Re: Evolution Theory
by Matt Forge · 11/10/2005 5:00 amWell, it seems that Bramanti has opened up a whole can of world-view worms when he posted an article on this subject earlier. As a young-earth literal-day dinos-on-the-ark creationist southern baptist boy, I found the statements in the comments section rather fascinating.
Once a theistic evolutionist, I have put more hours into research and study on this subject than I can recount. I even created a website dealing with evolution in my own :::ahem::: "subtle" way (but haven’t added to it in a couple of years).
What I’ve done is extracted statements from the comments section and linked them to websites that I trust to explain/refute the charges way better than I ever could. Simply click the statement to be magically teletransported, with technology brought to you by operational science (not "origins" science), to an answer to it.
These represent my opinions and not necessarily those of any other writers here at LST. Whether you agree with them or not, I hope you find them to be fascinating reading and food for thought…
Genesis wasn’t written by God…it was written by man.
And it’s not a “liberal” vs. “conservative” issue
One has faith that the Bible is the inspired word of God or one does not.
humans did not evolve from apes, we evolved from a common ancestor.
Adam never existed, what on earth makes you think he did?
At thoses times people thought the Earth was flat
Move on christians, you have become Dinosaurs on Earth, that’s if you even believe they existed!
Evolutionary theory is certainly valid, even in the context of the Bible.
Evolution is the most widely accepted scientific theory concerning the origins of life on our planet
But the most important question to deal with in all this is, "Are you a good person?"
Filed Under Uncategorized ·
Comments
78 Responses to “Re: Evolution Theory”Search
Our Sponsors
Poll
Loading ...LST Book Club
-
Defending Identity: Its Indispensable Role in Protecting Democracy
by Natan Sharansky -
Fear No Evil
by Natan Sharansky -
The Case For Democracy: The Power of Freedom to Overcome Tyranny and Terror
by Anatoly Shcharansky -
The Jewish State: The Struggle for Israel's Soul
by Yoram Hazony -
Bobos in Paradise: The New Upper Class and How They Got There
by David Brooks -
Snobbery: The American Version
by Joseph Epstein -
A Conflict of Visions: Idealogical Origins of Political Struggles
by Thomas Sowell
bgordon - You’re welcome to e-mail me (matt_forge@lonestartimes.com) and explain why.
In the name of all that is good, decent, and righteous, bgordon, don’t go there.
Do you think arguing with a liberal is frustrating? You haven’t seen frustrating until you’ve argued religion with a true believer.
You will never emerge with any sense of satisfaction - only frustration as they have already prepared an explanatory answer for every conceivable response you can make.
I respect their beliefs, even admire their conviction in a way, but will never take part in a debate with them over religion again.
cameraguy - Isn’t in “answers” we’re looking for? Yes, denying truth is an extremely frustrating way to live.
Matt, both you and I have read the bible and we know its stories. More importantly, we know how it will end.
Romans 14:11 For it is written, “As I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, amd every tongue shall give priase to God.”
Most are delusional thinking they can hypothesize the creation of man and animals, even the creation of the earth (Big Bang Theroy), take Darwin as the lead professor…everyone needs to check his creditials prior to releaseing his evolution theroy, before justing on the bandwagon.
This is one reason we as Christians have been giving the great commision, to spread the good news, to be the light in the darkness.
So thump on…
Whenever I watch those history of man shows on TLC and Nat Geographic they have actual human bones from thousands of years ago and they do seem to show an evolving species in terms of size,skull and brain capacity. The lilly white Adam and Eve depicted in the bible just romping in the lush forest as our ancestors just doesnt seem to be reality.The humans who recorded history in that period also thought the world was flat and that a sacrifice in a volcano would make earthquakes stop. But hey,what do I know, I think Wal-Mart is monitoring my transmissions to send me and my crew back to Cygnus X-19.
