spirit embittered,

22
I was senseless and ignorant;
I was a brute beast before you.

23
Yet I am always with you;
you hold me by my right hand.

24
You guide me with your counsel,
and afterward you will take me into glory.

25
Whom have I in heaven but you?
And earth has nothing I desire besides you.

26
My flesh and my heart may fail,
but God is the strength of my heart
and my portion forever.

27
Those who are far from you will perish;
you destroy all who are unfaithful to you.

28
But as for me, it is good to be near God.
I have made the Sovereign LORD my refuge;
I will tell of all your deeds."

This psalm talks about why the world is so attractive, and the temptation of living a sinful life. He felt like giving up at one point. But he finally understood, buy being in the light of eternity.

Abraham, who was the father of the faithful, had a problem with God. And this was long before the birth of Jesus Christ. Read Genesis 18:25. And Abraham basically bargains with God, in Genesis 18. Here's what it says.

"1
The LORD appeared to Abraham near the great trees of Mamre while he was sitting at the entrance to his tent in the heat of the day.
2
Abraham looked up and saw three men standing nearby. When he saw them, he hurried from the entrance of his tent to meet them and bowed low to the ground.
3
He said, "If I have found favor in your eyes, my lord, do not pass your servant by. 4
Let a little water be brought, and then you may all wash your feet and rest under this tree.
5
Let me get you something to eat, so you can be refreshed and then go on your way—now that you have come to your servant."
"Very well," they answered, "do as you say."
6
So Abraham hurried into the tent to Sarah. "Quick," he said, "get three seahs of fine flour and knead it and bake some bread."
7
Then he ran to the herd and selected a choice, tender calf and gave it to a servant, who hurried to prepare it. 8 He then brought some curds and milk and the calf that had been prepared, and set these before them. While they ate, he stood near them under a tree.
9
"Where is your wife Sarah?" they asked him.
"There, in the tent," he said.
10
Then the LORD said, "I will surely return to you about this time next year, and Sarah your wife will have a son."
Now Sarah was listening at the entrance to the tent, which was behind him.
11
Abraham and Sarah were already old and well advanced in years, and Sarah was past the age of childbearing.
12
So Sarah laughed to herself as she thought, "After I am worn out and my master is old, will I now have this pleasure?"
13
Then the LORD said to Abraham, "Why did Sarah laugh and say, 'Will I really have a child, now that I am old?'
14
Is anything too hard for the LORD ? I will return to you at the appointed time next year and Sarah will have a son."
15
Sarah was afraid, so she lied and said, "I did not laugh."
But he said, "Yes, you did laugh."

Abraham Pleads for Sodom.

"16
When the men got up to leave, they looked down toward Sodom, and Abraham walked along with them to see them on their way.
17
Then the LORD said, "Shall I hide from Abraham what I am about to do?
18
Abraham will surely become a great and powerful nation, and all nations on earth will be blessed through him.
19
For I have chosen him, so that he will direct his children and his household after him to keep the way of the LORD by doing what is right and just, so that the LORD will bring about for Abraham what he has promised him."
20
Then the LORD said, "The outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is so great and their sin so grievous
21
that I will go down and see if what they have done is as bad as the outcry that has reached me. If not, I will know.
22
The men turned away and went toward Sodom, but Abraham remained standing before the LORD.
23
Then Abraham approached him and said: "Will you sweep away the righteous with the wicked?
24
What if there are fifty righteous people in the city? Will you really sweep it away and not spare the place for the sake of the fifty righteous people in it?
25
Far be it from you to do such a thing—to kill the righteous with the wicked, treating the righteous and the wicked alike. Far be it from you! Will not the Judge of all the earth do right?"
26
The LORD said, "If I find fifty righteous people in the city of Sodom, I will spare the whole place for their sake."
27
Then Abraham spoke up again: "Now that I have been so bold as to speak to the Lord, though I am nothing but dust and ashes,
28
what if the number of the righteous is five less than fifty? Will you destroy the whole city because of five people?"
"If I find forty-five there," he said, "I will not destroy it."
29
Once again he spoke to him, "What if only forty are found there?"
He said, "For the sake of forty, I will not do it."
30
Then he said, "May the Lord not be angry, but let me speak. What if only thirty can be found there?"
He answered, "I will not do it if I find thirty there."
31
Abraham said, "Now that I have been so bold as to speak to the Lord, what if only twenty can be found there?"
He said, "For the sake of twenty, I will not destroy it."
32
Then he said, "May the Lord not be angry, but let me speak just once more. What if only ten can be found there?"
He answered, "For the sake of ten, I will not destroy it."
33
When the LORD had finished speaking with Abraham, he left, and Abraham returned home."

Abraham was real, he had a problem, and he was very honest with God.

Many Christians, and most none-believers have problems with God's justice, and what is said in the Bible. I'm troubled that only a few will get into Heaven. But if we don't talk about them, or be genuine and authentic about our issues, I don't think it will help us spiritually. If we talk about them and study them accurately, then it will definitely help us spiritually.

I think the Book of Job is the classic story of suffering in the Bible. Sadly, I haven't read the entire book yet, but it's definitely a story to read and understand. Did the story really happen? Maybe. But anybody who has ever suffered or gone through any type of pain, can relate to Job and understand what that story really means.

But I will mention that God does not tell Job why he was suffering. I've had to learn to not ask so many questions to God, and learn to trust him, and leave it in his hands. Because living a life of ambiguity with God, is not always healthy. It's great to ask questions, but it's better to just let things go, to get out of God's way, and allow him to do his work, and follow him.

Another Biblical perspective is Jesus Christ dying for us. And that God relates to our suffering.

Hebrews 2:18,
"18
Because he himself suffered when he was tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted."

Hebrews 4:15,
"15
For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet was without sin."

Acts 2:23,
"23
This man was handed over to you by God's set purpose and foreknowledge; and you, with the help of wicked men, put him to death by nailing him to the cross."

Acts 2:36,
36
"Therefore let all Israel be assured of this: God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ."

2 Corinthians 5:17-19 says,
"17
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! 18All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: 19that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men's sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation."

In the cross, God reaches us, to hold us, to embrace us, and help us deal with the emotional pain. We must understand the crucial role of the cross, the cross in which relates to our suffering and pain.

As we learn to imitate Christ, we must take responsibility. We must actively do something to help others, and to help the world. This can be done, by being open, honest, and sharing our pain with others.

I pray that this part of my book reaches out to you, and opens up your heart. God bless you all, and let's attempt to obey Jesus's greatest commandment. Which is to "love one another."

