One of Christianity’s most unpopular doctrines is its belief in sin. If only we could do without believing in sin, then it wouldn’t be so hard for people to accept us.
This is because, lets face it, no-one likes to be thought of as a rotten lousy sinner. I’m sure even Hitler would have objected if he had been called one. It’s not in our nature to allow people to think badly of us, even if we are plainly bad!
Because of this, in fact, many people have snubbed the idea of sin, claiming instead that human nature is inherently good. Given the right social factors, upbringing, and conditioning, they argue, people will choose the right path, and the world will become a utopian (perfect) society.
This belief has gradually been introduced more and more into society as it becomes less popular to believe in sin. To this end, the education system and laws (among other things) are adapting methods to produce these ‘right social factors, upbringing, and conditioning.’ People are told that sin does not exist, and this leads people to the eventual assumption that they have no real choice in life. If they have done wrong, then it is obviously not their fault, but rather the result of wrong social factors, upbringing, or conditioning. A thief is a thief because his father ignored him, or his family taught him to steal… he never really had a chance. A murderer is a murderer because of similar things. We shouldn’t condemn these people for doing wrong, we should pity them because of their bad upbringing.
Because these beliefs undermine an individual’s choice in life (well, you couldn’t help it), over time they erode the very concept of right and wrong. We now see things such as homosexuality, abortion, and adultery becoming more and more acceptable in society, not because they are necessarily seen as right choices, but because the ones who act them out “never had a choice in the matter”. The idea that a person is responsible for their own actions is an idea fast becoming extinct.
Another problem with the theory of human goodness is the next logical step in progressing it. If humans will inherently choose good when given the right environment, then it makes sense to try and produce that environment. But how is that possible?
People such as Hitler, Stalin, and Mao all took this idea to the logical conclusion: if the right factors are to be produced, then the wrong factors must be eliminated. Anyone who does not agree with the social conditions necessary is obviously unable to be a part of such a society. To this end, if we truly believe in the inherent goodness of mankind, then we should praise Hitler and his counterparts as trailblazers, for trying their best to produce a perfect world for our descendants.
Its strange how the belief in inherent goodness produces such evil when left to its own end.
Its almost as if human nature was bent towards evil…
Thursday, January 27, 2005
Tuesday, January 25, 2005
Science and Religion - Mortal enemies, or a Lover’s tiff?
In school, I loved science. I wasn’t necessarily hugely good at it, but I still enjoyed it none-the-less. The most frustrating part for a Christian, of course, is having to sit through classes which deny the existence of God, and try to use science to back up their claims.
Evolution for example. Aaagh! Don’t get me started on evolution. “In the beginning was the nothing, and the nothing was with gas, and the nothing was gas. Through nothing, all things were made, and without it nothing was made that was made….”
It bugs me. Not because they teach things that a) they can’t prove and b) don’t really seem feasible, but that they teach them as facts, and never allow for the possibility of c) God (maybe I’ll do a bigger blog on it at some stage).
The biggest problem is that science and religion are seen as being at war with each other. Most secular scientists believe that, the public believes that, and even some Christians believe that. We need to understand as Christians that that is not true!
Indeed, the church and science were synonymous for a thousand years or so. Before Christians came along, the Greek philosophy was that everything had been around forever, and with no change, or that everything had come from a soupy-type mess, that had been around forever with no change.
Sounds familiar?
When Christians came along, and began looking into creation, that is when science challenged those ideas, and began to understand the scientific laws around us. Of course, as I mentioned in my last post, having Christianity as the prevailing culture did have its disadvantages, and over time some ‘Christians’ in authority began to become so stubborn in their beliefs that they refused to allow science to advance, and science broke away.
This is a real pity, because science and religion work well together, and without God, science reverted back to the whole ‘constant universe’ or ‘constant soup’ argument, up until it was shown that the universe must have had a finite beginning.
Now see, if religion and science were still hand in hand at the discovery of a finite beginning, everyone would be happy that they had proved that God must exist, and we could have carried on investigating how, and why, and looked at scientific laws to back it up.
Unfortunately, because science and religion have had their fall-out, science is left trying to explain how something can come out of nothing for no reason and create everything in an amazing way that works so well that it would appear to have been designed if not for the fact that design would mean a creator, and as that would be ‘religion’ we couldn’t allow that! As Charles Colson and Nancy Pearcey explain in ‘How now shall we live?’:
Naturalistic scientists try to give the impression that they are fair-minded and objective, implying that religious people are subjective and biased in favor of their personal beliefs. But this is a ruse, for naturalism is as much a philosophy, a worldview, a personal belief system as any religion is (page 52).
Indeed, the main religious idea of Naturalistic scientists tend to be that their God is ‘No God’, and they worship that idea, and defend its existence against all odds.
The moment a Christian questions evolution, he or she is labeled a backwoods Bible-thumper, an ignorant reactionary who is trying to halt the progress of science… their imaginations are peopled with blustery, ignorant Christians going toe-to-toe with intelligent, educated, urbane defenders of Darwin… Our first task, then, before we can even expect to be heard, is to shatter that grid, to break that stereotype. We must convince people that the debate is not about the Bible versus science. The debate is about pursuing an unbiased examination of the scientific facts and following those facts wherever they may lead (page 54).
Christians and science should not be divided; they should be reunited. There are many areas of science that, when looked into unbiasedly show signs of a Creator behind them. Lets work at fixing the rift between them, and go back to having 'a nice happy family'.
We should not oppose science with religion; we should oppose bad science with better science (page 61).
Evolution for example. Aaagh! Don’t get me started on evolution. “In the beginning was the nothing, and the nothing was with gas, and the nothing was gas. Through nothing, all things were made, and without it nothing was made that was made….”
It bugs me. Not because they teach things that a) they can’t prove and b) don’t really seem feasible, but that they teach them as facts, and never allow for the possibility of c) God (maybe I’ll do a bigger blog on it at some stage).
The biggest problem is that science and religion are seen as being at war with each other. Most secular scientists believe that, the public believes that, and even some Christians believe that. We need to understand as Christians that that is not true!
Indeed, the church and science were synonymous for a thousand years or so. Before Christians came along, the Greek philosophy was that everything had been around forever, and with no change, or that everything had come from a soupy-type mess, that had been around forever with no change.
Sounds familiar?