We [as humans] have been given the ability of free choice. It’s this readers opinion that God blesses those that accespt his teachings on FAITH. I can agree that adaptation exists, but I do not accept the evolutionary theory that I am a decendant of some lower life form. I accept, with faith, what I’ve read from the Gospels (Good News). To those that disagree with me; your exercising your ability of free choice. Question, what if your wrong?
Gregg - you only show your own refusal to consider facts when you make a specious argument that was handily disproved by one of the links Matt provided above. And… “lilly white”?? Funny. My Bible doesn’t say anything about what color Adam & Eve were. Based on genetics, they would have to have been pretty dark to be the progenitors of all Earth’s races.
And it’s always so easy to criticize people who lived in a time period before ours, attacking them for what SOME of them believed (flat earth, etc.). Yet when I look at people like Michael Moore today… how exactly are we more intelligent?
“lilly white” Adam and Eve portrayals in European art are reflecting Europen culture. Some great discovery there… NOT!
Kudos, to Mr. Matt.
Tim,
The lilly white image is from every drawing or picture I’ve ever seen. Dont you recall beautiful Eve, blonde floowing hair reaching for the apple? That must have come from somewhere. Anyway, how do you explain millions of years of Dinos and no human? Do I belive in a higher power? Yes I do. Do I think the human species have evloved from a simple hairy,smelly hunched over hunter gatherer? It seems all the bones and fossils that have been found support that more than a couple of lovers appearing out of nowhere.
One more thing. Take the most beautiful woman in the world. Your pick. Do not let her bathe,shave or any personal hygene whatsoever for 1 year.You will see what we really look and smell like without our evolved and learned civility.
Why would you lose respect for someone that has strongly held beliefs? I thought that having convictions was a good thing. Matt, I love the articles you posted.
Matt, what a great bunch of links!! Here’s an interesting quote from one of them:
“If evolution were true, the further back into history we look, evidence should show a gradual decline in man’s intelligence, moving closer to the ape’s. Biblical creation would indicate otherwise. Man, created in God’s image, has always been intelligent.”
Mr. Matt
To lose respect from people for stupid things we do or say, no big deal. But to lose those things in the name of Jesus Christ, priceless.
Matthew 5
11″Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. 12Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
#10
Greg…
Carbon dating…come on…how true is this, but with that being said look in the book of Job…where the talked about huge beast that walked the earth…could this be dino? I dont know, but I have little faith in scientist time dating something to a process they created.
As far as you last comment. When Adam and Eve sinned, they were cast out of the Garden, knowing they had sinned, they were ashamed and knew then they were naked…so preiviously, I would have to say that morning breath, bad hair days or the aspect of body hair was not an issue till they were cast out.
Being no biblical scholar by any stretch of the imagination, I appreciate any perspective I get on this subject. Unlike #1, I have gained respect for you for this.
Thank you, and BTW, this part made me a smile:
One day God created the Heavesn and Earth.
One day God created all the animals……….
Nowhere does it say a day to God was 24 hours long.
Also who’s to say God didn’t put dinosaur bones on this Earth so Man could find them and test His Faith.
Being from the Intelligent Design camp, I was immediately intrigued by the link to the above statement “there is no inherent contradiction between creation and evolution if you are willing to accept the Genesis story as an extremely simplified account of that happened given to people in terms that they were capable of understanding at the time.”
To me, what seems to be the inherent flaw in the linked article is the overall timeline. The author’s hypothesis is that if you believe in the evolution of man then you must believe that his intelligence evolved with his body. Therefore, the further you go back in time, man will be less intelligent. This part of the hypothesis I believe. The author then points to engineering feats dating back a few thousand years and uses them to show that man was remarkably intelligent in “ancient” times, thus proving no diminished intellect as you go back in time; proving the hypothesis.
The flaw of this evidence to prove the hypothesis is the amount of time. If you believe the science that dates ancient man, Australopithecus ramidus, to over 4 million years, then you’ll see that five or even ten thousand years just isn’t enough time to use to compare a change in intellect.