Why atheism doesn't work.

Atheism has no moral compass. A lot of atheists live by their own morality, or their own logic. And their morals shift like the wind, or remain unchanged until a new morality pops up.

But what is their foundation? What makes them different from other groups? Nothing. Atheists share the same flaws and problems of most Christians. If God isn't their foundation, then what is their morality?

Does morality come and go? Or do people base their moral perspectives, on their instincts? Personally, I don't think people would know that it's wrong to kill, if a powerful force like God hadn't write it down. When God is in the picture as our teacher, we start to correct our behavior.

If two guys get into an argument, and see a group of police officers, they might have more control over their emotions and not allow their shouting match to escalate into something worse. But if the cops are not seen a fight may occur.

I can safely say that I would be more out of control and have less self control without God in my life. In middle school, I would get into fights, and make sure that the teachers wouldn't catch me. Because if they did, I would get in trouble. If I saw a teacher, I would stop fighting and act normal.

But the point is that with an authoritative figure around, people act more civilized. And that's why humanity needs God. America would not have turned out to be such a great country, without a Christian world view. Sure, some of the founding fathers were non believers, but they saw the value in the moral teachings of Jesus Christ. So the Bible was their foundation.

When I tried to be an atheist, I failed miserably. Because I still believed in fate and destiny, and it just didn't feel right. As an atheist, you have to deny the very thing that makes you human. It's in our nature to worship and idolize people and materialistic things.

If you're not worshiping God, you will worship something else, art, a statue, or an object. Before God came into my life, I was worshiping movies, women, comic-books, and anime. So no matter what we do, humanity will worship something. It's just a natural thing that people do.

Which means that atheism attempts to be anti-human. And when atheists become corrupt, they go to the extreme. Like Stalin, Adolf Hitler, Mao, Pol Pot, Marquis de Sade, and Madalyn Murray O'Hair. When you ignore an authoritative figure like God, you tend to have less self control.

When a dictator with atheistic ideologies is in charge, he will usually make people worship him and the people who work under his regime. So when God isn't being worshiped, people start worshiping themselves. That's logical, and it is exactly what happens.

Now an atheist who seeks love and truth, will find it. That atheist will turn out to be a good person, because they're seeking the right things in life. A Christian who seeks the opposite of love and truth, is not a good Christian.

A good Christian seeks love and truth, and follows Jesus Christ. When an atheist attempts to ignore the morality in the Bible, they're ignoring the truth. And when they ignore the truth that God gives us, they'll simply follow their own truth, and their own morality, or the morality of the society that they live in.

If a society tells an atheist to rape someone, will they do it? Probably, since they don't follow the morality in the Bible, and might end up following the morality of their society.

Over the past 2,000 years, morality has changed and shifted in different cultures, because a lot of morality is simply man made, and doesn't have a real foundation.
But God's morality, in the New Testament, has remained the same over the past 2,000 years. The Old Testament has remained the same as well, with the New Testament as the addition.

Since Christians aren't bound to the Old Testament anymore, the New Testament is the true morality, because it comes from God himself. Any other morality in the last 2,000 years is not real morality, since it is most likely man-made.

Modern atheists don't seem to have real convictions either. Guys like Richard Dawkins and Christopher Hitchens go on to bash religion(especially Christianity), and then almost acknowledge that there might be some kind of higher power. They don't directly say it, but they come around to the idea.

I admire the convictions of Frederick Nietzsche, because he claimed that "God is dead", and we killed him. I disagree with that, because of my faith and the evidence that supports the existence of God and Jesus's resurrection. Nietzsche not only denied the scriptures in the New Testament, but acknowledge them at the same time. Because technically, he would be correct, if God is truly dead. Since Jesus was both the son of God and God in the flesh, then if Jesus wasn't resurrected, then we basically killed God. Luckily, the evidence supports the existence of God.

Either way, atheism literally means the "one who says there is no God, or there are no gods." So if an atheist wants to live by that statement, then they should own up to it. Instead of losing their convictions, and admit that there might be a "force."

Which is what Bill Maher had to admit on his show "Real Time With Bill Maher." So modern atheists don't seem to have strong convictions.

I'm not saying that we Christians don't struggle, but a great Christian must always stick to their convictions.

When you don't have God in your life, you're lost. When you do follow God and his Word, you're on the right path to truth and love. When I look at the so-called founders of modern atheism, they had real problems. Not just with their faith, but with their entire out-look on life. Their names are Darwin, Frederick Nietzsche, and Sigmund Freud. Now atheism has been around for thousands of years, but modern atheism seems to be influenced by these three men.

Atheism is not a positive position, since it's an anti position. How can an atheist know that there is no God? The Universe is enormous, so how can an atheist know that God doesn't exist? He or she would have to travel around the Universe, in order to know that. They would need to have a complete knowledge of the cosmos to know if God exists, or not. In other words, atheists would have to be the very thing that their denying exists. And since atheists are human, they don't have that type of knowledge so this position self destructs.

Atheism has a materialistic philosophy, that only grasps part of reality. An atheist might say, "Well to each his(or her) own. If you have faith, then it's true for you, but not true for me." Well guess what, faith does not create truth. Faith apprehends truth, and truth comes before faith. And faith is actually a response to truth. In fact, it's really defined as a response to evidence, and that's just one component of faith. Just because an atheist doesn't believe, doesn't mean there can't be a God. Because truth does not exist only in the head, it isn't subjective, it has an objective component.

Another problem with atheism, is that man is not created to be an atheist. People are religious creatures. If people don't have God as the center of their life, something else will be there. It might be sports, people, money, art, a country, drugs, sex, or alcohol. Whatever gives you a sense of meaning, whatever is most important, that center is your God. So you don't have to believe in God, in order to have a God. Which means that everybody has a God. Humanity seems to be hard wired to worship or idolize something.

Forget the fact that atheism simply doesn't work. I haven't met anybody who says, "Thank goodness for atheism." Nobody really claims that their lives were terrible, until they met some atheists, and now their lives are complete. I haven't heard anybody give credit to atheism for improving their marriage, their lives, or their health. People give credit to God for having wonderful changes. It is God who gets the credit, for making marriages improve, or having somebody give up drinking and smoking. So atheism doesn't work.

Now I want to discuss three of the most influential men for modern atheism, which are Charles Darwin, Frederick Nietzsche, and Sigmund Freud. Charles Darwin lived from 1809 to 1882. He was British, a naturalist, and an exponent of evolutionary theory. Nietzsche lived from 1844 to 1900, he was a German. Freud lived from 1856 to 1939, and worked in Austria.