When Christians came along, and began looking into creation, that is when science challenged those ideas, and began to understand the scientific laws around us. Of course, as I mentioned in my last post, having Christianity as the prevailing culture did have its disadvantages, and over time some ‘Christians’ in authority began to become so stubborn in their beliefs that they refused to allow science to advance, and science broke away.
This is a real pity, because science and religion work well together, and without God, science reverted back to the whole ‘constant universe’ or ‘constant soup’ argument, up until it was shown that the universe must have had a finite beginning.
Now see, if religion and science were still hand in hand at the discovery of a finite beginning, everyone would be happy that they had proved that God must exist, and we could have carried on investigating how, and why, and looked at scientific laws to back it up.
Unfortunately, because science and religion have had their fall-out, science is left trying to explain how something can come out of nothing for no reason and create everything in an amazing way that works so well that it would appear to have been designed if not for the fact that design would mean a creator, and as that would be ‘religion’ we couldn’t allow that! As Charles Colson and Nancy Pearcey explain in ‘How now shall we live?’:
Naturalistic scientists try to give the impression that they are fair-minded and objective, implying that religious people are subjective and biased in favor of their personal beliefs. But this is a ruse, for naturalism is as much a philosophy, a worldview, a personal belief system as any religion is (page 52).
Indeed, the main religious idea of Naturalistic scientists tend to be that their God is ‘No God’, and they worship that idea, and defend its existence against all odds.
The moment a Christian questions evolution, he or she is labeled a backwoods Bible-thumper, an ignorant reactionary who is trying to halt the progress of science… their imaginations are peopled with blustery, ignorant Christians going toe-to-toe with intelligent, educated, urbane defenders of Darwin… Our first task, then, before we can even expect to be heard, is to shatter that grid, to break that stereotype. We must convince people that the debate is not about the Bible versus science. The debate is about pursuing an unbiased examination of the scientific facts and following those facts wherever they may lead (page 54).
Christians and science should not be divided; they should be reunited. There are many areas of science that, when looked into unbiasedly show signs of a Creator behind them. Lets work at fixing the rift between them, and go back to having 'a nice happy family'.
We should not oppose science with religion; we should oppose bad science with better science (page 61).
Monday, January 24, 2005
History, Culture, Media, and Unfair Generalizations about the Effects of Christianity
The sad thing about Christianity is the amount of bad publicity it gets, and the really sad thing is that most of its bad publicity is due to Christians themselves. I know people who have been put off Christianity altogether simply because of the example (or lack thereof) of Christianity given to them by ‘Christians’ that they know.
The crusades for example. If ever there was a good idea, it was the crusades. What does the bible say about those that don’t believe in God? It says to be a witness to them, showing them how to live, and showing them the love that God has for them. And what better way to do that than by slaughtering them in their thousands!
(In case you didn’t pick up on it, I don’t actually think the crusades were a good idea. Just making sure you didn’t think I was serious there).
The real tragedy is that Christianity failed to learn anything from this. Look at other such instances, such as the Spanish Inquisition (no-one expects the Spanish Inquisition), Northern Ireland, and the Reformation. These ones are possibly even more tragic than the crusades, as they show Christians fighting and killing Christians!
And yet they fail to learn.
Forgive me for commenting on history when I probably have no right to, but I think the major problems that Christianity faced began when, in 324 AD, Emperor Constantine became the sole Roman Emperor, after becoming a nominal Christian and bringing an end to religious persecution. It may sound weird to think of the end of persecution as being a negative thing, but listen to this explanation:
…as Christianity went from being persecuted to being fashionable, a trend was begun that still poses a challenge to believers today: cultural Christianity…. To become a Christian was suddenly an easy decision; there was no longer heartrending dedication required - it was just a matter of being born into the right culture or hanging out with the right crowd. Christianity became an institution depending more on correct ritual, tradition, and memorization than heartfelt dedication to God. Christianity was melded with Roman culture to the point that they were indistinguishable, and the church lapsed from commitment to complacency. (Jesus Freaks Volume 2, by dc Talk, pages 229,230)
Christianity is not a matter of being born into the right culture, no matter what people may tell you. The problem happens when people think that it is. People can do evil things in the name of Christianity, without even fully understanding what Christianity is, and give Christianity a bad name.
Look at Islam. In most of the Islamic countries around the world, western culture is seen as Christian culture - the two are ‘indistinguishable.’ Then, when western tv programmes, which show increasingly lax morals, are broadcast into their nations, they come to believe that Christians themselves think and act that way. Because of the spiritual decay of our western nations, Muslims see Christianity as empty, superficial, and spiritually decayed as well.
And then there are the scandals that receive increasingly more media coverage, where priests, who have taken vows of chastity (I don’t believe these should be enforced so much, Paul talks about marrying to avoid giving into your lusts, and when priests are forced not to, then over time they give in. If you choose to take a vow of chastity, that’s different) have been found to be abusing children, etc. People look at those cases, and judge the entire idea of Christianity on them. The millions of true-believing priests, who are committed to God and have served him faithfully in the community, are seen as hypocrites and liars because of the few priests who weren’t so sincere and did the wrong thing. Its tragic.
People judge Christianity off the negatives, without stopping to look at the positives. Instead of looking into Christianity’s claims, and understanding what it teaches, and whether or not its true, they judge it before they even get the chance.
That’s just sad.
If you are not a Christian, I challenge you to find a committed Christian, and talk to them about what they believe and why.
Jesus works in the lives on individuals, so look to those individuals to see his works.
The crusades for example. If ever there was a good idea, it was the crusades. What does the bible say about those that don’t believe in God? It says to be a witness to them, showing them how to live, and showing them the love that God has for them. And what better way to do that than by slaughtering them in their thousands!
(In case you didn’t pick up on it, I don’t actually think the crusades were a good idea. Just making sure you didn’t think I was serious there).
The real tragedy is that Christianity failed to learn anything from this. Look at other such instances, such as the Spanish Inquisition (no-one expects the Spanish Inquisition), Northern Ireland, and the Reformation. These ones are possibly even more tragic than the crusades, as they show Christians fighting and killing Christians!
And yet they fail to learn.
