The foundation of very nearly every failure is formed by a lack of knowledge… How many times, in looking back upon your own life circumstances (failures, or just things that could have had a better outcome), do you have the thought: If I had only known then what I know now???
Read. Consider. Adopt or Reject.
Please do not awaken to eternity – surprised – after your body fails, and have to think: If I had only known… If I had only listened… If I had not failed to consider… things could have been different.
In this series, We are delving into topics that others avoid, such as What are the Possible Eternal Conditions, How Could a God of Love Allow Evil, or Create a Place of Eternal Torment and then Send anyone there. We will also discuss answers to questions such as, Are there Many Roads to Heaven? How Can We Know? What Can We Know? What Should We Believe? Is there a Best Decision and Why IS it Best.
Whether your agree with the titles, or subtitles, or content, you cannot harm yourself by considering other information…
Yes, you may “waste” a few minutes of your time, but how important is a few minutes compared to the endless reaches of the universe and the unending existence and unchangeable stretch of time???
Series Introduction
In my service to Christ my King, through teaching, encouraging, and serving others, I have been repeatedly asked some very profound questions concerning my faith, as it relates to other Teachings, Doctrines, Spiritual Paths, and other Gods. I was asked, with special emphasis, What Makes Your Faith, Your Way, Your God, the Only Right Way…
Some call the answers I provided Defending the Faith, but even though I guess that is correct, I never viewed it from that perspective… and neither did the persons of other faiths, the atheists, the agnostics, or the members of various cults, that questioned me with sincere curiosity…
None of them disliked me for my faith. None of them challenged me in frustration or anger or hatred or resentment. I was, and I am, open to sincerely discuss – with anyone – my faith, my beliefs and why I believe what I do. I am also willing to discuss theirs and why they believe what they do.
I could never look down on anyone, after the life I lived prior to finally allowing God to mold me into the vessel He had intended me to be from the womb.
Some Christians look down their noses, or disregard, or even slander, people of other denominations and certainly other belief systems entirely… They Browbeat, Scorn, Ostracize… They attempt to “win” people to belief in Eternal Life by beating them to death with the scriptures…
Gandhi once said, “I’d be a Christian, if it were not for the Christians.” The prisons, in which I was incarcerated for just short of 36 continuous years (read the Full Story Here), are full of individuals who have adopted a version of Gandhi’s statement of belief: “I’d be a Christian, if I didn’t know so many.”
What is missed in this belief is that while there are bad or even mean and especially misguided Christians, it is the people that practice a distorted methodology of Biblical Instruction that produce the negativity… Not the scriptures themselves… It is the people that are untrue, not the Word of God.
Be that as it may, I have never looked down on anyone for their faith or lack thereof. Whether they be wayward Christians, People of Other Beliefs, people without any belief system at all, or people that Have Chosen Evil…
After all, God provided for, and set before, each and every single person, the choice for Good or Evil… And God will honor their choice…
Are we to stand against evil? Does God provide us with the instructions for doing so? Yes, read Ephesians 6: 10-18.
Yes. There are truly evil people. Persons who intentionally choose darkness over light, evil over good. There are also, however, those that are misguided, misinformed, confused, even damaged beyond any natural healing…
I cannot hate them for what they have done… I can hate the acts; hate what they do, as I have hated what I, myself, have done, but having been redeemed by God, after having been determined and labeled Irredeemable by mankind, I never lose site of the Worth of Others in God’s Eyes… After all, He Sacrificed His Only Begotten Son for Them and for Me…
This series will discuss many of the topics and questions mentioned before, as well as any others that may arise.
In this Second Blog Post of the Series, we will look at the whether we should believe there is a God.
Logic, Reason, the Empirical: Should We Believe that God IS?
Everyone is faced with the dilemma of, if nothing comes from nothing, then something always was… After all, we are here and so is the Universe.
Again, if nothing comes from nothing, then something always was: either the universe is without beginning, or its Creator is.
So, what is the available evidence?