Now Darwin was a genius. I haven't read the "Origin of Species", but I've read Darwin's theory on evolution and his life story, and it's amazing. What's interesting about Darwin, is that when he knew that his argument was weak, he admitted it.

His life was very interesting. His family were liberal Christians and atheists, with a history of insanity. Darwin seemed to worry that he would lose his sanity. He didn't remember much about his mother, and his father was enormous. He was 6.2 and weighed 345 pounds. He was a strict disciplinarian and authoritative figure.

Darwin goes to medical school and then theology school. He becomes a ship's naturalist. What's interesting is when he would set out on the Beagle in 1831, his health would improve. But when he came home, his health would decline. Psychosomatic illnesses and depression would resume when he came home in 1836. Many books have diagnosed him as having unresolved feelings with his father which effected his psychosomatically. When he was away, his health was good. When he came back, it was poor. There is something to that.

Darwin had a negative experience with Christianity. When he was on the Beagle, Captain Fitzroy firmly believed in slavery, and he would used the Bible to justify it. That definitely effected Darwin's attitude towards Christianity.

According to my research, when Darwin wrote "Origins", he seemed to have been a believer. But by the time he wrote "The Descent of Man" in 1871, he had become an unbeliever. The amazing thing is that his wife was always a believer, and Darwin continued to give to Christian missionary efforts until he died. He was a complex figure.

The theory of evolution, which is organic matter giving rise to life, is an ancient concept. There were Greeks 2000 years before Darwin, who were teaching that. Darwin admitted that his theology was not coherent, the universe didn't seem to come by chance, yet he didn't see the evidence of a design. He said that were was no design, and everything in nature is a result of fixed laws. Fixed laws?

Now imagine you living in a house, and somebody claims that there is no design in a house. It's just a result of fixed laws That person is able to explain how a house was built, and doesn't need a creator. Everything obeys the laws of physics and chemistry. Well what's the difference between design and fixed laws. They sound very similar to me.

People can see that Darwin contradicted himself, when he stated that there is no design, but there are fixed laws. When we have fixed laws, there is the strong suggestion of a design, and a designer. The fact that there is creation, means that there is a creator.

Darwin was very influential, maybe the most influential scientist of the 19th century. Influential in the biological sciences, and evolution spread to other sciences as well. He's influenced 20th century philosophers, and social sciences, including religion.

Darwin was one of the major prophets of atheism and his influence for atheism was probably more indirect, then intentional or direct. But as we're all aware, Darwinism and modern evolutionary theory has been wrapped up with the atheism or theism debate.

The next prophet that I'm gonna talk about is Frederick Nietzsche. He lived from 1844 to 1900. He was an ingenious philosopher and writer. If you haven't read his books, I recommend "Will To Power", and "Beyond Good and Evil." I warn all Christians who are brave enough to read his books, to please read them with a guarded heart. Nietzsche was not a friend to Christianity.

He's the one who famously said, "God is dead." He said in 1879, "Promise me that when I die, only my friends shall stand my side, and no inquisitive crowd. See that no priest or anyone else under false hoods at my grave site when I can no longer protect myself. And let me descend into my tomb, as an honest pagan."

Nietzsche was very consistent with his atheism. He didn't contradict himself, nor were his beliefs open for interpretations. He was a man of conviction. Darwin continued to support Christian missions, and his wife was very devout. Nietzsche was different.

He was born in 1844, his father and both his grandfathers were clergy men. His father suffered from mental illness and died in 1848, when Nietzsche was four. Nietzsche is then brought up in an all female household, he was left without a male role model. Obviously, boys can be brought up with sisters and mothers, and turn out fine. But sometimes, it can deeply effect the identity and the sexuality of that boy. Nietzsche had a homosexual background, he had strong feelings towards the musician Wagner, who refused his advances. Nietzsche advocated a homosexual life, but he seemed to have a chaste life.

If he was involved sexually, it was at a minimal level. He probably died of syphilis, but that's not certain. Like Darwin, he was sent to theology school and left in 1865. After he began to write, he entered a state of insanity. That happened from 1889 until his death in 1900. During that time, he wrote one of his most famous works called the "Antichrist," one of the most well written anti-Christian books I have ever read.

Nietzsche said "God is dead." What did he mean? Was God alive, and then he died? What Nietzsche was saying is God is dead in society. God doesn't function in society anymore. And if God is dead, that means there is no father figure, or ultimate authority figure. There is no absolute morality.

This is the true significance of Nietzsche. But if God is dead, somebody has to take his place. As I mentioned, we are religious creatures. There is a hole that has to be filled by something. And if God is dead, then there is no morality, which leads to some dark places. So there must be a God.

Nietzsche made a couple predictions of the 20th century. He predicted it would be the bloodiest century ever, and a pall of insanity would fall upon the human race. I guess these predictions came true.

Nietzsche was no friend to Christianity, his personal motto was, "Be hard, live dangerously." Who did Nietzsche inspire? He inspired, Idi Admin, Daniel Ortega, Fidel Castro, and Adolf Hitler.

Like Nietzsche and Darwin, Hitler had a bad experience with his father. He counted that he received 230 strokes from his father, while his mother stood powerless not interfering. In 1923, Hitler was investigating, thinking of selective breeding ideas and considered Africans to be half-apes. Nietzsche was Hitler's favorite philosopher, and he even gave a copy of one of Nietzsche's books to Mussolini.

Hitler needed a figure like Nietzsche to justify his ideas. Nietzsche was consistent, and he was insane. Was he go insane because of his ideas? I think so. But could he live with his ideas? Like with many intellectuals, they practice one thing, but it is not what they preach. Beware of people who don't follow their own advice. There are a couple scriptures on this. Like Matthew 23:3, and Matthew 7:20.

Nietzsche is arguably the most influential atheist of our time. Without God, what morality is there? Nietzsche might have deeply disturbed the Church.

A large portion of the American population claims to be saved, but only a small percent accept a Biblical world view. Like Jesus being divine, the Bible is the standard, there is a Heaven and a Hell, adultery is a sin, follow the ten commandments. In the religious world, morality has declined dramatically.

The third and last atheist is Sigmund Freud, who lived from 1856 to 1939. He was a brilliant man, a neurologist. He also hated his father. You start to see the theme emerging here. Most peoples' concept of God, is of the concept of their own father. And if that person feels hurt or abandoned by their father, it effects their concept of God. This isn't just true for men, but for women as well. It is definitely true for me, since the troubled relationship I had with my father, effected how I viewed God.

