So now we come to the point of fairness. We rarely seem to debate the "only good people go" to heaven theory because that does seem fair to us. The "Jesus is the only way" belief is not quite so fair in our estimations because it seems......well.....so dogmatic. How can that be fair? On the surface it may seem unfair and Christians sometimes do feel uncomfortable saying so. It's hard to be dogmatic about anything nowadays anyway. Stanley's punchline to all this is "Christianity is...
We left off seeing there is an alternative to the "good people" only go to heaven belief. We saw, looking at the words of Christ, that it wasn't the good Pharisee who was on his way to eternal bliss but the "bad guy" receiving forgiveness from the one that calls heaven home. The story goes like this: A Jewish man who claimed to be God showed up here on earth, making absurd claims, doing what seemed to be miracles, was put to death by the Romans at the insistence of the religious estab...
Ok, so we've figured that because there is no universal agreement on right or wrong and the good people view has obstacles to clear we need to continue in our quest to figure our eternal destinies. How does this all work? Does it matter? For those not quite wanting to give up the "good people" go to heaven view let's continue there. Suppose that we do know and agree on a formula that defines unquestionably what is right and wrong. Even if we have a clear definition, how do we get grade...
If we had a roomful of people...wait we do....right here in JU. Okay right here on JU it's hard to get even two of us completely on the same page regarding what good is, forget about how we can make it to heaven. How can that be if God has given us a conscience to follow? Wouldn't he place the same things in there for us all? In Stanley's book on being good he put in a story about an anthropologist who spent time in New Guinea with a tribe that celebrated betrayal. The ability to win...
The million dollar question is How does one get to heaven? The prerequisite is death, and for that we seem to all agree. But after that let the speculation begin. For many life is much too busy to even think about this right now. I mean life is pretty full right now to even bother thinking that far ahead. Life has to be lived, jobs have to be done, kids have to be fed, my tv program has to be watched and I do have to sleep at least 1/3 of the day. There is just no time to think about ...
A friend sent me this devotion today. Thought it was worth sharing. It reminded me of what Paul said in his letter to the Romans. ...."For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through endurance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope." Rom 15:4 Strengthen the feeble hands, steady the knees that give way; say to those with fearful hearts, "Be strong, do not fear; your God will come." Isaiah 35:3-4 Someone wisely said, "God do...
One of the most frequent arguments leveled against the infallibility of the Bible is based upon the fact that the Bible was written by human authors. Human beings are fallible. Since the Bible was written by these fallible human beings, it necessarily follows that the Bible is fallible. Or so the argument goes. As Roman Catholic theologian Bruce Vawter writes, "A human literature containing no error would indeed be a contradiction in terms, since nothing is more human than to err." Alt...
There seems to be some sense of belief that the God of the OT is not the same God of the NT. Is there two different concepts of God? Does the OT present only a God of wrath, while the NT deals only with God's love and mercy absent the wrath? Well we do see OT stories of God's commanding the destruction of Sodom, the annihilation of the Canaanites, the killing of the firstborn Egyptian babies and other such stories. So the accusers claim this proves a primitive, warlike deity which tot...
There seems to be some confusion on the duties of a Pastor. Many believe the Pastor should do it all. He should visit the sick, he should visit the well, he should open his home to any that ask him too regardless of motive. He should always be the one to start every program and then run that program once it starts. He should turn out a sermon worthy of his hire, and he should always be available 24/7 because, well, that's expected. Where does this expectation come from? At our churc...
This is sort of an attachment to my last blog entry on prayer. I promised I would tell a story on an amazing experience I had and the answer I received from God as a result of my prayer. I pray alot for my children. I pray not only for their salvation, but that they would be strong men, leaders in God's army. My heart's desire is that they would love God as much as their father and I do. Two years ago come November we were having problems with one boy. He was not on the same page a...
Prayer is so undervalued and therefore unused by many. Even many Christians have a hard time taking the time and effort to pray as they ought. Prayer is an expression of faith and therefore doesn't always come easily. Sometimes we lose heart because we pray with high expectations. We assume that God will give us all we long for. When we don't receive what we expected we get discouraged and lose enthusiasm for prayer. Yet what we need to really do is trust God here. We need to wait and ...
Today the local newspaper printed an editorial response by my son David and I thought I'd share it. It was pretty good and many people around town alerted him to the fact it was in there as well as my husband while out and about. It was a response to an earlier article about evolution. Anyhow here it is. Theory of Evolution Evolution is fact? The evolution “theory” that is taught in classrooms today is nothing more then that- a theory. There are more holes in evolution then twel...
We left the Prodigal with the realization that he needs to go back to his father and make amends. So back to the village he goes. What should the father do? The father should stay in his estate and when told of his son he should not immediately go out. Let the village discipline him first. Then after a lashing and restitution made, then maybe a reconciliation but not before much time passed. Now for the most shameful act yet. This is ridiculous. The father runs and kisses the son? WHAT?...
The Prodigal is a story that is probably the most recognized of all parables that Jesus taught. Charles Dickens and Ralph Waldo Emerson both considered this the greatest short story ever written. The influence of this parable on fiction is traced back to the 16th century. Shakespeare alludes to this parable more than to any other. Many other authors and poets have, through the years, made reference to this story as well. Let’s look at it. We see it starts when a multitude of sinners...
I've read this before and just received it again. It's worth repeating and I think thought provoking. Can you imagine if we all were trying to kill each other just to get into heaven? It's quite a contrast to the words of Christ .."There is no greater Love than this one that is willing to give up his life for another." Allah or Jesus? by Rick Mathes.......... Last month I attended my annual training session that's required for maintaining my state prison security clearance. Dur...