Good morning, I'm seated in front of the TV watching Fox News. It's
after 1800 in Christmas Island, New Zealand, China, Japan, Laos,
Thailand, and Kazakhstan. According to your prediction, the world is
coming to an end today at 1800 local time.
http://www.familyradio.com/graphical/literature/judgment/judgment.html
Please let me explain that I am a Christian. With that, how much
honor does this bring to my Lord Jesus?
The world sits back and laughs as you because it's 6 p.m. in China and
there's no devastating earthquake cascading around the world. Many
population centers are already past 1800 local time. Yet, at this
hour in the USA, Fox News is showcasing some cat dude, rather than the
end of the Age and CNN is focusing on cell phone safety. OH! It's
not on CNN, Headline News, MSN news channels.
Did you see this tweet? RT @stephenfry: Marvellous news! #rapture doesn't mean end of world: apparently all the plantet's imbeciles disappear in one go #dreamcometrue Even if he can't spell, the assurance that he views Christians as imbeciles is directly caused by people who are religious acting in goofy ways is not lost.
So while the world laughs, you have distracted their attention from Jesus who benefits the "here and now" and the Age to come.
What did Jesus tell Christians to do? Was it to predict the end of
the age or to tell people that Jesus loved them, that He died for
their sin, that He rose from the dead, and that He presented Himself
to many witnesses? Are we instructed to issue prophecies that don't
pan out or to love God with all our hearts, soul, mind, and strength
and your neighbor as yourself?
Here's the first of the news, this one from New Zealand.
http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/149529/20110521/may-21st-doomsday-prediction-end-of-the-world-failed-earthquake-new-zealand-twitter-geological-surve.htm
Did you see this line? "Now atheists of the world can celebrate the
busting of yet another end of the world prediction."
My friend, when Jesus comes back His return will be on CNN, Fox, MSN,
WGN and every local television station worldwide, including the BBC, NHK,
Deutsche Welle, and even Radio Habana Cuba simultaneously.
"BEHOLD, HE IS COMING WITH THECLOUDS, and every eye will see Him, even those who pierced Him; andall the tribes of the earth will mourn over Him. So it is to be. Amen."
I am sad that your hype has brought yet another measure of shame to
the Name of Jesus.
All I can tell my unbelieving friends that Jesus is real but not
everyone who says "Lord, Lord" are His friends.
Maranatha! Come quickly, Lord Jesus!
Saturday, May 21, 2011
Friday, May 20, 2011
White House HIV/AIDS Webcast for Faith & Community Leaders
SAVE THE DATE!!
May 26, 2011
An estimated 1.1 million people are living with HIV, but 1 in 5 does not know they are infected and more than half of American adults, ages 18-64 have never been tested. Faith and community–based organizations play significant role in reducing health disparities and help work to solve some of our most complex health challenges, such as HIV/AIDS. Through the first ever National HIV/AIDS Strategy, President Obama has charged the federal Centers for Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships to more actively engage faith communities to address HIV/AIDS and promote prevention and early treatment.
Following the direction of President Obama to make the White House more open and accessible, the HHS Center and White House Office for Faith-Based and Neighborhood are hosting an evening webcast, live from the White House. This provides a great opportunity for your congregation or community organization to host a watch party and join in the discussion.
Prominent faith leaders and White House Officials will discuss the importance of ending stigma around this disease in order to promote prevention and early treatment, and increasing the number of people in communities who KNOW their status by being tested. Early testing and diagnosis is a key to prevention. If you have a question for a member of the panel, please email Partnerships@hhs.gov by 12:00pm on Thursday, May 26, 2011. Be sure to include, your name, organization and location.
We hope you and your congregations will be able to join us for this important webcast discussion.
SAVE THE DATE!
Thursday, May 26, 2011
7:00pm - 8:00pm
Additional details will be made available.
Wednesday, May 18, 2011
More For @DavetheAtheist and @mechelle_68 about #Jesus
This has become an amazing turn of events. Mr. Obie claims he is real because he wrote something on my "wall", as if posting a reply on a blog would prove anything. God wrote on the wall once. Mr. Obie does not believe in God. Therefore, using Mr. Obie's argument, one can't believe, because of a blog post, the reality of Mr. Obie's existence.
