Category: What do you think?

There are a lot of people today who claim they want to tell you what God’s word means. They quote scripture verbatim, then go on to explain its meaning. But does including a scripture mean they are presenting God’s message? Are you disagreeing with God if you question someone who claims a specific passage is the source of their belief? I’m not nick-picking when I say there is a very big difference between telling someone God’s Word and telling someone what you say God’s word means.

Consider that Galatians tells us that even if an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one the apostles preached, let them be under God’s curse! The irony here is that there are people who use this scriptural warning about those who add to God’s Word, to get others to follow the things they’ve added. What I mean is, if someone reads a scripture and says this is God’s Word, they have spoken well.  But if they follow the scripture they just quoted with phrases like, “And what that means is…” they are no longer speaking God’s Word but giving you their interpretation of God’s Word. Shouldn’t we be wary of anyone who claims that if you disagree with them, you’re disagreeing with God if they have said anything in addition to what’s written in the Bible?

Disagreeing with what someone says about the scripture is not the same as disagreeing with scripture. Too many times people, even preachers, claim that if you have a problem with what they are saying you’re disagreement is with God when they’ve added to what God actually said. If someone claims that they alone, or their congregation alone, is the only one following God’s Word, would you know how to tell the difference?

What are your thoughts?

Religion is man’s attempt to understand God.  Science is man’s attempt to understand His creation. The two disciplines are not mutually exclusive.

 Anti-theists often argue that Christianity is corrupt because it is a religion, and some religions teach violence. I’m talking about those who say religion causes evil. This is clearly a composition fallacy; that is, inferring that something is true of the whole from the fact that it is true of some part of the whole.  It is the same as lumping science into a category with all other attempts to understand the physical world. Scientists should not be strapped with all the baggage of non-scientists who have made claims about the universe. And yes, there have been terrible things done by some who seek to understand the physical world. Consider those who say they know some cure for cancer and encouraged people with symptoms to avoid the doctor. Those people may have developed their “cure” through some non-scientific effort to understand the physical world, but they are not scientists and it’s wrong to lump scientists into a group with them simply because both try to understand the universe. That is the same kind of composition fallacy committed by the anti-theists who lump Christians into the same group with all others who seek to know God.

 By the way, it would be wrong to call everyone involved in science a malefactor because individual scientists have used their understanding for bad things. It would also be wrong to judge all scientists because individual scientists have been mistaken about one or more of the basics of their field resulting in harm. A misguided scientist and minister who misunderstands the basics of what Jesus taught are individuals. There is no logic in judging all Christians or all scientists by the actions of either one of these people. People are individuals.  

 Have unfair judgments lobbed at Christianity prevented you from seeking God?

 What are your thoughts?

A self-proclaimed “exvangelical” made a candid social media post questioning why people are surprised that atheism is such a big part of his self-identity.  He said he was never asked why faith in God was an important part of his identity when he identified as Christian. He also wanted to know why Christians found it odd that he would talk about his disbelief so often.  The answers to his questions depend on several things. Is atheism non-belief and nothing else? Is there a premise hidden in the “exvangelical’s” questions of which even he is unaware? Can one discuss his or her faith often without anyone asking questions?

 There are atheists who simply have no belief; that is, to them, atheism is nothing beyond not being convinced that God exists.  This group has no motivation to “prove” God’s non-existence; therefore, they have no position to defend or one they wish to prove wrong.  The “exvangelical’s” question implies he is not among this group of atheists because opposition to belief in God would not an important part of their identity.  There are other non-believers who proselytize for atheism. They make it a point to bring up the topic of disbelief often and even try to get others to abandon their faith. This group goes beyond saying, “I don’t know.”  They take the position there is no God. Would it make sense to say I don’t know if God exists but I oppose belief in Him? The “exvangelical’s” question is based on the idea that non-belief is part of his identity and that he is part of this group.

 God is part of a Christian’s identity by definition.  Christians believe the scripture that says if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: the old one has gone.  Christians accept The Great Commission; the command to tell others about Christ. It should not come as a surprise that someone who believes they are commanded to spread the Gospel would do so. Wouldn’t these things make being a Christian a bigger part of one’s identity than something about which the individual has no belief?

 Consider, I don’t know if life exists anywhere but Earth. While it may exist, I have not seen evidence sufficient for me to form a belief on the matter.  But my non-belief in extraterrestrials is not part of my identity. I don’t go out of my way to find people who believe in ET so I can debate the issue, and I don’t mock those who believe life is out there. I’ll wait for explorers to answer that question before I form a belief.  The point I’m making is this: If a person has a strong belief, it is only natural for it to be a part of his or her identity. If a person has no position to defend, why would it be part of their identity any more than non-belief in exterritorial life? 

 The words on this page should not be taken as a slam of the “exvangelical.” He wrote a very frank description of his experience as an atheist.  If anything, this is a warning to Christians to constantly turn to God for self-understanding. The “exvangelical” has no doubt that he was a committed Christian who has now abandoned his faith.  But do you know any person who regularly talks about his or her faith who hasn’t been questioned about it? How often on social media have you seen someone reference their faith on a public post without an anti-theist chiming up?  Yet the “exvangelical,” who believes he had strong self-identifying faith when he was a Christian says he was seldom questioned. Doesn’t this at least imply he was wrong about his own commitment to Christ?

 The Bible tells us there are those who believe strongly in their own faith.  They will tell God that they prophesied, drove out demons and even worked miracles in God’s name; yet they never had a relationship with God even though they had a very strong false self-image of someone firmly grounded in faith.  The “exvangelical” obviously felt his own Christian faith was so strong others should have taken note, yet the questions he posted are grounded on his observation that no one gave his faith a second thought.  

Isn’t this a good reason for Christians to ask God to help us understand our own motivations and open our eyes to any self-delusion we may have?