The one question I’d like to pose the author of that article is how can you account for the dramatic differences in appearance between the races without going back at least thirty or forty thousand years? We can look at the ancient art of the Egyptians and Chinese and see that there have been distinct physical differences, the same that you see today, between races for at least 4,000 years. So does the author believe there was some form of mutation that occurred to the descendants of Adam and Eve or does he believe that there is a greater period of time between Adam and Eve and this art work? I think you can see where I’m heading with this.
Don wrote: “Also who’s to say God didn’t put dinosaur bones on this Earth so Man could find them and test His Faith.”
This is what kills me about those who rationalize the unrationalizable (big word) and defend the indefensible.
Why would God play games with us like this? The God I believe in is not like some big kid sitting up there cooking up schemes to “trap” and “trick” us into believing in Him. I’m so sick of hearing about how God is testing us with this or with that. We’re tested every single minute of every single day because we are human, thanks to Him. God doesn’t look around at people and decide who He wants to play games with today. It makes no sense. Why would He? Just so he can verify the strength of our faith, and if we fail His test we’re condemned to eternal damnation? Please.
You wonder why I shake my head.
Headshaker
Sometimes I wonder too
You just stated “We’re tested every single minute of every single day because we are human, thanks to Him.”
So why could not this be one of God’s test. Didn’t say god was trying to” “trap” and “trick” us ”
Did God not test Job?
We will not know the answers until we are in Heaven at His side.
“Also who’s to say God didn’t put dinosaur bones on this Earth so Man could find them and test His Faith.”
Me shaking my head also. Do you realize what you are saying about God? Do a Bible study on God not being a deceiver nor the author of confusion.
Please if you do not know what you are talking about either ask a question or refrain from commenting.
#16 - I believe the Bible as written, and even I don’t think that God put Dino Bones in the ground to test Man’s faith. That’s a pretty weak argument. Better to say you don’t know all the answers and leave it at that than to make up a ‘test of faith’ to explain it.
I remember one public school science teacher in junior high that pointed out to our class that, even though the writings in the book of Genesis — which were passed down for generations until actually being put into written word — were authored long before any semblance of modern science was established, the order of creation in the Bible matches exactly the order of formation/evolution put forth by modern scientists and proponents of evolution and the Big Bang Theory. The primary differences are the amount of time it took to happen and the originator/Creator (or lack thereof). I always thought that was pretty interesting, especially coming from public school.
Headshaker & Don Hooks
Headshaker #18
bravo
Don Hooks #19
You can know the answer now.
Read the book. God did not test Job. Satan was allowed by God to test Job.
Matt, the problem I have with the “Are you a good person?” link is that when Jesus was crucified, the Old Testament was nailed to the cross - We need the Old Testament to study the histories, etc., however, the New Testament is where we learn how to live our lives and how to worship. The OT was set aside - hence the term “testament” which means someone has to die for it to come into effect, just like our “last will and testament.”
The NT teaches that there are two commandments - Love your God with all your heart…. and Love your neighbor as yourself. These two commandments replace the OT 10 Commandments. If you keep these two, then you have kept all of the 10 commandments.
Also, we don’t get to heaven by our own by being a “good person.” There is no degrees of sin, so, in God’s eyes, if you lie you are just as guilty as if you kill someone or commit adultry.
#24 If you go through the whole presentation Matt linked to, you will get that message, overall.
pmartin,
Why would God create man, and put most of His creation in a miserable existence on Earth (not everyone drives an SUV and has digital cable, most people around the world live in very poor conditions), construct man as such that he is prone to temptation and sin, and then condemn him to eternal damnation? Makes no sense to me.
Also, what about the “good people” who have never had the chance to hear about Jesus Christ? Are they in hell? So a mass murderer can accept Christ as his savior and go to heaven, but a person who lived a saintly life and never heard of Jesus is condemned? Am I missing something?
Headshaker, you wrote, “I’m so sick of hearing about how God is testing us with this or with that.”
This very subject began bugging me recently. I did a search in the two Bible versions I use….and could find no instance of where “God tests us”. Time constraints limited my search to the New Testament.