RT @mechelle_68: @DavetheAtheist ..I hope you pointed out to @colston that the Josephus paragraph he linked was decided long ago by scholars to be a fraud.
Is there proof of this? You offered proof of Columbus not being a good example of Christianity but failed to offer a source for proving Josephus did not mention Jesus. Let me help you because, to some, the verdict is still out.
In place of Columbus, would you care to address the reputation of Søren Kierkegaard or Dietrich Bonhoeffer?
@colston ..read Dr. Jack Forbes
"Columbus and Other Cannibals"....Howard Zinn's "A People's History of the Uni… (cont) http://deck.ly/~XNXzl
What of the reputation of these individuals? Are any of them your friends?
Is The Amazing Atheist a good example of belief in nothing? Banned at McDonalds and Burger King? Really?
So far, there's been a lot of discussion attacking the character of some Christians but no so much showing evidence that there's no God.
Regarding this interesting fellow Sathya Sai Baba, did I miss his resurrection somewhere?
Mr. Obie: There exists just as much evidence for all other gods as there does for the Christian god
Mr. Obie, the God, the Creator of the Universe, is the same God as observed by Islam and Judaism. It's what you do with Jesus that makes a difference. You have already admitted, in a Tweet, that Jesus is real. Since we are discussing the reality of God, can you focus, please?
Mr. Obie, since you like science, how about this Oxford study?
Mr. Obie: Again, you bear false witness to your readers. I have offered evidence of the verifiable falsehood of the Bible. Science definitely shows the impossibility of such stories as the creation of the world and Noah's flood, and we have empirically tested the falsities of prayer.
In this discussion so far, I've seen no verifiable evidence of the falsehood of the Bible. In fact, you've told me not to use the Bible in defense of Christianity. With very few exceptions, the evidence I have pointed to you were external to the Bible.
So now, are we discussing the Bible or shall we continue with the extra-Biblical evidence of the Creator of the Universe, God, the Father of Jesus who is called the Christ?
Mr. Obie, Your "Pick the date. I will pick the place." argument is irrelevant ...
It is relevant. You have produced no evidence to refute anything I've said so far. This would lead to a conclusion that you have no proof to show why you believe in nothing. So far, only @mechelle_68 has offered up reasons why Columbus is not a good example of Christianity but nothing about why God is not God.
Your argument is a smoke screen since you admit you will be heading to Europe in 48 hours.
So you can make it to Europe but you can't make it to a debate, even when you get to pick the date for it? Are you following the pattern of Richard Dawkins?
Your assumptions were flawed about the debate. It IS a matter of faith in the challenge. You have faith to get to Europe but you lack the faith to argue for a belief in nothing.
You asked if I lived in Houston. I said I did not but I have been there. You assumed that the debate would be face to face (we are doing pretty good right here). You assumed that the place would not be Houston. Your entire thought process, including the rejection of God, appears to be based on assumptions, not reality. The conclusion would be that your thought processes regarding God is based on flawed assumptions, rather than examination of clear evidence.
By the way, when you go to the airport, if someone's driving you, it's hard to get out of the drop off lane at Hobby when there's no one directing traffic at the crosswalk. It's probably the other airport from which you will be leaving though. Both offer a free chapel for your visit to experience calm.
Mr. Obie: However, I will assert here that it is possible to know that the Abrahamic, monotheistic god does not exist
Interesting that you are going to assert a negative when you tweeted weeks ago that was not possible.
Prove it.
Disprove the witnesses across the space and time who testify today and from the grave their experience of God. Show me the body of Jesus who is called the Christ. With Corpus Christi, you are able to disprove both the resurrection and the ascension.
Pascal's Wager is a good argument because you've yet to disprove God. Are you saying that a scientist could be wrong?
Mr. Obie: The sole reason for evangelistic and humanitarian work through the church is want of money. There is a reason that one associates evangelism with large churches, flat screen TVs, and coffee bars. Church has long been a source of oppression and income, and this concept has not changed today.
I have never asserted that the church as practiced in America is a perfect institution. I will assert that the Church that Jesus died to redeem is a different animal from what you may find in Houston.
This does not refute the fact that people have died for their faith. They give, often sacrificially, for a belief.