Forgive me for commenting on history when I probably have no right to, but I think the major problems that Christianity faced began when, in 324 AD, Emperor Constantine became the sole Roman Emperor, after becoming a nominal Christian and bringing an end to religious persecution. It may sound weird to think of the end of persecution as being a negative thing, but listen to this explanation:
…as Christianity went from being persecuted to being fashionable, a trend was begun that still poses a challenge to believers today: cultural Christianity…. To become a Christian was suddenly an easy decision; there was no longer heartrending dedication required - it was just a matter of being born into the right culture or hanging out with the right crowd. Christianity became an institution depending more on correct ritual, tradition, and memorization than heartfelt dedication to God. Christianity was melded with Roman culture to the point that they were indistinguishable, and the church lapsed from commitment to complacency. (Jesus Freaks Volume 2, by dc Talk, pages 229,230)
Christianity is not a matter of being born into the right culture, no matter what people may tell you. The problem happens when people think that it is. People can do evil things in the name of Christianity, without even fully understanding what Christianity is, and give Christianity a bad name.
Look at Islam. In most of the Islamic countries around the world, western culture is seen as Christian culture - the two are ‘indistinguishable.’ Then, when western tv programmes, which show increasingly lax morals, are broadcast into their nations, they come to believe that Christians themselves think and act that way. Because of the spiritual decay of our western nations, Muslims see Christianity as empty, superficial, and spiritually decayed as well.
And then there are the scandals that receive increasingly more media coverage, where priests, who have taken vows of chastity (I don’t believe these should be enforced so much, Paul talks about marrying to avoid giving into your lusts, and when priests are forced not to, then over time they give in. If you choose to take a vow of chastity, that’s different) have been found to be abusing children, etc. People look at those cases, and judge the entire idea of Christianity on them. The millions of true-believing priests, who are committed to God and have served him faithfully in the community, are seen as hypocrites and liars because of the few priests who weren’t so sincere and did the wrong thing. Its tragic.
People judge Christianity off the negatives, without stopping to look at the positives. Instead of looking into Christianity’s claims, and understanding what it teaches, and whether or not its true, they judge it before they even get the chance.
That’s just sad.
If you are not a Christian, I challenge you to find a committed Christian, and talk to them about what they believe and why.
Jesus works in the lives on individuals, so look to those individuals to see his works.
Sunday, January 23, 2005
Commitment: He who loses his life....
Have you ever made a commitment to something, and then struggled to keep that commitment? I have, and I’d say that most people probably have as well. After all, we are human, and humans definitely aren’t perfect.
The great thing is, of course, that God isn’t like that. Even the pagan prophet Baalam understood that, when he uttered an Oracle in Numbers 23:
“God is not a man, that he should lie, nor a son of man, that he should change his mind. Does he speak and then not act? Does he promise and not fulfill?” (Numbers 23:19)
As all those listening to that Oracle would have understood, the answer to those questions is ‘No.’ God is holy, and perfect, and as such cannot allow the slightest imperfection or untruth to be anywhere in his character, and therefore he cannot lie.
This is very reassuring, as God has promised us amazing things, and will never (be able to) fail to deliver. Even when the promises may take a while to eventuate, if God has promised them, we know they will come to pass. Take Abraham for example. God promised him countless descendants, and he had to wait until he was 100 and his wife 99 to even have their own child! He must have been getting a bit worried by then that there was something wrong with that prophecy, but God promised it, and so it happened.
The greatest commitment that God ever made, however, was his commitment to save us if we falled away, to give us eternal life through whatever means necessary if we failed to hold on to it in the Garden of Eden. Many people have debated over why God would create the world like he did if (seeing the future) he knew that people would turn away from him. I don’t know the answer to that, and we may never fully be able to understand his reasoning on this side of eternity, but the most important thing is that he loved us enough to plan a way back to him if he did.
The bible explains that before the world was even created, God had prepared his master plan (Jesus) to redeem us. Take a moment to understand that: before we were even created, God decided that he loved us so much, that it was worth dying the most hideous death imaginable - death on a cross - just to give us the choice of whether we wanted to love him back or not. That is incredible. If you can get a hold of that concept, it can be life changing. It was for Paul. Listen to how he introduces himself in the letter to Titus.
Paul, a servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ for the faith of God’s elect and the knowledge of the truth that leads to godliness - a faith and knowledge resting on the hope of eternal life, which God, who does not lie, promised before the beginning of time… (Titus 1.1-2)
God’s commitment to love us limitlessly was enough to turn Paul’s life around. I’m sure that in his life Paul made many commitments that he did not live up to (luckily he didn't live up to his earlier commitment to exterminate the Christians), but in Jesus he found something worth betting his life on. Even though Paul never even saw Jesus in the flesh (except maybe in a blinding light on the road to Damascus), he was able to commit himself fully to his cause, following him faithfully even to a martyr’s death.
That same commitment to God is one I will strive to keep.
The great thing is, of course, that God isn’t like that. Even the pagan prophet Baalam understood that, when he uttered an Oracle in Numbers 23:
“God is not a man, that he should lie, nor a son of man, that he should change his mind. Does he speak and then not act? Does he promise and not fulfill?” (Numbers 23:19)
As all those listening to that Oracle would have understood, the answer to those questions is ‘No.’ God is holy, and perfect, and as such cannot allow the slightest imperfection or untruth to be anywhere in his character, and therefore he cannot lie.
This is very reassuring, as God has promised us amazing things, and will never (be able to) fail to deliver. Even when the promises may take a while to eventuate, if God has promised them, we know they will come to pass. Take Abraham for example. God promised him countless descendants, and he had to wait until he was 100 and his wife 99 to even have their own child! He must have been getting a bit worried by then that there was something wrong with that prophecy, but God promised it, and so it happened.
The greatest commitment that God ever made, however, was his commitment to save us if we falled away, to give us eternal life through whatever means necessary if we failed to hold on to it in the Garden of Eden. Many people have debated over why God would create the world like he did if (seeing the future) he knew that people would turn away from him. I don’t know the answer to that, and we may never fully be able to understand his reasoning on this side of eternity, but the most important thing is that he loved us enough to plan a way back to him if he did.
The bible explains that before the world was even created, God had prepared his master plan (Jesus) to redeem us. Take a moment to understand that: before we were even created, God decided that he loved us so much, that it was worth dying the most hideous death imaginable - death on a cross - just to give us the choice of whether we wanted to love him back or not. That is incredible. If you can get a hold of that concept, it can be life changing. It was for Paul. Listen to how he introduces himself in the letter to Titus.
