Religion for the christians
(Warning: this post is going to be a long one)
I just read the Straits Times Saturday (July 16) 6 page article on "God and Us". If you haven't read it, please go and dig up those pages and read it! It is the results of a survey done on the religions and their infulance on Singaporeans. Its good not because that is written with a christian bias (it isn't, they can't anyway) but rather it makes us question why we believe in what we believe.
Every "church" of every religion is trying to keep and attract their youth and other youths. All deploy different strategies and use different baits to attract their target audience. All too serve the public. Some even show love better then christians. All love to fellowship with their fellow believers and not want to inter marry with another of the opposing religions. Everyone's display worship to their God fervently and some even far more better then that of the christians to their God. So when our evangelism, service, fellowship, worship and discipling tactics (i'm not talking about Christianity only mind you) are of same fervency. So then whats the big deal about the different religions?
I read and realised that those strong in their faith (like some of us christians) are strong because they had their own spiritual expriences. We need to know that feelings are real and therefore we cannot be too biased as to just sweep away another religion's spiritual exprience as false. They are neither false nor invaild. Feelings are real. Now since a big majority of the population believe in a God or Gods then the question brings itself to the surface and stares at us right in the face. Why Jesus? Why do I believe in my God.
We cannot sweep away the question by saying that "what makes us different is that our logic can be proven". By saying this we are not being fair because they too can use their logic to prove to you what they want to prove. Logic is a tool not the solution. Logic can be used by anyone to prove their point provided if the user is as good as the logic deployed. But then there are limits to logic. Logic cannot guarantee wisdom. It cannot prove or disprove inspiration or love. It cannot replace the intuition gained through experience, the prompting of the Holy Spirit, nor the clear truth of God's word. Above all, logic doesn't save the soul. BUT thats all besides the point. Ok sorry for the long sidetrack.
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Why I believe in Jesus
I will be citing alot of evidence and facts since truth is buried in evidence and facts. I shall let them become logic themselves.
The Bible is written by eyewitnesses of Jesus life. It is reliable, Being 99.5% textually pure in the New Testament, meaning that it is copied with great accuracy dispite its many copies and is accurate enough to be certified as a history book. They are written accounts, of Jesus' life, deeds and his power over death. And if those were not enough there are also non biblical accounts that says of Jesus as a wise man, lawful, doer of wonderful works and proof of his cruification and much more all recorded in history (not the bible).
Sometimes I really wonder, based on accuracy of scripture alone, why do people still choose not to believe the eyewitnesses? Ok maybe those are still not enough.
There are many religious books in the world that have many good things to say but only the Bible has fulfilled prophecies from the recorded past aka the old testatment scriptures. The Bible has never been wrong in the past. Fulfilled prophecy is strong evidence because when you look at the mathematical odds of prophecy being fulfilled (in this case, its alot of prophecy being fulfilled!) , you quickly see a design, a purpose, and a guiding hand behind the Bible. If just one prophecy failed, the deity of Jesus Christ would become questionable because Jesus cliamed to be the son of God and God being the creator of all things, which includes time, would not be wrong about predicting the future.
Hey, I'm not don't yet! Please read Psalm 22:12-18. This is a detailed description of the crucifixion... and it was written 1000years before Jesus was born. (I guess the concept of crucifixion hadn't even been invented yet.) On top of this there are also alot more other prophecies like his birthplace, His side pierced when still on the cross and that we is to be born of a virgin (just to cite a few). All the prophecies are from way before his time and Jesus became like what was prophesied.
It is Jesus who I look to for the validity of Christianity. If Jesus is false, then Christianity is false. If Jesus is who He claimed to be (son of God), then Christianity is the only correct religion and Jesus, the only way to reach God.
---
The subject of study for the christian should be the proper study of the God head. Its only through knowing the character of God then one can fully understand the purpose of Jesus Christ. If we do it in the reversed manner we will find our faith weak and shallow based.
Frankly speaking, although a christian I never believed in religion. Religion is based on bind following of tradition and is dead. I never believe in blind following and "empty" actions. I never endosed the mindset of doing worship. Its not in my theology that worship is in the form of any action, be it raising of hands, jumping or even singing. Nothing is worship until we understood what we are doing. My God looks at the heart, how about yours? In line with my theology stated pior, I can savely say that any action if done with reverance and tinged with awe is acceptable worship before God.
When Apostle Paul started the church he didn't meant it to be a blind following of religion but rather he meant it as a fellowship of believers. Christianity is named Christianity because the we are supposed to be a fellowship of people believing that Jesus Christ is the saviour of the world, sent by God in his display of love and grace towards our damned world.
In short, religion doesn't save you, only Jesus saves.