Furthermore, just like your trip to Europe costs something, so does the work of the church or Church. You can establish your own measure of value of what goes on around you but God establishes the ultimate value based on what He has said the Christian should do. After all, the church is not asking YOU for money, since you obviously don't believe. :)
Bottom line is His Son, Jesus, said as the prime directive that we should Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind'; and, 'Love your neighbor as yourself.
Frequently, what you see is not what Jesus died to give. When you find a congregation teaching that, there's home, my friend.
As the pollster Barna said recently, "We have to get Christians to think like Jesus." The sad indictment, in my opinion, is that religious people are not necessarily Christian.
All this does not negate God. It shows that man does not get God right.
Reader, if you are scoring this discussion, you would have to give this:
@colston @DavetheAtheist and others
Proof of God through
Extra-Biblical evidence x
Writings of Josephus, x
Origen, Pliny, Galen, x
Lucius, Thallus, Flavius, x
the Qur'an, and the x
centuries of Christians x
that followed the teaching x
of Jesus x Attempted to discredit Josephus
Early Church fathers x
Columbus Poor example of Christianity
Clearly, the atheist argument against God is flawed. There is more, outside the Bible, to support belief than the reader would be lead to believe.
Sadly, it is religious people who give God a bad name or, as a Tweet goes:
RT @wendyglosser: #Christians, we are called to be ambassadors. Are you making our God look good? #Jesus http://bit.ly/fqIzZ3
RT @mechelle_68: @DavetheAtheist ..I hope you pointed out to @colston that the Josephus paragraph he linked was decided long ago by scholars to be a fraud.
Is there proof of this? You offered proof of Columbus not being a good example of Christianity but failed to offer a source for proving Josephus did not mention Jesus. Let me help you because, to some, the verdict is still out.
In place of Columbus, would you care to address the reputation of Søren Kierkegaard or Dietrich Bonhoeffer?
@colston ..read Dr. Jack Forbes
"Columbus and Other Cannibals"....Howard Zinn's "A People's History of the Uni… (cont) http://deck.ly/~XNXzl
What of the reputation of these individuals? Are any of them your friends?
Is The Amazing Atheist a good example of belief in nothing? Banned at McDonalds and Burger King? Really?
So far, there's been a lot of discussion attacking the character of some Christians but no so much showing evidence that there's no God.
Regarding this interesting fellow Sathya Sai Baba, did I miss his resurrection somewhere?
Mr. Obie: There exists just as much evidence for all other gods as there does for the Christian god
Mr. Obie, the God, the Creator of the Universe, is the same God as observed by Islam and Judaism. It's what you do with Jesus that makes a difference. You have already admitted, in a Tweet, that Jesus is real. Since we are discussing the reality of God, can you focus, please?
Mr. Obie, since you like science, how about this Oxford study?
Mr. Obie: Again, you bear false witness to your readers. I have offered evidence of the verifiable falsehood of the Bible. Science definitely shows the impossibility of such stories as the creation of the world and Noah's flood, and we have empirically tested the falsities of prayer.
In this discussion so far, I've seen no verifiable evidence of the falsehood of the Bible. In fact, you've told me not to use the Bible in defense of Christianity. With very few exceptions, the evidence I have pointed to you were external to the Bible.
So now, are we discussing the Bible or shall we continue with the extra-Biblical evidence of the Creator of the Universe, God, the Father of Jesus who is called the Christ?
Mr. Obie, Your "Pick the date. I will pick the place." argument is irrelevant ...
It is relevant. You have produced no evidence to refute anything I've said so far. This would lead to a conclusion that you have no proof to show why you believe in nothing. So far, only @mechelle_68 has offered up reasons why Columbus is not a good example of Christianity but nothing about why God is not God.
Your argument is a smoke screen since you admit you will be heading to Europe in 48 hours.
So you can make it to Europe but you can't make it to a debate, even when you get to pick the date for it? Are you following the pattern of Richard Dawkins?
Your assumptions were flawed about the debate. It IS a matter of faith in the challenge. You have faith to get to Europe but you lack the faith to argue for a belief in nothing.
You asked if I lived in Houston. I said I did not but I have been there. You assumed that the debate would be face to face (we are doing pretty good right here). You assumed that the place would not be Houston. Your entire thought process, including the rejection of God, appears to be based on assumptions, not reality. The conclusion would be that your thought processes regarding God is based on flawed assumptions, rather than examination of clear evidence.