I have since talked to others that posit the Old Testament has clear cases of God testing people(s). I will have to spend more time researching that.
The Old Testament and the Law still are the schoolmaster that teaches us about sin. They are still relevant today for they point to Christ. The Law condemns but propitiation is attained at the cross. The “love God” and “love your neighbor” do not replace the the “OT 10″ nor anything else. They are the foundation of “the Law and the Prophets” and point to our sinfullness.
pmartin, I agree and respectively disagree with you on a couple of points. I totally agree just being a good person will not get you in heaven. Because gets there except through Jesus.
I do disagree that in your preface of the old testiment. Or, the book of laws…I believe that the old testiment (OT) was not replaced by the new, however, once Jesus was born and the phrophecy was fullfilled (OT) the New Testiment (NT) is of the life and times of Jesus and thereafter. To presume that some of the laws in the OT are replaced by the NT is like sticking your head in the sand. While some dietary laws were established in the OT laws such as the Ten Commandments still have to be followed as God’s law… Question is can God add new laws…absoltely! But knowing I have sinned and will always be a sinner, who has been saved by grace… You take the Ten commandments and couple them with the teachings of Jesus to model how you are supposed to live. But to say the NT replaced the OT laws is false.
#28
Precisely!
#26 Headshaker,
I understand what you are saying, I really do, but that is because you are NOT seeing the big picture. As a very strong believer, please let me add this:
When you say:
“Why would God create man, and put most of His creation in a miserable existence on Earth (not everyone drives an SUV and has digital cable,…”
Who makes the earth miserable? God didn’t put us here for misery my friend. Happiness is what you believe it is. You make it sound like if you don’t have the Best of the Best then you are miserable. That is coming from the inside of you, not the world. Just because I don’t have alot of “worldly” riches, doesn’t mean I don’t have all the wealth in the world, when I go home to my apartment and kiss my babies good night, after we just got finshed with bologna sandwhiches, I feel blessed beyond compare.
The bible clearly states, you are what you love. If you put money and things before God, then that is who you are, henceforth, would be my guess for the misery.
Also, I clearly see your point about serial killers saying they have accepted Jesus and being in Heaven. I will give my opionion on that……God KNOWS!! If they are truly sorry and have accepted Jesus, I believe God will accept them, but, I also can’t help but think, I don’t know many people who have the true love of God living inside them that become serial killers. Just because you hear death row inmates saying they have found Jesus, certainly doesn’t mean they have. God KNOWS!!!
I did not state that the OT was “replaced” by the NT. I said we need the OT to read the histories, learn why man sinned, etc. The NT gives us our pattern for life, telling us how to live, just like the OT gave the jews the laws. etc. We don’t live our lives in accordance with the OT — we don’t sacrifice bulls and goats or have dietary restrictions (i.e., eating pork) as set out in the OT.
Read again. I said if you keep the 2 commandments as I listed, then you are also keeping the 10 OT commandments. If you love the God with all your heart…, then you are not going to worship idols, etc. If you love your neighbors as yourself you are not going to kill them, steal from them, covet what they have, etc.
I’ll submit the exact scriptures when I come back from lunch.
All who possess free-will have the potential for evil and evil acts. Neither free-will nor the giver of free-will are the cause for evil. We do that ourselves.
God created man and woman as a special creation - set apart for God’s glorification. To be “set apart” is what the word holy means. We are here to be holy, a people set apart, to the glory of God.
One day all wrongs will be righted, all tears will be dried, all sickness will be healed and death will be cast into the lake of fire.
1 Corinthians 15
“Death has been swallowed up in victory.”[g]
55″Where, O death, is your victory?
Where, O death, is your sting?”[h] 56The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. 57But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
kimmie,
Hundreds of millions of people have no food, no healthcare, no basic necessities. That’s misery.
Here’s a dose of reality for you: millions of people are born into misery - no food, diseases, etc. This is not a life choice they made. And this misery is not man-made - it pre-exists.