Paul, a servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ for the faith of God’s elect and the knowledge of the truth that leads to godliness - a faith and knowledge resting on the hope of eternal life, which God, who does not lie, promised before the beginning of time… (Titus 1.1-2)
God’s commitment to love us limitlessly was enough to turn Paul’s life around. I’m sure that in his life Paul made many commitments that he did not live up to (luckily he didn't live up to his earlier commitment to exterminate the Christians), but in Jesus he found something worth betting his life on. Even though Paul never even saw Jesus in the flesh (except maybe in a blinding light on the road to Damascus), he was able to commit himself fully to his cause, following him faithfully even to a martyr’s death.
That same commitment to God is one I will strive to keep.
Tuesday, January 18, 2005
Trust: Leaning off the bridge
The world is like a bridge. The wise man will pass over it, but he'll not stop and build his house on it.
- Unknown
Lord, you know that I've been trying to build my house on the bridge of this life for some time. I have all these plans of what I want to do, but no ideas how to do them. I can get so frustrated trying to get my life to turn out how I want it to, when I should be trusting in you.
The cause of our discontentment is simply because we do not believe God. The wilderness leads to the Promised Land... Do we think we can find a better way to God?
- Elizabeth Elliot
It can be very tough to trust in God to look after your life. After all, who would ever want to trust in something you can't even see, and hope that it will look after you?
I guess thats why God made some vital things invisible, like gravity and air, things that we have to rely on each day to help us survive. It is simply so that we can realise that we can trust them, even if we can't see them, and we can trust Him too.
If you're having trouble trying to give your life over to Him, look at some of the promises He has given you. I carry a book of quotes around with me, and most of them are bible verses. I haven't been looking at them enough lately, as I've tried to run my own life, but there is power in them.
He is wooing you from the jaws of distress to a spacious place free from restriction, to the comfort of your table laden with choice food.
- Job 36:16
God's plan for our lives doesn't end with this life. The world we live in is by no means perfect, so God has prepared a place even better for us. Instead of focussing on this life, and trying to get all we can out of it, we should try to focus on God, and plan for the eternity to come.
We may find ourselves restricted in this life, perhaps even trapped, unable to do the things we want to do, when we want to do them, and in the ways we want to, but if we trust in God, rely on Him, lean on Him, then He will lead us on to everything good He has planned for us.
- Unknown
Lord, you know that I've been trying to build my house on the bridge of this life for some time. I have all these plans of what I want to do, but no ideas how to do them. I can get so frustrated trying to get my life to turn out how I want it to, when I should be trusting in you.
The cause of our discontentment is simply because we do not believe God. The wilderness leads to the Promised Land... Do we think we can find a better way to God?
- Elizabeth Elliot
It can be very tough to trust in God to look after your life. After all, who would ever want to trust in something you can't even see, and hope that it will look after you?
I guess thats why God made some vital things invisible, like gravity and air, things that we have to rely on each day to help us survive. It is simply so that we can realise that we can trust them, even if we can't see them, and we can trust Him too.
If you're having trouble trying to give your life over to Him, look at some of the promises He has given you. I carry a book of quotes around with me, and most of them are bible verses. I haven't been looking at them enough lately, as I've tried to run my own life, but there is power in them.
He is wooing you from the jaws of distress to a spacious place free from restriction, to the comfort of your table laden with choice food.
- Job 36:16
God's plan for our lives doesn't end with this life. The world we live in is by no means perfect, so God has prepared a place even better for us. Instead of focussing on this life, and trying to get all we can out of it, we should try to focus on God, and plan for the eternity to come.
We may find ourselves restricted in this life, perhaps even trapped, unable to do the things we want to do, when we want to do them, and in the ways we want to, but if we trust in God, rely on Him, lean on Him, then He will lead us on to everything good He has planned for us.
Monday, January 17, 2005
This empire of dirt
Today the song 'Hurt' (written by Nine Inch Nails but performed in this version by Johnny Cash) has been going around in my head. I saw just the end of the music video this morning on tv, and it reminded me just how powerful it is.
Candid and intense, it sees The Man In Black perform the song in his home, with no effort made to hide his age or increasing frailty. The poignancy is increased as the performance shots are cut with old images of a young and vital Cash jumping trains and striding the earth. (http://www.nme.com/features/104451.htm)
To me, the video (which you can see if you click in this blog title) is amazing, as you see him, surrounded by all of the possessions he has accumulated over the years, thinking about how little his 'empire of dirt' means (he died soon after recording this). In the end, you can't take anything with you when you die. How much does it all mean to you, when it is only fleeting?
Lyrics for 'Hurt'
I hurt myself today
to see if I still feel
I focus on the pain
the only thing that's real
the needle tears a hole
the old familiar sting
try to kill it all away
but I remember everything
what have I become?
my sweetest friend
everyone I know
goes away in the end
and you could have it all
my empire of dirt
I will let you down
I will make you hurt
I wear this crown of thorns
upon my liar's chair
full of broken thoughts
I cannot repair
beneath the stains of time
the feelings disappear
you are someone else
I am still right here
what have I become?
my sweetest friend
everyone I know
goes away in the end
and you could have it all
my empire of dirt
I will let you down
I will make you hurt
if I could start again
a million miles away
I would keep myself
I would find a way
Candid and intense, it sees The Man In Black perform the song in his home, with no effort made to hide his age or increasing frailty. The poignancy is increased as the performance shots are cut with old images of a young and vital Cash jumping trains and striding the earth. (http://www.nme.com/features/104451.htm)
To me, the video (which you can see if you click in this blog title) is amazing, as you see him, surrounded by all of the possessions he has accumulated over the years, thinking about how little his 'empire of dirt' means (he died soon after recording this). In the end, you can't take anything with you when you die. How much does it all mean to you, when it is only fleeting?
Lyrics for 'Hurt'
I hurt myself today
to see if I still feel
I focus on the pain
the only thing that's real
the needle tears a hole
the old familiar sting
try to kill it all away
but I remember everything
what have I become?
my sweetest friend
everyone I know
goes away in the end
and you could have it all
my empire of dirt
I will let you down
I will make you hurt
I wear this crown of thorns
upon my liar's chair
full of broken thoughts
I cannot repair
beneath the stains of time
the feelings disappear
you are someone else
I am still right here
what have I become?
my sweetest friend
everyone I know
goes away in the end
and you could have it all
my empire of dirt
I will let you down
I will make you hurt
if I could start again
a million miles away
I would keep myself
I would find a way
Saturday, January 15, 2005
Wasting time while waiting for antivirus upgrade to download
Original Version
Have you ever played with any of the translation tools on the internet? They can be quite fun actually. What you do is go to one of them, such as the google one which I will be using, and type in what you want to say. When you finish, you can translate it into other languages, and then back into English. The fun part is that the translation is not perfect, and results in different orders of sentences, or even entire meanings, when translated back into English. This is not a spiritual post, really. I just like to have fun, and so does God. After all, He created senses of humour in the first place.