By the way, when you go to the airport, if someone's driving you, it's hard to get out of the drop off lane at Hobby when there's no one directing traffic at the crosswalk. It's probably the other airport from which you will be leaving though. Both offer a free chapel for your visit to experience calm.
Mr. Obie: However, I will assert here that it is possible to know that the Abrahamic, monotheistic god does not exist
Interesting that you are going to assert a negative when you tweeted weeks ago that was not possible.
Prove it.
Disprove the witnesses across the space and time who testify today and from the grave their experience of God. Show me the body of Jesus who is called the Christ. With Corpus Christi, you are able to disprove both the resurrection and the ascension.
Pascal's Wager is a good argument because you've yet to disprove God. Are you saying that a scientist could be wrong?
Mr. Obie: The sole reason for evangelistic and humanitarian work through the church is want of money. There is a reason that one associates evangelism with large churches, flat screen TVs, and coffee bars. Church has long been a source of oppression and income, and this concept has not changed today.
I have never asserted that the church as practiced in America is a perfect institution. I will assert that the Church that Jesus died to redeem is a different animal from what you may find in Houston.
This does not refute the fact that people have died for their faith. They give, often sacrificially, for a belief.
Furthermore, just like your trip to Europe costs something, so does the work of the church or Church. You can establish your own measure of value of what goes on around you but God establishes the ultimate value based on what He has said the Christian should do. After all, the church is not asking YOU for money, since you obviously don't believe. :)
Bottom line is His Son, Jesus, said as the prime directive that we should Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind'; and, 'Love your neighbor as yourself.
Frequently, what you see is not what Jesus died to give. When you find a congregation teaching that, there's home, my friend.
As the pollster Barna said recently, "We have to get Christians to think like Jesus." The sad indictment, in my opinion, is that religious people are not necessarily Christian.
All this does not negate God. It shows that man does not get God right.
Reader, if you are scoring this discussion, you would have to give this:
@colston @DavetheAtheist and others
Proof of God through
Extra-Biblical evidence x
Writings of Josephus, x
Origen, Pliny, Galen, x
Lucius, Thallus, Flavius, x
the Qur'an, and the x
centuries of Christians x
that followed the teaching x
of Jesus x Attempted to discredit Josephus
Early Church fathers x
Columbus Poor example of Christianity
Clearly, the atheist argument against God is flawed. There is more, outside the Bible, to support belief than the reader would be lead to believe.
Sadly, it is religious people who give God a bad name or, as a Tweet goes:
RT @wendyglosser: #Christians, we are called to be ambassadors. Are you making our God look good? #Jesus http://bit.ly/fqIzZ3
Sunday, May 15, 2011
For @DavetheAtheist about #Jesus
For a good number of weeks, a discussion about the existence of God has been going on Twitter with Mr. David Obie, @DavetheAtheist, from Houston, TX, allegedly. Of course, he asserts that God does not exist.
I say allegedly because I don't know more about him than Twitter. As I mentioned to him, I have more assurance that God is real than I have that Mr. Obie is real. After all, as I asserted to his complete lack of understanding, I get understandable electronic communications from robots every day of the week.
At Switchboard, I am presented with this information when a search is done: We did not find any directory results for D Obie in Houston, Texas. Could this be evidence that Mr. Obie does not exist?
While he won't tell me which version of god he says does not exist, I am believing all the others are false except for the One True God, the Creator of the Universe.
For our so-called "atheist" readers, why do you allow yourselves to be called that? When you dissect the root word in the original, a means "without" while theo is the root word for God. If God does not exist, how can you be without that which you say does not exist? Seems like that would be something like saying you are going to get a root canal on a tooth that does not exist.
As I explained to the mythical Mr. Obie, being called an agnostic would be more accurate verbiage, since you can't know (ágnōtos) there is no god, since you have not experienced all there is to experience in life nor traveled to furtherest reaches of the universe to uncover any of the life forms there.
Now Clinton Richard Dawkins ran a campaign in the United Kingdom. The thing is interesting in that the campaign got translated into the King's English that there's PROBABLY no god. Did you notice the amazing gap between probably and no god? How is it possible to claim there IS no god and quantify the claim as probable?
IF, there is no god and I choose to believe, as I explained to Mr. Obie, then I have harmed no one. IF, however, there IS a God and I have rejected His Son, then there's hell to pay. It's a gamble. For what are you, Reader, prepared to wager your soul?