#29 - “the New Testament is only about the life and times of Jesus.” The life and times of Jesus are in the 4 Gospels, which record everything from His birth to his death and resurrection. How do you explain the rest of the NT? The entire NT gives us our pattern for living, how to worship, how to give of your means, God’s laws regarding adultry, divorce, taking the Lord’s Supper, how to become a Christian, etc. How can you not see that?
#34
I certainly do not need a dose of reality from you or anyone else there headie. My eldest daughter has a kidney disease, I am a single Mom and I work two jobs and barely make ends meet, and the list could get much longer if I wanted it to, but, bottom line, I am NOT miserable, not in the least. You know why, because I CHOOSE NOT TO BE!! We all go thru trials in this life, our rewards are in the next one!!
Well, for some of us anyway : )
#34 Many miseries are not man made but man-worsened. Most of life miseries are man-made and many of the consequences fall on innocents.
Hey there Headie, #34
Let’s examine this statement, shall we???
“”And this misery is not man-made - it pre-exists.”"
hmmmmmmmmm, not man made, it pre-exists……..so, what exactly does that mean Headie? If it was pre-existing, then it definetly started somewhere, right?
Kimmie, I’m truly sorry to hear about your daughter and your circumstances. However, you’re still not comparing apples and apples and you’re not living in the real world (newsflash: the USA is not the real world).
Don’t tell me that an Ethiopian born with AIDS and into starvation can choose NOT to be miserable.
Don’t tell me that the hundreds of millions of people that have absolutely nothing, NOTHING, can choose NOT to be miserable.
You live in the USA, the land of opportunity. Most people don’t.
I’d like for you to live in the conditions these people live in (and are born into) and tell me how happy you are.
Kimmie,
The conditions these people live in and are born into are pre-existing - they have nothing. Why? Ask God. He created the world, and He created places where there are no food, no resources, disease, famine, etc. These places are not manmade, they’ve existed since the beginning.
As usual Headie, you are getting way off base here. You said:
“Why would God create man, and put most of His creation in a miserable existence on Earth ”
Instead of arguing with me Headie, go whip out your Bible, read what it says about the division of the Nations, read that and come back and argue with me tomorrow……..I have lots of work to get done.
And by the way, on a recent mission trip, we did live with this “nothing” you are referring too, didn’t change my misery content at all, but it did change my attitude.
Kimmie, I don’t need to read the Bible to understand reality.
And again you fail to compare apples to apples. Going on a mission trip, knowing you’re coming back home to much better conditions, shouldn’t change your long-term misery content. How about facing those conditions for the rest of your life? You cannot defend an indefensible position which is what happens here all the time (not just you).
HS
#36 Kimberlyann21,
I’ve been told that you can’t always choose your circumstances, but you can always choose your reaction to them. It sounds to me like you have made a wise choice in refusing to be deterred from being thankful for what you have, regardles of what may have been said by others. Keep up the good work.
#42) You don’t need to read the Bible to understand reality……………God be with you my friend, because you are in for a HUGE surprise.
#43) Mike, those were some really kind words and they are appreciated, thanks man. Kim
Mike,
That’s easy to do in America, not so easy in a third-world country. That’s my point.
Kimmie,
You twist what I’m saying. You asked me to go read the Bible. My point is that I’ve read the Bible often, so I don’t need to re-read it just so I can agree with you. I believe what I believe, as do you.
HS
IMHO (and experience) you do need the Bible to understand reality, Shaker.
Shannon, I agree with you. As long as people can separate what is truly reality from what is allegorical.
I was going thru the family photo album and I came across this picture of my great great great grandfather Coco. Methinks this evolution thing is real. http://www.nimbacreations.com/Bigfoot/Library/Bigfoot-big3.jpg
Good job Matt. If everyone can stay on topic this could be revolutionary. A diverse group of citizens from many backgrounds actually discussing Theology. Maybe some of it will sink in - where necessary.
Happiness is a choice. We all have difficulties, some greater than others, but that is called LIFE.
Whether you are born into the manor or the sty, your happiness comes from within. If one depends on external factors (wealth, health, family) for happiness, then you will never be happy. This is as true for an AIDS victim in Ethiopia as it is for Bill Gates.