The Universe is bound by the laws of physics and is physical in nature. Scientist know that it is deteriorating. Suns are burning out, planets are eroding… The entire, massive physicality of what is observable is in the process of returning to nothing — however long that may take, it is a finite process.
The Universe is dying, deteriorating, decaying because of time erosion. The Universe, and everything in it, is in constant motion; creating drag, friction, energy depletion…
There is no question concerning the negative effects of time and physics upon the Universe… If the Universe is bound by time and physicality, and that is measured by erosion toward its original nothingness, it cannot be said or determined to have always existed, nor can it be self-sustaining.
If it had a beginning, and nothing can come from nothing, then there must have been something that caused the universe to be — something to supply the matter, something to set the spark for a big bang… something to serve as the impetus and something to create the space in which it exist; something to supply the power of generation for all of those things and everything else.
If the physical, the material, is always, and in every circumstance, declining; decaying, deteriorating, eroding, slowing, it could not have been – and is not – always existent, perpetual, eternal.
This, fact alone, proves that in order to be ever-present, Something has to be non-physical, non-material; in essence, in nature, in being.
It would have to be something free of physicality, free of even the need of physicality to exist, (even electricity seeks a ground, and involves motion and interaction of physical elements, without which it ceases to exist).
So, what do you have, if you have no physicality? Yes; you have Spirituality.
If nothing comes from nothing and time affects the physical, then the Universe – the physical, the material – had to be created by the Spiritual.
Once this determination is broached, it begs several questions and acknowledgments…
Did this Spiritual force or entity require Intelligence? Did it require Power? Did it require Purpose? Did it require Intent?
Since the physical cannot come from nothing and is not self-sustaining, a Non-Physical Entity (before there was anything physical) would have had to’ve been responsible for creating everything that is.
It would then stand to reason – with the mathematical precision of the Universe, and the intricacies required in its design and sustainability – this Non-Physical, Spiritual, Entity had to have possessed knowledge almost beyond belief, as well as intention to create and, thereby, purpose for creation, as well as unfathomable power…
That pretty much describes God… Even as He has described Himself to mankind, in witness and testimony of Himself, by His Holy Word.
Again, by the standards of logic and reason, by the proof of mathematics and physics, as well as the empirical; an All-Knowing, All-Powerful, Eternal Spirit had to’ve created the Universe and everything in it.
God did it.
Since God IS, What Should We Do?
Having deduced that there is logic, sound reasoning, and empirical evidence, supporting the belief that a Supreme, Spiritual, Being created everything that is, we should very seriously consider following His instructions…
What should we do? Obey Him. Believe Him.
A Being that created the Universe, and everything in it; the designer of DNA, Mathematics, Light, Life, Solar Systems, Galaxies, Space, the Ant… That Being???
Well, I would tend to think that He is Smart Enough, Powerful Enough, and Capable Enough, to deliver to His Human creations, the instructions for how to live and how to obtain the very best eternity…
Furthermore, the power necessary to both create and sustain the Universe and everything in it, should incentivize us to believe every promise and heed all warnings delivered by the One responsible for our own creation.
Logic and reason, as well as the Human Condition, mandate that (unless our existence is threatened ) we do not create in order to destroy. We create in order to enjoy.
We are proud of, and we love, those things we invent or create. We do not want them damaged, or harmed, or destroyed… They bring us pleasure, a sense of special accomplishment, and satisfaction.
We declare our creations good, and very good, all according to our levels of pride and satisfaction. It is much the same with God (after all, He created us in His Own Image: Genesis 1: 26-27) . Read His documentation of creation in Genesis 1: 1-31.
And when you read His account of creations, please take a moment to ponder and appreciate your place in the Universe…
He created everything in the Heavens and the Earth and everything was good until He created man within the Universe; then, it was very good.