German Version
Haben Sie überhaupt mit irgendwelchen der Übersetzungshilfsmittel auf dem Internet gespielt? Sie können Spaß durchaus wirklich sein. Was Sie, ist gehen bis eine von ihnen, wie dem google einem, das ich benutzen werde, und eintippen, was Sie sagen möchten. Wenn Sie beenden, können Sie es in andere Sprachen und dann zurück in Englisch übersetzen. Das Spaßteil ist, daß die Übersetzung nicht vollkommen ist, und ergibt unterschiedliche Aufträge von Sätzen oder sogar gesamte Bedeutungen, wenn es zurück in Englisch übersetzt wird. Dieses ist nicht ein geistiger Pfosten, wirklich. Ich mag gerade zu habe Spaß und also tue Gott. Schließlich verursachte er Richtungen der Stimmung an erster Stelle.
New English Version
Did you play at all with any of the translation aids on the InterNet? They can be quite real fun. Which you, is go to one of them, how type that google one, which I will use, and, which you would like to say. If you terminate, you can translate it into other languages and then back into English. The fun part is that the translation is not perfect, and results in different orders of sentences or even entire meanings, if it is translated back into English. This is not real a mental post. I like straight too have fun and thus do God. Finally it caused directions of the tendency in the first place.
Have you ever played with any of the translation tools on the internet? They can be quite fun actually. What you do is go to one of them, such as the google one which I will be using, and type in what you want to say. When you finish, you can translate it into other languages, and then back into English. The fun part is that the translation is not perfect, and results in different orders of sentences, or even entire meanings, when translated back into English. This is not a spiritual post, really. I just like to have fun, and so does God. After all, He created senses of humour in the first place.
German Version
Haben Sie überhaupt mit irgendwelchen der Übersetzungshilfsmittel auf dem Internet gespielt? Sie können Spaß durchaus wirklich sein. Was Sie, ist gehen bis eine von ihnen, wie dem google einem, das ich benutzen werde, und eintippen, was Sie sagen möchten. Wenn Sie beenden, können Sie es in andere Sprachen und dann zurück in Englisch übersetzen. Das Spaßteil ist, daß die Übersetzung nicht vollkommen ist, und ergibt unterschiedliche Aufträge von Sätzen oder sogar gesamte Bedeutungen, wenn es zurück in Englisch übersetzt wird. Dieses ist nicht ein geistiger Pfosten, wirklich. Ich mag gerade zu habe Spaß und also tue Gott. Schließlich verursachte er Richtungen der Stimmung an erster Stelle.
New English Version
Did you play at all with any of the translation aids on the InterNet? They can be quite real fun. Which you, is go to one of them, how type that google one, which I will use, and, which you would like to say. If you terminate, you can translate it into other languages and then back into English. The fun part is that the translation is not perfect, and results in different orders of sentences or even entire meanings, if it is translated back into English. This is not real a mental post. I like straight too have fun and thus do God. Finally it caused directions of the tendency in the first place.
Feed a fever, Starve a sin
One of the greatest struggles that Christians face must surely be against sin. As I talked about in a previous post, we are supposed to be new creations, but the old creation sometimes is not as dead as we would like it to be. Paul illustrates this in Romans 7:15-20, where, in one of the most humourously worded passages in all of scripture, he admits:
I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate to do. And if I do what I do not want to do, I agree that the law is good. As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. For what I do is not the good I want to do; no, the evil I do not want to do - this I keep on doing. Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it.
It is amazing how accurate this passage plays out sometimes. When you are struggling with sin, and seemingly unable to defeat it, it truly feels like the sin is ‘living within you’, forcing you to obey it. It is not just a matter of deciding that you are going to get right with God; it is a war against your inner self.
And this is where a lot of people struggle, and where I myself have often struggled. You can get so determined to beat sin, that it becomes harder to do so.
It may surprise you to learn that nowhere in the bible (to my knowledge, I had better be careful claiming something like that) does it instruct people to “resist temptation.” It does instruct us to avoid sin, but not to resist it (it also instructs us to resist the devil, which forces him to flee, but that is not the issue here).
Don’t understand? The following example (from a book dealing with homosexuality: 101 Frequently Asked Questions About Homosexuality by Mike Haley,) might help.
Listen to me now: Don’t think of the number eight. Don’t think about it. Careful…don’t think about the number eight! What are you thinking about right now? That’s right - the number eight.
The point of this is that the more you try to resist sin, the more you think about sin, and therefore, the more likely you are to do sin. Instead, we are instructed not to think about sin at all, but rather the ‘focus on the things above’. The less we think about sin, the more we avoid it, and the more we avoid it the less we have to fight it, and the less chance we have of succumbing to it.
Rather than trying to kill sin in hand-to-hand combat, and ending up battered and bruised from your attempts, it is far easier to kill through neglect. Starve it to death, but feed yourself on good things at the same time. That way, if you do face off with sin, you will find that you are stronger (and well fed), while it is malnourished and able to be beaten down far easier.
I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate to do. And if I do what I do not want to do, I agree that the law is good. As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. For what I do is not the good I want to do; no, the evil I do not want to do - this I keep on doing. Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it.
It is amazing how accurate this passage plays out sometimes. When you are struggling with sin, and seemingly unable to defeat it, it truly feels like the sin is ‘living within you’, forcing you to obey it. It is not just a matter of deciding that you are going to get right with God; it is a war against your inner self.
And this is where a lot of people struggle, and where I myself have often struggled. You can get so determined to beat sin, that it becomes harder to do so.
It may surprise you to learn that nowhere in the bible (to my knowledge, I had better be careful claiming something like that) does it instruct people to “resist temptation.” It does instruct us to avoid sin, but not to resist it (it also instructs us to resist the devil, which forces him to flee, but that is not the issue here).
Don’t understand? The following example (from a book dealing with homosexuality: 101 Frequently Asked Questions About Homosexuality by Mike Haley,) might help.
Listen to me now: Don’t think of the number eight. Don’t think about it. Careful…don’t think about the number eight! What are you thinking about right now? That’s right - the number eight.