It wasn't just the tragedies that hurt my relationship with God, it was also the strife that I had with my father. Because of my father, I couldn't trust men. I'm a man, so I couldn't really trust myself, which meant that I was unable to trust Jesus and God. It took me awhile to realize that, and a little longer to trust Jesus and his father again.

Freud had obsessive dreams. He repeatedly dreamed that he would kill his father, in order to sleep with his mother. It's been said that he projected these obsessions onto the rest of mankind, without statistical evidence.

Freud felt that if man was freed of religion, he would have a better chance to live a better and more wholesome life. He considered the Roman Catholic Church to be his enemy. Freud died as the Nazis were coming to power. He considered religion to be a neurosis, and that the spiritual world was just a perception.

Freud was an addict of strong drugs, and a heavy smoker up to 20 cigars a day. Sadly, he devolped Cancer of the mouth, and he was deeply depressed, just like Darwian. Nietzsche was insane during the last 11 or 12 years of his life. Can these men live with their own system? That is the real question.

When you look at these three men, they have a couple things in common. A poor father relationship, depression, and inability to live within their own value system.

Atheism appeals to selfish human nature. When I tried to be a non-believer, it was out of selfish reasons. I wanted to live as I pleased not according to what God wanted from me, but what I wanted for my self. I had no order, or self control.

If we believe that there is a God, and an accountability to how we live, we live our lives differently. We live a moral way. If we didn't believe in God and felt that there is no accountability, we would live differently. So of course atheism appeals to selfish human nature.

In the end, God must exist. Without him(or her), the world would be in chaos. With his(or her) existence, the world will keep itself together.

All things are meaningless

Meaning, meaningless! After reading Ecclesiastes, I realized that all things are meaningless compared to God. Food is meaningless, drink is meaningless, this book is meaning, even life is meaningless.

Some might call this an evil sentiment. But these people don't understand the power of God. If God is the alpha and omega, and is everlasting, then everything else is meaningless. The only thing that matters in this world, is family. First is God, then family.

And by family, I don't just mean your blood family. I mean the church family. A church is the body, with many parts. A good church must always be united on one thing, and that is Jesus Christ. Any other focus, will destroy a Church. Because people are weak and sinful. So Jesus must be the focus.

Love is meaningless. At least the love between people, which must pale in comparison for our love towards God. We must love God, love ourselves, and then love people as much as we love ourselves.

Opinions are also meaningless, since they change and shift like the wind. Subjective perceptions could be dangerous, since it makes a church unstable. Christians can differ on some things, can even disagree on some scriptures that are hard to understand. But Christians must be united one thing, that Jesus is lord and the Bible is the word of God.

A Christian who disagrees that the Bible is the word of God, might be an unstable person. Their probably double minded, and their convictions are weak.

Philosophy is definitely meaningless compared to God. Because philosophy is a messy foundation, that contradicts itself. Philosophy overly complicates opinions, concepts, and a persons perception of life. People will ask, "Why are we here?" Well I know why we are here. To serve and love God. Jesus's greatest was for us to love one another. If we obey that command, then we love Jesus and his father.

Science is meaningless. Some scientific discoveries are based on facts, since the evidence is overwhelming. But the theories change from time to time. Like evolution, it is an absolute fact. The theory is the process on how it happens. And what does science have to do with somebody's salvation? Nothing. Science is great, but it won't last forever, while God is everlasting.

Art is meaningless. A new medium pops up every 100 years. Art changes, and persons opinion on great changes from time to time. I love cinema, but the opinions that I have on certain films, might be different in the next 5 or 10 years. Paintings become tedious, and great literature also differs from person to person. When the world or humanity comes to an end, art will vanish forever. And God will still exist.

Happiness is meaningless, since it last forever. A person is happy one minute, and then depressed the next. Emotions are meaningless in general. People usually can't make a reasonable decision, when emotions get involved. Following your heart is not always an intelligent thing to do. It is meaningless.

Religion is also meaningless compared to God. Did God start a religion. Maybe, maybe not. Jesus didn't come to Earth to start a religion, he came to save our souls. So even Christianity, the religion of peace and reason, is meaningless compared to God.

But while everything is meaningless, life is still important. Life can be joyful, and we must live to serve God and humanity. A good Christian shows love towards God, by obeying his commandments. Family is important, and working is important. But compared to God, everything will simply come and go. People come and go, jobs come and go, and materialistic things come and go. While God lasts forever.

The Problem with Denominations

Since I've started on my walk with God, I've learned so much about the different denominations of Christianity. I figured that since I'm becoming a Christian, I should know what I'm getting myself into. Luckily for me, my Church is non-denominational and we follow what the scriptures say.
I'm not saying that makes my Church perfect, because it's gone through some dark times as well. But we don't try not to mistranslate what the scriptures say, we don't attempt to interpret them differently from what the scriptures actually say, or pick out whatever makes us feel good. We follow the Word of God, and put it into practice.

What's interesting to me, are the thousands of different denominations that I've either been told about, or read about. According to Wikipedia, there are over 38,000 Christian denominations. And I'm willing to bet that only a couple of them actually follow what the scriptures say.

Example: Some Evangelist Churches can be pretty lazy when it comes to certain scriptures, like Baptism. Some Churches don't feel that Baptism is all that important, and that you only need to have faith in Jesus Christ to get into Heaven. While other Churches feel that you should be Baptized as an infant, even though that type of Baptism isn't supported by scripture at all. Other Churches believe that you can Baptize yourself, but that's not what is said in the scriptures. While faith is absolutely required for Baptism, faith is not the only thing that makes a disciple of Jesus Christ. You have to be Baptized, to wash away your sins, and be united with God. And Christ calls upon us to imitate him, so we must be baptized, since HE was baptized. So why do some denominations ignore the importance of Baptism? Baptism is basically our marriage to God.


While I appreciate the Catholic Church, and many of the great things that it has done for the world, and I rejoice at the fact that they spread the Gospel, however, has become a church system that attempts to control and abuse people.

Priests in the past, would read the hold the singular Bible in their hands and preach the Word in Latin not English, which can be a dangerous thing, since they would be the only ones utilizing the Bible to teach the people.

They also threatened and attempted to kill anyone who tried to translate the Bible into English. It's easy to control people, when you're the only one preaching the Word, and no one else has the word in their hands to read along during that time.

And I don't believe Jesus would even approve today's Catholic Church, since Jesus was basically homeless and he did not like organized religion.

Christ didn't come down to Earth to start a religion, he came to save our souls. According to the Gospels, Jesus was not a founder of a religion. His teachings were completed and written before Christianity was ever coined. The Bible was written, and completed before Christianity was ever created. In the NIV translation, Christianity is only mentioned one time!