Mr. Obie, if indeed he does exist, has been a good sport, for the most part. Unlike some of his cohorts, he only resorted to name-calling a handful of times. I have occasionally noted that name-calling does not win debates, much less friends, ex. unsportsmanlike conduct.
So, he won't read "Evidence that Demands a Verdict". He is aware of "A Case for Christ". I have told him Don't Check your Brain at the Door.
Reader, I challenge you to know what you believe and be capable of always being ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you, yet with gentleness and reverence. In the Greek, defense is martyr, i.e. be a witness. In some versions, it reads to give a reason. Obviously, the word has quite a different meaning in the Church today. More obviously, one can not be a witness to what they have not experienced.
He has stated time and again that the Bible is false, but offers no evidence. Since he rejects the Bible, I will resume my discussion by noting extra-Biblical evidence of Jesus. After all, he admits that Jesus was a real person.
So, outside the Bible, what evidence can one glean that God does exist? One of my favorite is Does God Exist? Mr. Clayton has taught in the public schools for 41 years and has been doing presentations on the compatibility of science and faith for 41 years. I have found his material quite challenging mentally and accurate factually.
Mr. Obie has been, on no less than three occasions, challenged with Pick the date. I will pick the place. We can have a lively discussion. His lack of faith has resulted in no debate on any evidence he may present regarding the existence of God. There are so many variations of the solution to the challenge that the reader can only conclude it lacks substance to his belief in nothing. Perhaps, Reader, this is additional evidence that Mr. Obie does not exist.
Reader, if Mr. Obie could not read the books to which I have directed his attention, I wonder why I should take my time to give MY reasons for accepting the One True God, Creator of Heaven and Earth, His Son Jesus, my Lord, and the Holy Spirit.
The summary of this discussion would naturally be the workings of the witnesses described by Jesus as He prays in the garden before His crucifixion.
Extra-Biblical evidence of Jesus would be found in the writings of Josephus, Oregin, and Pliny the Younger, just to name a few. Had Mr. Obie read any of the references above, he would have known this.
Additionally, Galen and the Talmud mention Jesus. Lucien, Thallus, and Flavius record, for posterity, the reality of Jesus. This is not hard to find.
Even Islam mentions Jesus and Mary in the Qur'an.
As mentioned, the early Church fathers wrote about Jesus. Their writings are not recorded in the Bible but they are the writings of the disciples of the Apostles. It appears, Mr. Obie bases his discounting of God on just a small portion of the evidence a Christian would use to determine the validity of Faith.
The Bible mentions over 500 witnesses of the risen Christ. These people are now dead. The reader, at this point, should ask "Why did they die?" History records that the majority of believers in the first 300 years of the Church believed under the peril of death. Indeed, there remain today societies that have serious penalties for believers.
In other words, Reader, why would someone believe, if as a result of that believing, they would be torn asunder, drawn and quartered, crucified, burned at the stake, and a plethora of other methods the ancients used to kill, as described in Foxes Book of Martyrs?
These believers were not stupid, ignorant people. They could think and write. They could and did attend schools. Many of their writings remain, yet are not included in the Bible.
Mr. Obie, whoever he is, would say that miracles produced by God are not possible because they can not be reproduced. To this, Reader, can we consider two thoughts?
When someone sets a record, are they able to reproduce the same effort consistently again and again? For example, does the person who broke the four-minute mile continue to this day maintain a four-minute mile? Because of the aging process, it is quite certain that the four-minute mile runner 30 years ago may, today, do good to walk a mile. Yet, history has recorded the record as broken. Such is it with the history of the Church. Because God exists, the Church continues to run and history continues to record her action.
Set against that, Reader, is the documentation of the miracles that witnesses observed. Because the miracle can not be reproduced in a laboratory should, in no way, obliterate the fact that the miracle occurred. In other words, witnesses can record the event, based on their viewpoint. For example, the auto accident at Main and Broadway could have four witnesses on the four corners of the intersection record different details of the accident but, the fact that they recorded differing facts does not obliterate the fact that the wreck happened.
There must be a body of Jesus to be produced for the Resurrection and Ascension to be false. Produce the body. Show that He did not resurrect. Show that He did not ascend. The lie is made known to the world. End of Christianity. In the mean time, there's the empty tomb against which Mr. Obie may have you believe the Body was stolen or Jesus passed out.