The point of this is that the more you try to resist sin, the more you think about sin, and therefore, the more likely you are to do sin. Instead, we are instructed not to think about sin at all, but rather the ‘focus on the things above’. The less we think about sin, the more we avoid it, and the more we avoid it the less we have to fight it, and the less chance we have of succumbing to it.
Rather than trying to kill sin in hand-to-hand combat, and ending up battered and bruised from your attempts, it is far easier to kill through neglect. Starve it to death, but feed yourself on good things at the same time. That way, if you do face off with sin, you will find that you are stronger (and well fed), while it is malnourished and able to be beaten down far easier.
Friday, January 14, 2005
Letters to the Editor
Our local newspaper (the Nelson Mail) has often got a lot of letters about God written to it. Every now and then I feel compelled to reply to something I have read. The difficulty is trying to say what you need to in 200 words or less, but that can be part of the fun too. A recent letter read:
God's work?
Sir, Natural disasters happen all the time, and kill millions. Writing about the recent mega-disaster around the Indian Ocean, Shirley Dunne (Nelson Mail, January 8) says that it "is no one's fault, least of all God's."
Ms Dunne is clearly a Christian believer, so let's get this straight - this is the same God that Christians believe created the world. He designed it so that disastrous events are commonplace, but he's not responsible for the fact that they kill and harm people?
This business highlights a dilemma for Christians. They find the Jesus story in the Bible to be well-supported historically, and compelling personally, based on a remarkable series of reported events and sayings from a three-year period about 2000 years ago. However, what has God done since then that has been of any benefit to mankind?
Individuals believe that their lives have been affected for good and Christians do some good (in addition to a lot of harm), but where is the collective benefit?
The same question can be asked of all the major religions and from my reading of history, the answer is - nothing. What is the use of a God who sits on his hands and does nothing?
Although I could not cover all of the points he raised in 200 words, I sent a reply in today which may hopefully answer some of his questions, or talk to others who read the paper.
God and Tsunamis
Sir,Peter Balance (Mailbox, January 13), seems to assume that because he hasn’t heard from God personally, God has been ‘sitting on his hands.’ How so? God could be affecting the world immensely without his knowledge. Tremain (January 13) pointed out that we haven’t heard from Osama for some time, but does that mean Osama is doing nothing, or perhaps does not exist?
Mr Balance’s main concern is the tsunami. He claims God made the world, designed tsunamis, and knew they would kill. However, if one looks at the God of the Bible, the world was not designed in this way at all. Earth was perfect when created (eg. no death/tsunamis), but has since been corrupted and is slowly decaying. Things such as earthquakes come because of this decay - not through design by God.
Maybe God could step in and save those people, but how much dictatorship would we accept? Wouldn’t that remove our free will? Instead, God allows us to choose our own paths, even going through death, without being forced to follow Him. God provided the chance for eternal salvation through Jesus, and gives us a choice, then stands back and lets us make it without coercing us. That’s love.
God's work?
Sir, Natural disasters happen all the time, and kill millions. Writing about the recent mega-disaster around the Indian Ocean, Shirley Dunne (Nelson Mail, January 8) says that it "is no one's fault, least of all God's."
Ms Dunne is clearly a Christian believer, so let's get this straight - this is the same God that Christians believe created the world. He designed it so that disastrous events are commonplace, but he's not responsible for the fact that they kill and harm people?
This business highlights a dilemma for Christians. They find the Jesus story in the Bible to be well-supported historically, and compelling personally, based on a remarkable series of reported events and sayings from a three-year period about 2000 years ago. However, what has God done since then that has been of any benefit to mankind?
Individuals believe that their lives have been affected for good and Christians do some good (in addition to a lot of harm), but where is the collective benefit?
The same question can be asked of all the major religions and from my reading of history, the answer is - nothing. What is the use of a God who sits on his hands and does nothing?
Although I could not cover all of the points he raised in 200 words, I sent a reply in today which may hopefully answer some of his questions, or talk to others who read the paper.
God and Tsunamis
Sir,Peter Balance (Mailbox, January 13), seems to assume that because he hasn’t heard from God personally, God has been ‘sitting on his hands.’ How so? God could be affecting the world immensely without his knowledge. Tremain (January 13) pointed out that we haven’t heard from Osama for some time, but does that mean Osama is doing nothing, or perhaps does not exist?
Mr Balance’s main concern is the tsunami. He claims God made the world, designed tsunamis, and knew they would kill. However, if one looks at the God of the Bible, the world was not designed in this way at all. Earth was perfect when created (eg. no death/tsunamis), but has since been corrupted and is slowly decaying. Things such as earthquakes come because of this decay - not through design by God.
Maybe God could step in and save those people, but how much dictatorship would we accept? Wouldn’t that remove our free will? Instead, God allows us to choose our own paths, even going through death, without being forced to follow Him. God provided the chance for eternal salvation through Jesus, and gives us a choice, then stands back and lets us make it without coercing us. That’s love.
Wednesday, January 12, 2005
'F Words' - Powerful and Misunderstood
Filling in my holidays, I've taken a temporary job thinning kiwifruit (yes, in New Zealand we call them kiwifruit to distinguish them from kiwi people and kiwi birds), which has been mostly good, but it has been a little bit tough having to put up with the conversations carrying over from neighbouring rows.
My mum always said that those who used 'the F word' a lot must have limited vocabularies, and I am tending to agree with her. To these people, the word is used the way others might use 'um' or 'er' - as a space filler. Because of this, I get to hear the word quite often during the day, which kind of gets to you after a while.
Also, they're not even using it correctly! I mean, if you use other words, you have to know what they mean, and stick them in the correct place, or it doesn't make any sense, and people could laugh at you. Not so with the F word! According to the dictionary, it has a set meaning to do with sexual relations, and that has nothing to do with most of their conversations (luckily).
(God has been helping out, though. When I have been really getting sick of the language, I have asked him "Please do something about it" and have suddenly found a light patch of thinning, or a gap, or something else to do, and have moved out of ear-range. Thankyou God!)
However, the constant misuse of this word being loudly and frequently brought to my attention has reminded me of another 'F Word', one not so offensive but still perhaps not fully understood by those who use it.
The word is 'Faith'.