Mormonism is not Christianity. They believe in a false Jesus. They believe that Jesus is the brother of Satan. Mormonism claims that Jesus came from planet Kolob. Mormonism teaches that we can become Gods, have our own planets and have polygamous sex for eternity.
In the 1950's, Mormons preached that the only way a black man could get into Heaven, was as a slave.

Mormons also claimed that Native Americans are the lost tribe of Israel. Joseph Smith was basically a con man and is the founder of this religion. Brigham Young stated that race mixing should be punishable by death and that any White Mormon who mixes with a Black person must have their head cut off.
Mormonism is not Christianity!

There are denominations that misinterpret the Bible and use it against people. There are ministries who claim that "God hates fags", when the Bible clearly states that God loves everybody. God doesn't hate anybody, because God is love, God is grace, and God is compassionate. But because of people's sinful nature, we like to twist and turn what the scriptures say, and use them to hurt other people. This may be a reason why Christianity is losing it's numbers, because many people have been hurt by different denominations, who stopped focusing on Christ and started focusing on themselves: Jesus Christ should always be the head of the Church.

If Christ isn't the main focus, the Church will fall apart. When he's not the main focus, the Bible isn't the standard anymore. Jesus Christ must always be the main focus, and the Holy Bible should always be the standard for every Church.

Growing In Grace International Ministry,is run by a man, José Luis de Jesús Miranda, who claims to be the reincarnation of Jesus Christ. His ministry has over 100,000 followers, and his members bear the mark of the beast, which is 666. Sounds more like the anti-Christ to me! Don't believe me? Look him up.

Luckily, Jesus Christ, warns us about false prophets.

In Luke 7:15, it says, "Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves."

Jesus says this again in Matthew 24:11, "and many false prophets will appear and deceive many people."

2 Peter 2:1-22 completely talks about false teachers and their destruction. It says, "
1
But there were also false prophets among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you. They will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the sovereign Lord who bought them—bringing swift destruction on themselves.
2
Many will follow their shameful ways and will bring the way of truth into disrepute. 3
In their greed these teachers will exploit you with stories they have made up. Their condemnation has long been hanging over them, and their destruction has not been sleeping.
4
For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but sent them to hell, putting them into gloomy dungeons to be held for judgment;
5
if he did not spare the ancient world when he brought the flood on its ungodly people, but protected Noah, a preacher of righteousness, and seven others;
6
if he condemned the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah by burning them to ashes, and made them an example of what is going to happen to the ungodly;
7
and if he rescued Lot, a righteous man, who was distressed by the filthy lives of lawless men
8
(for that righteous man, living among them day after day, was tormented in his righteous soul by the lawless deeds he saw and heard)—
9
if this is so, then the Lord knows how to rescue godly men from trials and to hold the unrighteous for the day of judgment, while continuing their punishment.
10
This is especially true of those who follow the corrupt desire of the sinful nature and despise authority.

Bold and arrogant, these men are not afraid to slander celestial beings;
11
yet even angels, although they are stronger and more powerful, do not bring slanderous accusations against such beings in the presence of the Lord.
12
But these men blaspheme in matters they do not understand. They are like brute beasts, creatures of instinct, born only to be caught and destroyed, and like beasts they too will perish.

13
They will be paid back with harm for the harm they have done. Their idea of pleasure is to carouse in broad daylight. They are blots and blemishes, reveling in their pleasures while they feast with you.
14
With eyes full of adultery, they never stop sinning; they seduce the unstable; they are experts in greed—an accursed brood!
15
They have left the straight way and wandered off to follow the way of Balaam son of Beor, who loved the wages of wickedness.
16
But he was rebuked for his wrongdoing by a donkey—a beast without speech—who spoke with a man's voice and restrained the prophet's madness.

17
These men are springs without water and mists driven by a storm. Blackest darkness is reserved for them.
18
For they mouth empty, boastful words and, by appealing to the lustful desires of sinful human nature, they entice people who are just escaping from those who live in error.
19
They promise them freedom, while they themselves are slaves of depravity—for a man is a slave to whatever has mastered him.
20
If they have escaped the corruption of the world by knowing our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and are again entangled in it and overcome, they are worse off at the end than they were at the beginning.
21
It would have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than to have known it and then to turn their backs on the sacred command that was passed on to them.
22
Of them the proverbs are true: "A dog returns to its vomit,"and, "A sow that is washed goes back to her wallowing in the mud."

If any person claims to be God, or related to Jesus Christ in any way, they are lying. When Jesus comes back, we will know it because he'll return in a way that is described and written in the scriptures.

Another denomination that contradicts scripture, are Jehovah Witnesses. They constantly try to predict when the world will come to an end, and when the Day of Judgement will arrive. Well guess what, nobody knows when the Day of Judgement will come. I think the Bible states that anyone who tries to predict when the father will come, is a false prophet, or just creating false prophecy. Let's look at what Jesus says about the Day of Judgement.

"The Day and Hour Unknown" is in Matthew 24:36-51. It says,
36
"No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.
37
As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man.
38
For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark;
39
and they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them all away. That is how it will be at the coming of the Son of Man.
40
Two men will be in the field; one will be taken and the other left.
41
Two women will be grinding with a hand mill; one will be taken and the other left.
42
"Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come.
43
But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what time of night the thief was coming, he would have kept watch and would not have let his house be broken into.
44
So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him.

45
"Who then is the faithful and wise servant, whom the master has put in charge of the servants in his household to give them their food at the proper time?
46
It will be good for that servant whose master finds him doing so when he returns.
47
I tell you the truth, he will put him in charge of all his possessions.
48
But suppose that servant is wicked and says to himself, 'My master is staying away a long time,'
49
and he then begins to beat his fellow servants and to eat and drink with drunkards. 50
The master of that servant will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he is not aware of. 51He will cut him to pieces and assign him a place with the hypocrites, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth."

So according to the Son of God, it is unknown when that day will come. He is the Son of God, and even he states that only the father knows when that day will come.

Below are more scriptures to validate this fact.

In Luke 17:20-24, it says,
"20
Once, having been asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, Jesus replied, "The kingdom of God does not come with your careful observation,
21
nor will people say, 'Here it is,' or 'There it is,' because the kingdom of God is within you."
22
Then he said to his disciples, "The time is coming when you will long to see one of the days of the Son of Man, but you will not see it.
23
Men will tell you, 'There he is!' or 'Here he is!' Do not go running off after them. 24
For the Son of Man in his day will be like the lightning, which flashes and lights up the sky from one end to the other."

