Tag: Christianity

Saying Christianity is one of many paths to God is self-contradictory

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FLOYD ROGERS, TEXAS GOSPEL CANADA VOLUNTEER

Have you ever heard someone claim that Christianity is just one of many paths to God? Itā€™s a self-contradictory argument and one of which I was surprised to find a resurgence. Why is it self-contradictory? Ā Why is it repeated so often?

It contradicts itself because if Christianity is one of many paths, then it cannot be exclusive. Yet the Bible, the book that defines Christianity, tells us in Acts that salvation is found in no one else but Jesus. The book of Acts goes on to say there is no other name under Heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved. The book of John tells us Jesus said, ā€œI am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.ā€ Ā There are many other scriptures that make it clear that Jesus is an exclusive path to God. If someone were to say they donā€™t believe in the Bible, then they profess that they believe Christianity is not a path to God. The Bible and Christianity are not separable.Ā  Christianity cannot be one of many ways to God. Jesus is either Lord OF all or Heā€™s not Lord AT all.

The claim that Jesus is just one path to God may be sprouting up now because it sounds inclusive. It also puts man in charge. It says we can pick and choose our God as if reality is some sort of cosmic buffet where we select our desires. That would be great if we created God.Ā  But God created us. Thereā€™s only one creator of the universe. Thereā€™s only one God. And he offers you a way to know Him despite sins that you and all humanity commit. The path to God is through the blood of His son Jesus.

Will you accept his precious gift?

 

What happens after death and before the second coming

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FLOYD ROGERS, TEXAS GOSPEL CANADA VOLUNTEER

What happens to our loved ones after death? Are they ā€œsleepingā€ until the second coming? For starters I think sleep is an obvious metaphor. The body is no longer functioning. But I would also suggest these questions have an assumption woven into them. They assume we are limited to time and space after we die.

Here are a few things to consider. Scientists say we perceive time, but we only have a vague understanding of it.Ā  They say time and space are relative. Itā€™s hard to imagine two different places where time is not the same, but itā€™s fact.Ā  Itā€™s also something for which if we couldnā€™t compensate our GPS system wouldnā€™t work.

2 Timothy 1:9 says, “ā€¦ This grace was given us in Christ Jesus before the beginning of time,” There are other scriptures that talk about a beginning to time. Given this alone we see that time is not eternal, it was created by God along with the universe. Luke tells us the rich man, after his death, asked God to send Lazarus to warn his family. That was AFTER his death, yet the second coming has not yet happened.Ā  I think this is at least circumstantial evidence that we will not be limited to time after we die.

The science behind of all this is too much for me to understand, and I admit some of this is only an extrapolation from scripture, not scripture itself. So why is any of this important? Because it shows the limitations of our understanding, and how God and His creation are not limited to our understanding. Though we only have an idea of what heaven will be like, and only a glimpse of life after death, the bigger question here is, are you ready?

Do Christians lose their individuality?

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FLOYD ROGERS, TEXAS GOSPEL CANADA VOLUNTEER

Itā€™s not uncommon for those opposed to our faith to present stories of individual Christians doing bad things as evidence that there is something malicious about a belief in God. Itā€™s interesting that while they cite wars and other wrongdoings that history tells us were carried out by individuals who claim to be Christians, itā€™s also not uncommon for anti-theists to reject the idea that atheism must be equally bad given that some atheist leaders have started wars and done malicious things. They excuse such actions by saying atheists are individuals who make their own decisions. Well, is religion the only reason a Christian could have for choosing to do evil? Is it true that only atheists are capable of individual decisions?

Nowhere in the Bible does it say that Christians lose their ability to disobey God and do wrong. In fact, there are plenty of scriptures about repenting when we do something that goes against Godā€™s will. Itā€™s also true that church office in ancient times was a requirement for political office creating a temptation for evil people to falsely claim to have faith. The political power also presents a temptation for those with true faith to take their eyes off God.

Given that atheist and believers have done evil, and that there is no evidence that anything, but an individualā€™s bad choice is to blame when he or she does bad things, why do so many resort to this argument to ā€œproveā€ some malice among believers?

What are your thoughts?

Looking forward to live concerts

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Many of us are ready to return to a normal life. The online concerts have been a good substitute, but there are a lot of folks who really miss attending concerts in person. There’s nothing like an auditorium full of people enjoying the experience of a live event together.

The Kramers recently posted a video of their NQC performance from last fall. That feels like a lifetime ago, but the video brings back fun memories. StowTown records shared the video with us, and we thought it would be good to share it with you.

If you know of a Southern Gospel concert in your area taking place within local guidelines, please post it to our Facebook page and let others know where they can go to enjoy the music.

 

The message in our music

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JEFF TURNER, TEXAS GOSPEL CANADA VOLUNTEER

Itā€™s highly likely that 2020 will not be remembered as one of the worldā€™s most favorite years. The COVID-19 pandemic, civil unrest, assaults and the destruction of private property have turned millions of lives upside down. There are a lot of reasons why some will look back on this year as a least-favorite time period.

Gospel music has a special significance this year.Ā  Its main purpose is to honor God.Ā  A nice secondary benefit of Gospel music is it can help distract from the worldā€™s growing violence and help listeners refocus their thoughts on God.

The Taylors - Salvation's songThe new song from The Taylors, House of God, has a clear message for Christians today. Suzanne Taylor Hise said in a recent interview that the song talks about the body of Christ joining in fellowship.Ā  When we pray and gather with other Christians we can lay all of our burdens down and simply worship Him.

ā€œAnd what I love about this song is it reminds me of a particular verse in the Bible in the Book of Matthew 11:24. It says, ā€˜Come all ye who are weary and troubled and I will give you rest,ā€™ and I think thatā€™s all that is required of us that we just lay down our burdens,ā€ said Hise as she explained the song.

ā€œWhatever walk of life that we are in, whatever trials we are facing, we are to forget about those. We are to turn them over to Christ and simply worship Him and be able to join in the Body of Christ together with one another,ā€ she said,

Texas Gospel Canada this month is giving special emphasis to songs similar to ā€œHouse of God.ā€Ā  Weā€™ve also increased airplay of some older songs like Karen Peck and New Riverā€™s ā€œWhy Canā€™t All Godā€™s Children Get Along,ā€ to help listeners refocus on why weā€™re here.

We hope our music brings comfort to you and your family through the times weā€™re all living in.