Just my opinion/outlook.
Do you take after your “great great great grandfather Coco?”
#51 Willie,
Very well said, sir.
#46 - there is a difference between reading the Bible and studying it. I think that is what Shannon meant. I read the entire Bible several times when I was in my teens. Does that mean I don’t need it anymore? The idea is to study the Bible over and over and over. There will always be something there you think you never saw before.
With free-will comes consequences and consequences affect even the innocent.
Yes, misery will be with us until the glorious reappearance of my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
Romans 8
18I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us. 19The creation waits in eager expectation for the sons of God to be revealed. 20For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope 21that[i] the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the glorious freedom of the children of God.
22We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time.
Headshaker - Misery, death, disease, famine, toil, etc. were all a direct result of man’s fall in the Garden of Eden. That doesn’t make God any less God or any less good…
It always easier to blame God … wait, isn’t that exactly what happended in the account in Genesis?
The sin of Adam, and through him death, was to blame God for giving him THE woman. Every time that we blame God for our own doings we ratify the orignal veredict.
Genesis 3
9 But the LORD God called to the man, “Where are you?”
10 He answered, “I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid.”
11 And he said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree that I commanded you not to eat from?”
12 The man said, “The woman you put here with me—she gave me some fruit from the tree, and I ate it.”
More on the earlier discussion of NT vs OT…Law/Gospel:
The true knowledge of the distinction between the Law and the Gospel is not only a glorious light, affording a correct understanding of the entire Holy Scriptures, but without this knowledge Scripture is and remains a sealed book….The Word of God is not rightly divided when the law is not preached in its full sternness, and the gospel not in its full sweetness, when, on the contrary, gospel elements are mingled with the law and law elements with the gospel.–C.F.W. Walther,1884
shannon, nice quote.
Perfect justice meets perfect mercy.
Perfect sentence meets perfect grace.
If God is omnipotent, wouldn’t He know that He was setting man up for a fall? Why would He do this? What does God get out of all of this?
Does anyone have an explanation that makes sense?
My response, HS, will not satisfy…
I don’t have an explanation. Some things we won’t know till later.
Why doesnt God just appear like in Star Trek 2 or 3 (forgot which one) and tell us what he wants us to do?
I have some questions for him as well like:
Whats with Asian people? They always try to get me to come off my price but when i go to their restaurants I have to pay full price.
Do you know Allah? Is he just a pissed off guy or what?
Why dont you tell me to build something like you did Noah? You dont think i’m handy or what?
Why did you invent roaches and ants. Especially fire ants. You must want a mulligan on that one right?
Why did you put all the oil under those a-holes in the middle east?
Can you give me a heads up on the super mega lotto numbers?
Next time put some breasts on womens backs too.
And one last thing, take it easy on the Carolina Panthers cheerleaders.
gregger, you’ve got me LMAO! I never thought about women with breasts on their backs, but what an idea!
Yes, lets argue why not the way that you would have. Only that if God would have done it that way you would be arguing why not this other way?
In your episode, how wuld future generatins find out about what “God” said? YOu would agian raise the objection.
God has spokem. Are you listening?
Sorry for the typos. I should have proof read before clicking the submit button. Arrrrgh
generations not generatins
again not agian
spoken not spokem
headshaker, If God didn’t give man free will then we would just be mindless slaves to His will. Could there be any other way? God created man to enjoy his creation of the universe. But seriously can anyone pretend to know everything that happened millenia ago? I barely know what happened to me last week.
Every belief in something that you cannot physically see ultimately comes down to faith and feelings and hope. Jesus taught us to love one another, what is wrong with that? Jesus taught that if you believe in him you will have eternal life. What is wrong with that? Any death and destruction wrought by supposed believers in God is not the fault of God and he could only ‘fix’ this if he took away your free will.
But seriously what is wrong with people believing in a man who said to love.