Next, Reader, why would the Church spend so much time in evangelistic and humanitarian work, if it was for a lie? The discovery of the New World was, in SO many cases, ex. Christopher Columbus, not for the work of man but to further the reach of the Church. If it were for riches, Columbus died penniless. There is, however, no record of him being disappointed in the outcome of his work.
The early church spent time rescuing the discards of society. It is no secret that unwanted babies, discarded on the trash heap, were rescued to nurtured to life. That continues today in Christians being pro-life and while the world is pro-death.
It's no secret the the first hospitals were religious operations. In Mr. Obie's home town, if indeed that is where he lives, there are three hospitals, i.e. St. Luke's, St. Joseph, and the Methodist Health Care system still bear witness of the faith upon which they were founded.
Reader, please don't believe Mr. Obie. There's no evidence he or his unbeliefs are real. Your faith does not need to rest on feelings. There's plenty of evidence to show that Jesus is real, that He died for your sins, He presented Himself to many witnesses (the least of which was me), He ascended into Heaven where He patiently sits at the right hand of Father God waiting to return to redeem His Church.
In other words, I have experience with Jesus, the Son of God, and Father God. I found the belief in nothing wanting. Jesus has the power to change the lives of people. Over the years, He has proven that power to be real to those witnesses, real people, in the first century and today and every day in between.
I say allegedly because I don't know more about him than Twitter. As I mentioned to him, I have more assurance that God is real than I have that Mr. Obie is real. After all, as I asserted to his complete lack of understanding, I get understandable electronic communications from robots every day of the week.
At Switchboard, I am presented with this information when a search is done: We did not find any directory results for D Obie in Houston, Texas. Could this be evidence that Mr. Obie does not exist?
While he won't tell me which version of god he says does not exist, I am believing all the others are false except for the One True God, the Creator of the Universe.
For our so-called "atheist" readers, why do you allow yourselves to be called that? When you dissect the root word in the original, a means "without" while theo is the root word for God. If God does not exist, how can you be without that which you say does not exist? Seems like that would be something like saying you are going to get a root canal on a tooth that does not exist.
As I explained to the mythical Mr. Obie, being called an agnostic would be more accurate verbiage, since you can't know (ágnōtos) there is no god, since you have not experienced all there is to experience in life nor traveled to furtherest reaches of the universe to uncover any of the life forms there.
Now Clinton Richard Dawkins ran a campaign in the United Kingdom. The thing is interesting in that the campaign got translated into the King's English that there's PROBABLY no god. Did you notice the amazing gap between probably and no god? How is it possible to claim there IS no god and quantify the claim as probable?
IF, there is no god and I choose to believe, as I explained to Mr. Obie, then I have harmed no one. IF, however, there IS a God and I have rejected His Son, then there's hell to pay. It's a gamble. For what are you, Reader, prepared to wager your soul?
Mr. Obie, if indeed he does exist, has been a good sport, for the most part. Unlike some of his cohorts, he only resorted to name-calling a handful of times. I have occasionally noted that name-calling does not win debates, much less friends, ex. unsportsmanlike conduct.
So, he won't read "Evidence that Demands a Verdict". He is aware of "A Case for Christ". I have told him Don't Check your Brain at the Door.
Reader, I challenge you to know what you believe and be capable of always being ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you, yet with gentleness and reverence. In the Greek, defense is martyr, i.e. be a witness. In some versions, it reads to give a reason. Obviously, the word has quite a different meaning in the Church today. More obviously, one can not be a witness to what they have not experienced.
He has stated time and again that the Bible is false, but offers no evidence. Since he rejects the Bible, I will resume my discussion by noting extra-Biblical evidence of Jesus. After all, he admits that Jesus was a real person.
So, outside the Bible, what evidence can one glean that God does exist? One of my favorite is Does God Exist? Mr. Clayton has taught in the public schools for 41 years and has been doing presentations on the compatibility of science and faith for 41 years. I have found his material quite challenging mentally and accurate factually.
Mr. Obie has been, on no less than three occasions, challenged with Pick the date. I will pick the place. We can have a lively discussion. His lack of faith has resulted in no debate on any evidence he may present regarding the existence of God. There are so many variations of the solution to the challenge that the reader can only conclude it lacks substance to his belief in nothing. Perhaps, Reader, this is additional evidence that Mr. Obie does not exist.