Faith seems to be thrown about a lot by Christians and non-Christians alike (although usually in a Christian or religious context). "If you just have faith," they say, "then everything will turn out right." Faith is claimed to be a cure-all, a miraculous way to obtain everything you ever wanted, at no cost to yourself. Those with faith will get the cars, houses, and men/women (all plural) of their dreams, and will be able to sit back in health and wellbeing for all of their lives, while the poor 'unfaithful' sit in the gutter lamenting the fact that they are not able to be rich.
This is not what it means! The bible says that "without faith it is impossible to please God." I know for a fact that many poor people please God (look at Job who lost everything, or Joseph when he was in jail, or Noah when his whole generation thought him insane), so having cars/houses/men/women etc is obviously not a requesite of faith. There are also many rich people who are definately not pleasing God!
Hebrews says that faith is "being sure of what we hope for, and certain of that which we do not see." Its that simple. Faith isn't having the ability to turn water into wine, or walk on water, it is simply 100% trust. For example, I know that God is real. I cannot necessarily show you proof, and I have never seen God, but I still know it. That is my act of faith. It is being certain of that which I do not see. I am also sure that if I follow God, I will go to heaven. I am sure of it, even though I probably only can hope that I'm right. It is being sure of what I hope for. That is faith as well.
The exciting thing is that this faith results in a lot of neat things. As I have said, faith doesn't mean that you can walk on water, but Jesus said that with faith the size of a mustard seed, you can move mountains. A mustard seed is very small (understatement), and so if I already have faith enough to know God is real and that heaven awaits me, I believe that I have that much faith.
Why haven't I been moving mountains then, you may ask? Well, God hasn't asked me to. The thing that you realise when you become a Christian is that in yourself, you are nothing, but with God you are everything and so much more! In myself, I can't move a mountain (except perhaps with a strong shovel and a lot of hours hard labour), but with God (who spoke and created the universe) it is a piece of cake. If I allign myself with God's will, and do the things he wants me to do, then he will work with me to see them happen. If he tells Peter to walk on the water, then Peter is able to because God helps him to. But, if I go off on my own, and think "I can move mountains" then I am going to be disappointed, because God is not in it.
Thats why I seek to do God's will, and follow where he leads me. Because I know that many of the things I want to do, I can't.
But God can.
My mum always said that those who used 'the F word' a lot must have limited vocabularies, and I am tending to agree with her. To these people, the word is used the way others might use 'um' or 'er' - as a space filler. Because of this, I get to hear the word quite often during the day, which kind of gets to you after a while.
Also, they're not even using it correctly! I mean, if you use other words, you have to know what they mean, and stick them in the correct place, or it doesn't make any sense, and people could laugh at you. Not so with the F word! According to the dictionary, it has a set meaning to do with sexual relations, and that has nothing to do with most of their conversations (luckily).
(God has been helping out, though. When I have been really getting sick of the language, I have asked him "Please do something about it" and have suddenly found a light patch of thinning, or a gap, or something else to do, and have moved out of ear-range. Thankyou God!)
However, the constant misuse of this word being loudly and frequently brought to my attention has reminded me of another 'F Word', one not so offensive but still perhaps not fully understood by those who use it.
The word is 'Faith'.
Faith seems to be thrown about a lot by Christians and non-Christians alike (although usually in a Christian or religious context). "If you just have faith," they say, "then everything will turn out right." Faith is claimed to be a cure-all, a miraculous way to obtain everything you ever wanted, at no cost to yourself. Those with faith will get the cars, houses, and men/women (all plural) of their dreams, and will be able to sit back in health and wellbeing for all of their lives, while the poor 'unfaithful' sit in the gutter lamenting the fact that they are not able to be rich.
This is not what it means! The bible says that "without faith it is impossible to please God." I know for a fact that many poor people please God (look at Job who lost everything, or Joseph when he was in jail, or Noah when his whole generation thought him insane), so having cars/houses/men/women etc is obviously not a requesite of faith. There are also many rich people who are definately not pleasing God!
Hebrews says that faith is "being sure of what we hope for, and certain of that which we do not see." Its that simple. Faith isn't having the ability to turn water into wine, or walk on water, it is simply 100% trust. For example, I know that God is real. I cannot necessarily show you proof, and I have never seen God, but I still know it. That is my act of faith. It is being certain of that which I do not see. I am also sure that if I follow God, I will go to heaven. I am sure of it, even though I probably only can hope that I'm right. It is being sure of what I hope for. That is faith as well.
The exciting thing is that this faith results in a lot of neat things. As I have said, faith doesn't mean that you can walk on water, but Jesus said that with faith the size of a mustard seed, you can move mountains. A mustard seed is very small (understatement), and so if I already have faith enough to know God is real and that heaven awaits me, I believe that I have that much faith.
Why haven't I been moving mountains then, you may ask? Well, God hasn't asked me to. The thing that you realise when you become a Christian is that in yourself, you are nothing, but with God you are everything and so much more! In myself, I can't move a mountain (except perhaps with a strong shovel and a lot of hours hard labour), but with God (who spoke and created the universe) it is a piece of cake. If I allign myself with God's will, and do the things he wants me to do, then he will work with me to see them happen. If he tells Peter to walk on the water, then Peter is able to because God helps him to. But, if I go off on my own, and think "I can move mountains" then I am going to be disappointed, because God is not in it.
Thats why I seek to do God's will, and follow where he leads me. Because I know that many of the things I want to do, I can't.
But God can.
Thursday, January 06, 2005
Perspectives on the Brain Battle
Being a Christian isn't easy. Whoever started that rumour has some serious explaining to do, because it really isn't!!!
Basically, we all have 'sinful natures' which means that sometimes we don't want to do the right thing, even when we know its the right thing, know that God wants us to do the right thing, our friends want us to do the right thing, and deep down inside part of us realises that we should be doing the right thing as well.
This doesn't change when you become a Christian. You still have to fight with the part of you that wants to do wrong, the 'sinful nature' within you. However, Christians do have an added thing to help them make the right decisions. Paul refers to it in 1 Corinthians, where he says "So, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation, the old has gone and the new has come."
To be completely honest to the point of transparency, I have been struggling with my 'old creation' a bit lately, mostly in my mind. I've been trying to figure out why this is. I mean, if "the old has gone" then shouldn't it not be there anymore?
I suppose over all you are still going to face the same issues whether you are a Christian or a non-Christian. The only difference is the way you view these issues. To a non-Christian, suffering, battling to do good, sickness, or anything like this is something you have to deal with on your own, or at the best, with a friend or two. I can not only rely on my friends if I need them, but I have God there always, right beside me, to help and support me as well.