And, gregg, you are not willing to do what God requires of you:
Micah 6:8
8 He has showed you, O man, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.
John 6
28 Then they asked him, “What must we do to do the works God requires?” 29 Jesus answered, “The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent.”
#63: I knew a girl with breasts on her back. Not much to look like, but great to slow dance with.
deely, I believe in Jesus, I just don’t believe in some of the Old Testament stories that people take literally. What’s wrong with that?
deely: Faith is not blind. It is trust in something or somone based on objective criteria. Blind faith is no faith at all but delusion.
And it is not faith in just a man but faith on which man?
Mark 2
3 Some men came, bringing to him a paralytic, carried by four of them. 4 Since they could not get him to Jesus because of the crowd, they made an opening in the roof above Jesus and, after digging through it, lowered the mat the paralyzed man was lying on. 5 When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, “Son, your sins are forgiven.”
6 Now some teachers of the law were sitting there, thinking to themselves, 7″Why does this fellow talk like that? He’s blaspheming! Who can forgive sins but God alone?”
8 Immediately Jesus knew in his spirit that this was what they were thinking in their hearts, and he said to them, “Why are you thinking these things? 9 Which is easier: to say to the paralytic, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up, take your mat and walk’? 10 But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins . . . .” He said to the paralytic, 11 “I tell you, get up, take your mat and go home.” 12 He got up, took his mat and walked out in full view of them all. This amazed everyone and they praised God, saying, “We have never seen anything like this!”
Gregg 3:35
He who can recite the bible verse for verse needs his or her own Sunday morning show on cable.
# 67 Jaime,
“And, gregg, you are not willing to do what God requires of you:”
He and my wife have something in common. I’ll get to it when I can.
When it comes down to it and you believe in the God of the Bible and you believe in Jesus then ultimately nothing else matters. But I guess if you only partially believe does that mean you truely believe?
#70 I guess I didn’t say anything about blind faith. I just spoke of that which you cannot see. I don’t believe anyone believes in anything blindly, or with no thought as to why they believe.
“Gregg 3:35″
funny
“He and my wife have something in common. I’ll get to it when I can.”
very funny
I have a face for radio and a voice for the mute button. I like writing better, if only I could learn how to type!
I barely can remember my own birthday, you can find the Bible online at:
http://bible.gospelcom.net
deely, I stand corrected.
Again, the OT is in integral part of the whole. You can’t selectively believe the OT and fully believe Jesus is who he says he is.
And God said “Let there be light” and there was the Big Bang. Nuf said.
I think the earth was here for, could be millions or billions of years, with things like dinosaurs and such. So he had the world just hanging around for a while, who cares. Genesis says in the beginning the world was without form and void. You know all kinda dark, yucky and slimy. Then God decided to do something else with it and make man. Just over 6000 years ago where the bible begins. Evidently God didn’t think it was so much worth writing about before then, so didn’t. I guess it didn’t really mean much to him until he put man on it. Then starts the writing of it all. Glory to God.
I think it really takes more faith to believe in evolution than it does to believe in God.
You can look at a bunch of bones from people all over the earth that died yesterday and they would all look remarkably different from one person to the next. Human and ape bones from over the last 6000 years are going to all look very similar but also very different.
#24 The “Are You a Good Person?” is not Matt saying you have to be a good person to enter Heaven. It is asking the person reading it if they think they are a good person. Asked the question, allot of people will tell you they are. When they learn the Ten Commandments, they see that they are not good. The bible says, “no one is good, no not one.” We are all sinners. The 10 Commandments were not ended with the New Testament. The New Testament fulfilled the Old Tenement. The 10 commandments are to bring us to the knowledge of the law and to show us good and evil and that we are sinners. After all how could we live together in a community without the law? This shows us that no one is good because everyone has broken at least one of the 10. If you are guilty of breaking one, you are guilty of breaking them all. God loves us so much that he gave us our own free will. God became man in Jesus Christ. He was pure and without sin. He was sent to save us from our sin. Jesus brought forth the Royal Commandment of the New Covenant. (To love thy God with all your heart, mind and spirit and to love your neighbor as yourself). If you live by this law you will not break any of the 10 commandments.