So no ordinary man can predict when the Kingdom will come; only God knows when it will arrive.

Jesus says this again in Luke 21: 8-9!
"8
He replied: "Watch out that you are not deceived. For many will come in my name, claiming, 'I am he,' and, 'The time is near.' Do not follow them.
9
When you hear of wars and revolutions, do not be frightened. These things must happen first, but the end will not come right away."

Now let's take a look at Mark 13:1-7. It says, "1As he was leaving the temple, one of his disciples said to him, "Look, Teacher! What massive stones! What magnificent buildings!"
2
"Do you see all these great buildings?" replied Jesus. "Not one stone here will be left on another; every one will be thrown down."

3
As Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives opposite the temple, Peter, James, John and Andrew asked him privately,
4
"Tell us, when will these things happen? And what will be the sign that they are all about to be fulfilled?"

5
Jesus said to them: "Watch out that no one deceives you.
6
Many will come in my name, claiming, 'I am he,' and will deceive many.
7
When you hear of wars and rumors of wars, do not be alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come."

Once again, only Jesus knows when the time will come, therefore pay no attention to false prophets, and false prophecy.

And finally, Mark 13:32-37 says,
"
32"No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.
33
Be on guard! Be alert! You do not know when that time will come.
34
It's like a man going away: He leaves his house and puts his servants in charge, each with his assigned task, and tells the one at the door to keep watch.
35
"Therefore keep watch because you do not know when the owner of the house will come back—whether in the evening, or at midnight, or when the rooster crows, or at dawn. 36
If he comes suddenly, do not let him find you sleeping.
37
What I say to you, I say to everyone: 'Watch!' "

So if Jesus didn't know, then we definitely don't know when the Day of Judgement will come. So will the world end in December of 2012? I hope not, because I still want to write a couple more books, become a director or a screenwriter, and I want to get married and probably start a family. But according to scripture, it most likely will not come to an end in 2012. Because the world will not end, according our own predictions. Something might happen in 2012, but not what some people want to believe. If Jesus is the Son of God, and he didn't know, then we don't know, because we're not God.

And in the end, who cares? The fact that denominations like Jehovah Witnesses spend time trying to predict when the world will end, means that they missed the point of Jesus's sacrifice. Christians spend alot of time waiting for the world to end, when they should be serving people, helping people, and doing what Christ commanded us to do, which is to love one another. That was his greatest commandment. He said, "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind! The second is, "You shall love your neighbor as yourself!

Here's one last scripture to supports what's been written here.

1 Thessalonians 5:1-28 says,
"1
Now, brothers, about times and dates we do not need to write to you,
2
for you know very well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. 3
While people are saying, "Peace and safety," destruction will come on them suddenly, as labor pains on a pregnant woman, and they will not escape.

4
But you, brothers, are not in darkness so that this day should surprise you like a thief.
5
You are all sons of the light and sons of the day. We do not belong to the night or to the darkness.
6
So then, let us not be like others, who are asleep, but let us be alert and self-controlled.
7
For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk, get drunk at night.
8
But since we belong to the day, let us be self-controlled, putting on faith and love as a breastplate, and the hope of salvation as a helmet.
9
For God did not appoint us to suffer wrath but to receive salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ.
10
He died for us so that, whether we are awake or asleep, we may live together with him.
11
Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing."

Final Instructions.

"12
Now we ask you, brothers, to respect those who work hard among you, who are over you in the Lord and who admonish you.
13
Hold them in the highest regard in love because of their work. Live in peace with each other.
14
And we urge you, brothers, warn those who are idle, encourage the timid, help the weak, be patient with everyone.
15
Make sure that nobody pays back wrong for wrong, but always try to be kind to each other and to everyone else.
16
Be joyful always;
17
pray continually;
18
give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.

19
Do not put out the Spirit's fire;
20
do not treat prophecies with contempt.
21
Test everything. Hold on to the good.
22
Avoid every kind of evil.

23
May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
24
The one who calls you is faithful and he will do it.

25
Brothers, pray for us.
26
Greet all the brothers with a holy kiss.
27
I charge you before the Lord to have this letter read to all the brothers.

28
The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you."


So my message to everybody is this. Don't follow people, and don't follow yourself. Follow Jesus Christ. Because he is the Way, the Truth, and the Life.

Religion vs. Spirituality!

Part 4


Since I started studying the Bible back in January of this year, my faith in God has grown tremendously. During that time, I was a man who was trying to believe, but now I completely believe in God, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit. My new-found faith started around late December, after hearing a wonderful message at my Church. The story was about two men who had faith in God. One of them believed every word in the Bible, while the other doubted everything. One of the men asked the other, "Why do you believe, if you doubt everything?" And the other man replied, "I believe, because something had to have happened 2,000 years ago!

I'm not sure if that's how the whole story goes, but I'm just giving you the gist of it. The man who doubted, couldn't deny the fact that God came down from heaven as Jesus Christ(his son), and changed the course of human history. Jesus changed everything, and his impact will probably be felt throughout the world..........until he comes back. So when I heard that story, I realized that I could try to believe in God again, and that it's okay to question things.

Before I started working on becoming a Christian again, I was an agnostic. I didn't believe in God, but I couldn't deny the fact that he(or she) had to exist. It was difficult to believe in God, because I couldn't stop doubting and questioning things. Luckily, God made me realized what he had in store for me, and blessed my spirit to study and know the truth.

When I first started studying, my heart was very guarded. I just couldn't understand the truth, nor accept it. I had to look inside of myself, and realize that the things I love about the world, were basically poison for my soul and keeping me separate from God. I had to apply God's word to my life, which is easier said than done. There are things that you simply don't want to eliminate from your life to follow Jesus Christ. You have to leave the world and whatever you find pleasure within it, and follow God.

So what's the difference between being religious and spiritual? Religiosity is the thing that killed Jesus, not spirituality. Let's look at some scriptures. In James 1: 22-24, "Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like a man who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away immediately forgets what he looks like."

To me, this scripture says that you should not only listen to the word of God, but apply it to your life. Anybody can be religious about anything, like drugs, alcohol, sex, technology, movies, television, and reading. This can also include reading the Bible and going to Church every week, but not doing what God says. Can you apply his teachings to your life? Can you truly love somebody, be patient with people, be kind, compassionate, and gracious towards all people?
If you're a Christian who does none of these things, then you're not applying the Bible to your life. When you apply it to your life, that is when you become a true disciple, and a spiritual person to God's eyes.