We are made in the image of God, with the ability to reason, possessing emotions and an eternal spirit, there are, however, several huge difference between the Human Condition and God’s:
- His existence is challengeable (as satan and his angles sought and will try to overthrow God and was cast down to the earth — Jude 1:6, 2 Peter 2:1-22, Revelation 12:7-9, 20:2-3, Luke 10:18-20,) but impossible to alter or terminate.
- It is impossible for God to Lie (Hebrews 6:18, ).
- He possesses all knowledge and wisdom (Psalm 147:5 , 1 Samuel 2:3,
- He is everywhere, all the time (Jeremiah 23:24, Psalm 139:7-10, Proverbs 15:3, Hebrews 4:13,)
- He is All-powerful (Revelation 1:8, Jeremiah 32:17,Romans 1:20, Mark 10:27)
It is an inescapable conclusion that Such a One could and would provide us with rules to live by and see that we have an accurate copy of those rules and promises and covenants…
Then why does He say things in so many different ways, in so many different Bibles?
He does not.
His Word, The Holy Bible, is not the problem. It is our (Human Reasoning, Intellect, Desire, Fear) twisting His words to make them mean other than what they say that creates the confusion, the doubt, the resentment…
That is what produces the “translations” that go beyond language rendering and into completely different and contrary story creation or accounts of what God actually documented or promised or warned us.
Yet, we blame God for everything; things we know, things we don’t know, things we don’t like, things we do not wish to accept.
The Truth is as unchangeable as God, Himself. He is the Truth that Cannot Be Changed… (Hebrews 6:18)
So, why are there lies? So why is there hate? Why would a God of Love ALLOW Evil???
We will discuss that in next week’s devotional. For now, suffice it to say, there are solid reasons for believing that God IS, and for believing His promises and His warnings… and dire consequences for disregarding them.
We disbelieve to our Eternal Detriment… There is no such thing as too much information. Read, Consider, Accept or Reject, but make an informed decision concerning your possible eternal condtion.
Scripture to Keep in Mind
John 1: 1-3, 14
1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 The same was in the beginning with God. 3 All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.
14 And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth. (bold emphasis mine)
Colossians 1:16
16 for by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him. (bold emphasis mine)
Deuteronomy 4:2, 12:32
4:2 Ye shall not add unto the word which I command you, neither shall ye diminish ought from it, that ye may keep the commandments of the Lord your God which I command you.
32 What thing soever I command you, observe to do it: thou shalt not add thereto, nor diminish from it.
Revelation 22:18-19
18 For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book: 19 and if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book.
Galatians 1:6-9
6 I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel: 7 which is not another; but there be some that trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of Christ. 8 But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed. 9 As we said before, so say I now again, If any man preach any other gospel unto you than that ye have received, let him be accursed.
The Deuteronomy and Revelation scriptures very clearly lay out and demonstrate that we are not to piecemeal add to or take from anything within the scriptures and that there are dire consequences for doing so.
People have played word games with the bible in order to make it say what they want it to say, or mean something other than what it means, from its inception… They twist the words at their own peril and the peril of those they deceive. The truth is what it is, it does not need us to explain it.
All that is required of us is that we accept and believe it… which includes both the written word, and God The Word Made Flesh, Jesus Christ — The Way, The Truth, and The Life.
Others have altered the John Chapter 1 scriptures above to make God The Word, A – god (little “g”), and not – as the scripture actually proclaims – that The Word was THE God that became flesh, and took the form of the man, Jesus Christ…
You and I do not have to worry about the semantics of the gospel, the story of good and evil, the whys and wherefores… Ours is to simply believe God.
Instead of asking what it means, we should simply believe what it says and obey… And that is really what it boils down to. If we could discern everything in the Bible, know without question, the mysteries and entire ways of God, there would be no room for faith… and scripture informs us that it is impossible to please God without Faith.
(On a side note: I will do a future post on the Triune Godhead, or Trinity: God, The Father; God: The Word/Son; God, The Holy Ghost/Spirit)
Thanks for your interest in God’s Word and for considering your possible eternal condition… Please like the post and the website, and provide your comments or question.