It is all very simple as God intended it to be. Be as a Child and you will see the simplicity of God and his way of salvation. Man always has to think he is so intelligent. Always makes everything so complicated.
10 important points.
1. God made us in his image to fellowship with him.
2. God gave us our own free will, because he wants us to love him on our own. Not because he makes us.
3. He gave us the law, the Ten Commandments, so we would know right from wrong.
4. Man sinned against God, we broke the law out of selfishness, wanting our own way.
5. God cannot be in the presence of sin, so our sin separated us from God. We upset him so much that he grieved that he even made us. Thats very sad.
6. Being that he still loved us so much. He came to earth as a man, Jesus Christ pure without sin. He became the perfect sacrifice to pay for our sin.
7. Jesus came fulfilling the Old Testament. (The prophesy of his coming).
8. Again we have the choice to believe him and accept him or not. Believe and accept Jesus and you will have everlasting life with God and Jesus in Heaven.
9. With Jesus came the new law. The Royal Law of the new Covenant. (To love thy God with all your heart, mind and spirit and to love your neighbor as yourself), not to replace the Ten Commandants, but to show us that if we keep the Royal Law, we will not break any of the ten, thus not sin.
10. Since God is a fair and just God. There is a price to pay for breaking the law. The punishment is hell, unless we choose to take salvation, (the perfect gift from Jesus).
It’s very strange how people do not think that God will abide by his law and punish people to hell for there sin. Would any right thinking person think it ok, not to punish a proven and admitted law-breaker? You know like a thief, murderer, rapist, or cheater. I do not think so. Then how would it be fair and just for God to not punish lawbreakers?
The Bible reports. You decide…
What about people who’ve never had the chance to hear about Christ and accept Him as their savior? Where do they go?
I became a Christian “walking the Roman road.” The first 5 or 6 chapters of the Epistle to the Romans might help in answering your questions (or raise others?).
I will not post 6 chapters here so her’s the link:
http://bible.gospelcom.net/passage/?book_id=51&version=31
I respect and trust the Christian Research Institute. I’ve known CRI for many years and their current “Answer Man” is sharp.
What about the Person Who Has Never Heard?
http://www.equip.org/free/DC850.htm
Perhaps the question posed with the greatest passion during my radio interview was, “What about people who have never heard of Jesus? Will God condemn them to hell for not believing in someone they never heard of?” Although this is a classic smokescreen question designed to ward off an encounter with the gospel, I responded by pointing out the problem with its premise.
People are not condemned to hell only on the occasion of not believing in Jesus; they are already condemned because of their sin. The real question, then, is not how can God send someone to hell but rather how can God condescend to save any one of us?
Furthermore, if ignorance were a ticket to heaven, the greatest evangelistic enterprise in the world would not be a Billy Graham crusade but a concerted cover-up campaign. Such a campaign would focus on ending evangelism, burning Bibles, and closing churches. Then, in a few years, no one will hear of Jesus Christ and hence everyone will be on their way to heaven. Given this scenario, Christ would not have come to seek and save those who were lost but rather to seek and lose those who were already saved.
Consider also that everyone will be judged according to the light they have been given: the light of creation (Rom. 1), the light of conscience (Rom. 2), and the light of Christ (Rom. 3). God is not capricious! Thus, we can rest assured that those who respond to light will receive more light. As the prophet Jeremiah put it, “You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart” (Jer. 29:13).
If there is one thing the Parliament of the World’s Religions and my radio interview underscored above everything else, it is the urgency of being equipped to communicate not just what Christianity affirms but why. While no one can be talked into the kingdom of God, our well-reasoned answers to objections raised by skeptics and seekers can be used by the Holy Spirit to bring living water to a dry and dusty land. For those who come to know Jesus, His assertion, “I am the way and the truth and the life,” is not cruel exclusivism but rather liberating truth.
– Hank Hanegraaff, Christian Research Institute