Reader, if Mr. Obie could not read the books to which I have directed his attention, I wonder why I should take my time to give MY reasons for accepting the One True God, Creator of Heaven and Earth, His Son Jesus, my Lord, and the Holy Spirit.
The summary of this discussion would naturally be the workings of the witnesses described by Jesus as He prays in the garden before His crucifixion.
Extra-Biblical evidence of Jesus would be found in the writings of Josephus, Oregin, and Pliny the Younger, just to name a few. Had Mr. Obie read any of the references above, he would have known this.
Additionally, Galen and the Talmud mention Jesus. Lucien, Thallus, and Flavius record, for posterity, the reality of Jesus. This is not hard to find.
Even Islam mentions Jesus and Mary in the Qur'an.
As mentioned, the early Church fathers wrote about Jesus. Their writings are not recorded in the Bible but they are the writings of the disciples of the Apostles. It appears, Mr. Obie bases his discounting of God on just a small portion of the evidence a Christian would use to determine the validity of Faith.
The Bible mentions over 500 witnesses of the risen Christ. These people are now dead. The reader, at this point, should ask "Why did they die?" History records that the majority of believers in the first 300 years of the Church believed under the peril of death. Indeed, there remain today societies that have serious penalties for believers.
In other words, Reader, why would someone believe, if as a result of that believing, they would be torn asunder, drawn and quartered, crucified, burned at the stake, and a plethora of other methods the ancients used to kill, as described in Foxes Book of Martyrs?
These believers were not stupid, ignorant people. They could think and write. They could and did attend schools. Many of their writings remain, yet are not included in the Bible.
Mr. Obie, whoever he is, would say that miracles produced by God are not possible because they can not be reproduced. To this, Reader, can we consider two thoughts?
When someone sets a record, are they able to reproduce the same effort consistently again and again? For example, does the person who broke the four-minute mile continue to this day maintain a four-minute mile? Because of the aging process, it is quite certain that the four-minute mile runner 30 years ago may, today, do good to walk a mile. Yet, history has recorded the record as broken. Such is it with the history of the Church. Because God exists, the Church continues to run and history continues to record her action.
Set against that, Reader, is the documentation of the miracles that witnesses observed. Because the miracle can not be reproduced in a laboratory should, in no way, obliterate the fact that the miracle occurred. In other words, witnesses can record the event, based on their viewpoint. For example, the auto accident at Main and Broadway could have four witnesses on the four corners of the intersection record different details of the accident but, the fact that they recorded differing facts does not obliterate the fact that the wreck happened.
There must be a body of Jesus to be produced for the Resurrection and Ascension to be false. Produce the body. Show that He did not resurrect. Show that He did not ascend. The lie is made known to the world. End of Christianity. In the mean time, there's the empty tomb against which Mr. Obie may have you believe the Body was stolen or Jesus passed out.
Next, Reader, why would the Church spend so much time in evangelistic and humanitarian work, if it was for a lie? The discovery of the New World was, in SO many cases, ex. Christopher Columbus, not for the work of man but to further the reach of the Church. If it were for riches, Columbus died penniless. There is, however, no record of him being disappointed in the outcome of his work.
The early church spent time rescuing the discards of society. It is no secret that unwanted babies, discarded on the trash heap, were rescued to nurtured to life. That continues today in Christians being pro-life and while the world is pro-death.
It's no secret the the first hospitals were religious operations. In Mr. Obie's home town, if indeed that is where he lives, there are three hospitals, i.e. St. Luke's, St. Joseph, and the Methodist Health Care system still bear witness of the faith upon which they were founded.
Reader, please don't believe Mr. Obie. There's no evidence he or his unbeliefs are real. Your faith does not need to rest on feelings. There's plenty of evidence to show that Jesus is real, that He died for your sins, He presented Himself to many witnesses (the least of which was me), He ascended into Heaven where He patiently sits at the right hand of Father God waiting to return to redeem His Church.
In other words, I have experience with Jesus, the Son of God, and Father God. I found the belief in nothing wanting. Jesus has the power to change the lives of people. Over the years, He has proven that power to be real to those witnesses, real people, in the first century and today and every day in between.
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