Let's look at another scripture. In 1 Samuel 16: 7, 'But the Lord said to Samuel, "Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The Lord does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart."

To me, this tells me that God only pays attention to the heart of man. We can fool other people, but we can't fool God, because he can see what is in our heart. And if we're talking about the Word and not applying it to our lives, then our hearts are not aimed towards God. We can hide that from people, but not from God.

Here is another scripture. Deuteronomy 8: 5, "Know then in your heart that as a man disciplines his son, so the Lord your God disciplines you."

As disciples, we must have discipline. How do we get discipline from God? By reading his word and applying it. If we don't apply it, then we're not disciplined and basically doing whatever we want. We can't do that, because we'll get lost in the forest. By applying Gods word, we stay disciplined and become spiritual.

One last scripture. In Galations 5: 22-25, "But the fruit of the spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self control. Against such things, there is no law. Those who belong in Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with it's passions and desires. Since we live by the spirit, let us keep in step with the spirit."

We must always keep in step with the spirit. And in order to do that, we must apply the teachings of Jesus Christ to our life. By following his word, we become Christ like. And what is God's character?

1) God is love.
2) God is compassionate.
3) God is forgiving.
4) God is gracious.

God is many other great things, but these are basically the basics of who he is and why we must apply his word to our daily lives. We must read and study the scriptures everyday, pray on a daily basis, find a great Church, go to Bible talks, pray with other disciples, and fellowship with other disciples.

This is the difference between being religious and spiritual. When you put the word of God into practice and actually do what it says, you become a truly spiritual person. As Jesus Christ says in John 3: 21, "But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what he has done has been done through God."

We as Christians, need to focus more on being spiritual, instead of trying to be religious.

The absolute Truth: Part 3

The writings within the Bible, especially the New Testament, date back to 45 AD. That's 15 years after the death of Jesus Christ. Some Theologians and Biblical scholars state that the writings go back to 35 AD, or 34 AD.
That's not enough time to create a mythology.

Mythology usually takes 200 or 300 years to create, based on a historical figures similar to Alexander or Achilles: Five to Fifteen years is too short a time to form a mythology. The New Testament is written three generations after the death of Jesus Christ. And the oldest fragments that have been discovered of the New Testament, date back to 110 AD.

Now some say that the writings date back to the second century. Which I strongly dispute. But even if that were the case, in terms of ancient evidences, writings less than 200 years after the events take place are considered reliable sources.

The vast majority of scholars(Christian and non-Christian) will grant that the Epistles of Paul(at least some of them) were written by Paul over 40 years after the death of Jesus Christ. So in terms of ancient manuscript evidence, there is nothing that compares to the Bible.

Therefore, The New Testament is either the quickest mythology ever written, or it's the real thing. Personally, I think it's the real thing. The New Testament has been verified as an historical document, and 99% of it has been accurately transmitted. That's extraordinary for a 2,000 year old message! If people attempt to destroy every known copy of the Bible, Christians from around the world could recreate the Bible with the quotations alone. And there are probably over 86,000 different quotations in the Bible.

Another reason that I trust and love God's word, is due to the supernatural effect that it has on people. It has changed many lives, including my own. When I read a scripture on anger, I become better at controlling my temper and more loving. The Bible can make a person feel more content, and peaceful in their daily lives. And contrary to what a lot of atheists like to believe, the Bible does give you a sense of morality. It teaches you the difference between what is right and wrong.

It can make you a more loving, kind, and honorable person. But how many Christians really do follow the Bible? Who knows? There are over 3 billion Christians in the world, and I think only 3% follow the New Testament faithfully. Many Christians are hypocrites, and a lot of them try to use God's word to hurt other people. This is a sad truth that I've discovered since becoming a Christian again.

If you're a Christian who truly follows the New Testament, you're life will most likely become a more fulfilling, because the foundation is based on good morality and positive thought. Their fulfilled life is proof shown in the actions of Christians who truly follow God's Word.

Christianity can be proven by genuine historical fact, not just the New Testament, but outside sources as well, especially when it comes to proving there existed a Jesus Christ.

People tend to ask, "Who was the real Jesus?" Well, he's in the New Testament. It's authentic and it's canon, which means that the only real biography that we have on Jesus is in the Bible. And since the New Testament is shown to be an historical document, then it is historical proof of Jesus's existence. But if that's not enough, then there are historians during that time who wrote about Jesus.

The first-century Roman Tacitus, who is considered one of the more accurate historians of the ancient world, mentioned superstitious "Christians", who suffered Pontius Pilate during the reign of Tiberius. Suetonius, who was the chief secretary to Emperor Hadrian, wrote that there was man named Chrestus. Chrestus is Latin for Christ.

Flavius Josephus is one of the most famous Jewish historian. In his Antiquities he refers to James, “the brother of Jesus, who was called Christ.” There is a controversial verse (18:3) that says, “Now there was about this time Jesus, a wise man, if it be lawful to call him a man. For he was one who wrought surprising feats....He was [the] Christ...he appeared to them alive again the third day, as the divine prophets had foretold these and ten thousand other wonderful things concerning him.”

One version reads, “At this time there was a wise man named Jesus. His conduct was good and [he] was known to be virtuous. And many people from among the Jews and the other nations became his disciples. Pilate condemned him to be crucified and to die. But those who became his disciples did not abandon his discipleship. They reported that he had appeared to them three days after his crucifixion, and that he was alive; accordingly he was perhaps the Messiah, concerning whom the prophets have recounted wonders.” This was written in the year 93, and that's in the same century as Jesus's death.

Julius Africanus quotes the historian Thallus in a discussion of the darkness that followed the crucifixion of Jesus Christ.

Mara Bar-Serapion confirms that Jesus was considered to be a wise and virtuous man, was considered by many to be the king of Israel, was put to death by the Jews, and lived on in the teachings of his followers.

And there are many other historical accounts of Jesus Christ, Pliny the Younger, and The Babylonian Talmud. In fact, if we try to reconstruct the gospel from none-Christian sources: Jesus was called the Christ, did "magic", led Israel into new teachings, and hanged on passover for them in Judea, but claimed to be God and would return, which his followers believed, worshiping him as God.

There is overwhelming historical evidence for Jesus Christ. Both in secular and Biblical history. And in the end, the greatest evidence for the existence of Christ is the fact that thousands of Christians in the first century AD, including the twelve disciples, were willing to give their lives as martyrs for Jesus Christ.

The twelve disciples saw the resurrected Christ, and eleven of them were executed for what they saw. 500 people saw the resurrected Christ, they gave eye witness testimony, and probably most of them were executed for spreading the Word. People will die for what they believe to be true, but nobody will die for what they know to be a lie.
So since Jesus's followers died for what they saw, that means it really did happen.