I just read the Straits Times Saturday (July 16) 6 page article on "God and Us". If you haven't read it, please go and dig up those pages and read it! It is the results of a survey done on the religions and their infulance on Singaporeans. Its good not because that is written with a christian bias (it isn't, they can't anyway) but rather it makes us question why we believe in what we believe.
Every "church" of every religion is trying to keep and attract their youth and other youths. All deploy different strategies and use different baits to attract their target audience. All too serve the public. Some even show love better then christians. All love to fellowship with their fellow believers and not want to inter marry with another of the opposing religions. Everyone's display worship to their God fervently and some even far more better then that of the christians to their God. So when our evangelism, service, fellowship, worship and discipling tactics (i'm not talking about Christianity only mind you) are of same fervency. So then whats the big deal about the different religions?
I read and realised that those strong in their faith (like some of us christians) are strong because they had their own spiritual expriences. We need to know that feelings are real and therefore we cannot be too biased as to just sweep away another religion's spiritual exprience as false. They are neither false nor invaild. Feelings are real. Now since a big majority of the population believe in a God or Gods then the question brings itself to the surface and stares at us right in the face. Why Jesus? Why do I believe in my God.
We cannot sweep away the question by saying that "what makes us different is that our logic can be proven". By saying this we are not being fair because they too can use their logic to prove to you what they want to prove. Logic is a tool not the solution. Logic can be used by anyone to prove their point provided if the user is as good as the logic deployed. But then there are limits to logic. Logic cannot guarantee wisdom. It cannot prove or disprove inspiration or love. It cannot replace the intuition gained through experience, the prompting of the Holy Spirit, nor the clear truth of God's word. Above all, logic doesn't save the soul. BUT thats all besides the point. Ok sorry for the long sidetrack.
---
Why I believe in Jesus
I will be citing alot of evidence and facts since truth is buried in evidence and facts. I shall let them become logic themselves.
The Bible is written by eyewitnesses of Jesus life. It is reliable, Being 99.5% textually pure in the New Testament, meaning that it is copied with great accuracy dispite its many copies and is accurate enough to be certified as a history book. They are written accounts, of Jesus' life, deeds and his power over death. And if those were not enough there are also non biblical accounts that says of Jesus as a wise man, lawful, doer of wonderful works and proof of his cruification and much more all recorded in history (not the bible).
Sometimes I really wonder, based on accuracy of scripture alone, why do people still choose not to believe the eyewitnesses? Ok maybe those are still not enough.
There are many religious books in the world that have many good things to say but only the Bible has fulfilled prophecies from the recorded past aka the old testatment scriptures. The Bible has never been wrong in the past. Fulfilled prophecy is strong evidence because when you look at the mathematical odds of prophecy being fulfilled (in this case, its alot of prophecy being fulfilled!) , you quickly see a design, a purpose, and a guiding hand behind the Bible. If just one prophecy failed, the deity of Jesus Christ would become questionable because Jesus cliamed to be the son of God and God being the creator of all things, which includes time, would not be wrong about predicting the future.
Hey, I'm not don't yet! Please read Psalm 22:12-18. This is a detailed description of the crucifixion... and it was written 1000years before Jesus was born. (I guess the concept of crucifixion hadn't even been invented yet.) On top of this there are also alot more other prophecies like his birthplace, His side pierced when still on the cross and that we is to be born of a virgin (just to cite a few). All the prophecies are from way before his time and Jesus became like what was prophesied.
It is Jesus who I look to for the validity of Christianity. If Jesus is false, then Christianity is false. If Jesus is who He claimed to be (son of God), then Christianity is the only correct religion and Jesus, the only way to reach God.
---
The subject of study for the christian should be the proper study of the God head. Its only through knowing the character of God then one can fully understand the purpose of Jesus Christ. If we do it in the reversed manner we will find our faith weak and shallow based.
Frankly speaking, although a christian I never believed in religion. Religion is based on bind following of tradition and is dead. I never believe in blind following and "empty" actions. I never endosed the mindset of doing worship. Its not in my theology that worship is in the form of any action, be it raising of hands, jumping or even singing. Nothing is worship until we understood what we are doing. My God looks at the heart, how about yours? In line with my theology stated pior, I can savely say that any action if done with reverance and tinged with awe is acceptable worship before God.
When Apostle Paul started the church he didn't meant it to be a blind following of religion but rather he meant it as a fellowship of believers. Christianity is named Christianity because the we are supposed to be a fellowship of people believing that Jesus Christ is the saviour of the world, sent by God in his display of love and grace towards our damned world.
In short, religion doesn't save you, only Jesus saves.
posted by matt at 1:12 PM
1 Comments:
why the thank you?
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