Also, whereas any major problem, like an ongoing sickness would be tragic to a non-Christian, and possibly ruin their life entirely, a Christian, although still having to face the problem, can always be secure in the knowledge that all problems in life are temporary. This life is just the dot at the start of the endless novel of eternity.
That is an amazing perspective to be able to see it from.
Basically, we all have 'sinful natures' which means that sometimes we don't want to do the right thing, even when we know its the right thing, know that God wants us to do the right thing, our friends want us to do the right thing, and deep down inside part of us realises that we should be doing the right thing as well.
This doesn't change when you become a Christian. You still have to fight with the part of you that wants to do wrong, the 'sinful nature' within you. However, Christians do have an added thing to help them make the right decisions. Paul refers to it in 1 Corinthians, where he says "So, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation, the old has gone and the new has come."
To be completely honest to the point of transparency, I have been struggling with my 'old creation' a bit lately, mostly in my mind. I've been trying to figure out why this is. I mean, if "the old has gone" then shouldn't it not be there anymore?
I suppose over all you are still going to face the same issues whether you are a Christian or a non-Christian. The only difference is the way you view these issues. To a non-Christian, suffering, battling to do good, sickness, or anything like this is something you have to deal with on your own, or at the best, with a friend or two. I can not only rely on my friends if I need them, but I have God there always, right beside me, to help and support me as well.
Also, whereas any major problem, like an ongoing sickness would be tragic to a non-Christian, and possibly ruin their life entirely, a Christian, although still having to face the problem, can always be secure in the knowledge that all problems in life are temporary. This life is just the dot at the start of the endless novel of eternity.
That is an amazing perspective to be able to see it from.
Wednesday, January 05, 2005
Now - For Dummies
This post is the result of two books I am reading at the moment (Mere Christianity and Where is God when it Hurts?) plus a conversation I had with two of my friends yesterday. It is probably quite a bit more confusing than most of my posts, but if you can get your head around this idea it can help understand some things about God better.
In Exodus 4, God appears to Moses in the burning bush, and tells him that His name is "I am that I am". Elsewhere in the bible, we are told that God is the same yesterday, today and forever. God is also called the 'Alpha and the Omega' (or the 'first and the last'). He existed before the universe began and will continue to exist after it ends. He knows everything that has happened, and everything that will happen in this universe.
The problem for us as people, is that we exist within creation, and part of creation is the concept of time. Time is something that God created along with everything else, and we are told this in Genesis 1. God says 'Let there be light' and later there is the first day and the first night. This shows that time is created at that point.
Some people who have problems with Christianity ask where God came from, the whole "Who created God?" argument, but they fail to grasp the idea that because God created time, he exists outside it. Without the concept of time, there is no such thing as beginning and end, or before and after. Everything is now.
It can be quite difficult for people to understand this fully. God doesn't simply 'foresee' the future, or 'remember' the past like we would do. He actually lives in those moments as if they were happening right now, because to him they are! God tries to explain this to Jeremiah when he says (Jeremiah 1:5) "Before I formed you in the womb I knew you". God knew Jeremiah because at the same time as he IS creating the earth, he IS talking to Jeremiah, just as he IS watching you read this right now, and IS watching the universe finally end whenever it will. This is how God knows who will choose to follow him in the end, because he sees them following him now.
If everything for God is now, then there is no need for anyone to create him. That would imply having a beginning, but without time there is no beginning, just as there is no end.
If everything for God is now, then He didn't know that Satan would rebel when he created him, or that people would choose to disobey him, he sees them disobeying him now. He sees every single act of rebellion and disobedience that ever was or every will be as if they are happening right now, and yet he still chooses to create them and give them the chance to obey. This means also that for all eternity He sees his son give up his life to set us free from our sins. There is no pain that we could imagine that could ever even comprehend that in any way. No wonder He turns his face away from the sight.
Imagine watching the one you loved most of all dying, and then having to watch them die forever. Then think how much you must love someone else, in order to allow that to happen.
That is how much God loves you.
Thats why I love Him.
If you want to talk to me about any of this, leave me a note, and I'll email you. God loves you that much, He deserves a chance from you.
In Exodus 4, God appears to Moses in the burning bush, and tells him that His name is "I am that I am". Elsewhere in the bible, we are told that God is the same yesterday, today and forever. God is also called the 'Alpha and the Omega' (or the 'first and the last'). He existed before the universe began and will continue to exist after it ends. He knows everything that has happened, and everything that will happen in this universe.
The problem for us as people, is that we exist within creation, and part of creation is the concept of time. Time is something that God created along with everything else, and we are told this in Genesis 1. God says 'Let there be light' and later there is the first day and the first night. This shows that time is created at that point.
Some people who have problems with Christianity ask where God came from, the whole "Who created God?" argument, but they fail to grasp the idea that because God created time, he exists outside it. Without the concept of time, there is no such thing as beginning and end, or before and after. Everything is now.
It can be quite difficult for people to understand this fully. God doesn't simply 'foresee' the future, or 'remember' the past like we would do. He actually lives in those moments as if they were happening right now, because to him they are! God tries to explain this to Jeremiah when he says (Jeremiah 1:5) "Before I formed you in the womb I knew you". God knew Jeremiah because at the same time as he IS creating the earth, he IS talking to Jeremiah, just as he IS watching you read this right now, and IS watching the universe finally end whenever it will. This is how God knows who will choose to follow him in the end, because he sees them following him now.
If everything for God is now, then there is no need for anyone to create him. That would imply having a beginning, but without time there is no beginning, just as there is no end.
If everything for God is now, then He didn't know that Satan would rebel when he created him, or that people would choose to disobey him, he sees them disobeying him now. He sees every single act of rebellion and disobedience that ever was or every will be as if they are happening right now, and yet he still chooses to create them and give them the chance to obey. This means also that for all eternity He sees his son give up his life to set us free from our sins. There is no pain that we could imagine that could ever even comprehend that in any way. No wonder He turns his face away from the sight.
Imagine watching the one you loved most of all dying, and then having to watch them die forever. Then think how much you must love someone else, in order to allow that to happen.
That is how much God loves you.
Thats why I love Him.
If you want to talk to me about any of this, leave me a note, and I'll email you. God loves you that much, He deserves a chance from you.
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