In this modern age, it takes just as much faith to not believe in God, than to believe in God. But once you know the truth, everything becomes clear.
Because Jesus is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. Jesus said that, and he says in John 8:32, "32Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free."

The absolute Truth: Part 2

Egyptian Gods?

People claim that Jesus is a myth, and that his story was borrowed from other Egyptian god's from past religions. The Zeitgeist documentary made this bold claim, and Bill Maher even mentioned this in his movie "Religulous." The problem is that these people either don't examine their claims well, or they believe whatever they are told and decide to make their beliefs fact. They mention the Egyptian god's called Horus, Mithras, Kirshna.

The Zeitgeist Movie makes these claims about the Egyptian God Horus.

He was born on December 25th of a virgin - Isis Mary
A star in the East proclaimed his arrival
Three kings came to adore the new-born “savior”
He became a child prodigy teacher at age 12
At age 30 he was “baptized” and began a “ministry”
Horus had twelve “disciples”
Horus was betrayed
He was crucified
He was buried for three days
He was resurrected after three days

However, when you examine the writings on Horus, this is what really follows:

Horus was born to Isis; there is no mention in history of her being called “Mary.” Moreover, Mary is the anglicized form of her real name ‘Miryam’ or Miriam. “Mary” was not even used in the original texts of Scripture.

Isis was not a virgin; she was the widow of Osiris and conceived Horus with Osiris.
Horus was born during month of Khoiak (Oct/Nov), not December 25. Further, there is no mention in the Bible as to Christ’s actual birth date.

There is no record of three kings visiting Horus at his birth. The Bible never states the actual number of magi that came to see Christ.
Horus is not a “savior” in any shape or form; he did not die for anyone.
There are no accounts of Horus being a teacher at the age of 12.
Horus was not “baptized.” The only account of Horus that involves water is one story where Horus is torn to pieces, with Isis requesting the crocodile god to fish him out of the water he was placed into.
Horus did not have a “ministry.”
Horus did not have 12 disciples. According to the Horus's accounts, Horus had four semi-gods that were followers and some indications of 16 human followers and an unknown number of blacksmiths that went into battle with him.
There is no account of Horus being betrayed by a friend.

Horus did not die by crucifixion. There are various accounts of Horus’s death, but none of them involve crucifixion.

There is no account of Horus being buried for three days.
Horus was not resurrected. There is no account of Horus coming out of the grave with the body he went in with. Some accounts have Horus/Osiris being brought back to life by Isis and going to be the lord of the underworld.

So when you compare Horus and Jesus, they bear almost no resemblance at all.

Another Egyptian god that Jesus is compared to, is Mithras. But what does history say about Mithras?

He was born out of a solid rock and not from any woman.
He battled first with the sun and then a primeval bull, thought to be the first act of creation. Mithras killed the bull, which then became the ground of life for the human race.
Mithras's birth was celebrated on December 25, along with Winter solstice.
There is no mention of him as being a great teacher.
There is no mention of Mithras having 12 disciples. The idea that Mithras had 12 disciples may have come from a mural in which Mithras is surrounded by twelve signs of the Zodiac.
Mithras had no bodily resurrection. The myth is told that Mithras completed his earthly mission then was taken to paradise in a chariot, alive and well.

The early Christian writer Tertullian did write about Mithras's believers re-enacting resurrection scenes, but he wrote about this occurring well after New Testament times, so if any copycatting was done, it was the cult of Mithras copying from Christianity.

More examples can be given with Kirshna, Attis, and Dionysus. Luckily, the result is the same. There are numerous versions of Kirshna's story, and nothing consistent like the story of Jesus. Dionysus is a god of chaos, and indulgence. He also influenced Nietzsche's writings

In the end, the historical Jesus portrayed in the Bible is unique. And the claims by the Zeitgeist Movie and Bill Maher are baseless claims.


References:
www.gotquestions.org
http://www.zeitgeistmovie.com
Bill Maher's "Religulous"

The Truth

The absolute Truth

Part 1



Pontius Pilate once asked, "What is truth?"


Do you know what's funny? The truth was standing right in front of him.

And to this day, people still ask that question. Some people find truth with their emotions, some find truth with their own subjective opinion, some find truth with themselves, and others think that there is no truth. But if there is no such thing as absolute truth, then that's statement isn't true either. Which means that there has to be some truth. That statement contradicts itself.

Truth isn't subjective. The fact is that the Earth is round, and that Rome wasn't built in a day. That is a fact, which means that it is based on absolute truth. Peoples emotional states fluctuate, and are as unpredictable as the weather. Peoples subjective opinions change like the seasons. So in the end, not all truths are equal, not all roads lead to Heaven, and not all opinions are equally valid.

Take this into consideration. If God exists, then that means he created the Galaxies, the Universe, the Planets, the Sun, nature, animals, and humanity. There is a design behind everything. There is a design behind how the Universe operates, how the Earth operates, and even our bodies have a design to them. So based on the design of everything in this world, there has to be a designer. That's just basic logic.

But if all of this is true, and he(or she) decided to give us a Holy Book like the Bible that tells us how to live our lives, then we must follow it. Jesus Christ was not only the Son of God, but God in the flesh. Which means that God basically came down from Heaven in human form, to sacrifice his life for our salvation. Jesus says that he is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. That's a powerful statement, and it is supported by scripture.

Let's go to the book of Genesis. It says, "In the beginning God created the Heavens and the Earth."

Now in Genesis 1: 26, it says "Let us make man in our image."

Who is us? Who is God talking about? If it's not the Angels, then it must be something else. Now let's go to the book of John.

In John 1:1-3, it says, "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it.

There came a man who was sent from God; his name was John. He came as a witness to testify concerning that light, so that through him all men might believe. He himself was not the light; he came only as a witness to the light. The true light that gives light to every man was coming into the world.

10He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him. 11He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. 12Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God— 13children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband's will, but born of God.

14The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth."

Jesus never said that he was God, but he did claim that both he and the father are one(John 10:30).

Let's go back to Exodus. God spoke to Moses through a burning bush and said, "I AM WHO I AM." And in John 8:58, he says, "I tell you the truth, before Abraham was born, I am!" Jesus basically claims what his father said to Moses. Which means that Jesus is not only the Son, but that he is Lord.

There are many other scriptures that support this fact, but I need to get to my point. The point is that the Bible is created, written, and told by God himself. Which means that it is the absolute truth, and the standard that humanity has to live by.