How do we know if God exists, Part 1

The atheist makes out that he is the intellectual one and that those who believe in a Creator God are foolish and primitive. It is interesting to note that God says: "The fool says in his heart 'There is no God'".

Atheism has no intellectual basis at all. Rather it is based on faith. It is what a person believes not on the basis of information but usually on the basis of preference. People prefer the idea that there is no God because then they can be their own god. They don't need to be accountable to anyone but themselves. In short, they can do what they like.

A man, half way up a cliff face, standing on a ledge in the dark, at night. He can't stay there all night so he believes that there is a place to jump to right behind him. He jumps.

Another man half way up a cliff face, standing on a ledge in the dark, at night. He can't stay there all night either. But reason says don't jump off. He hears some one behind him say "You can jump over here and you will be safe" The man then jumps.

The difference between the two men is that the first acted on blind faith - he had no information, no reason, he just jumped. The second man acted on information he had received, on something he could think about. The first man is like the atheist one who has blind faith. The second is like the Christian one who has definite content and reason to his faith.

The agnostic (one who believes that there may or may not be a God) seems to be a much more intellectual position to hold. Of course the agnostic is simply one who is not making his mind up one way or the other. The agnostic is always going to be wrong because either there is a God or there isn't. Seeing as the atheist has no intellectual reason for holding his position but rather blind faith, it seems the most logical position to hold is that of the theist - to believe that there is a God.

What is the evidence for believing in the existence of God? Well let me ask you if there is any part of your computer that came about by chance? No? Well the building you are in (assuming you are not soaking up the sunshine on some lovely beach somewhere) did it arrive by chance? I hear you say "No" again and possibly thinking "Don't be so stupid!" Well what about the last car you were in? Did it just come together by chance? Or a suspension bridge? The answer to all these questions is no. Its obvious isn't it? As you look at these things you can see the inherent design and it is obvious that someone designed the things, just like many other things around us.

How do we know if God exists, Part 2

However, when it comes to the most complex design where you are sitting (or standing as the case may be) you say no it arrived by pure chance! Why the inconsistency? Because you have been conned into believing that there is no God which implies that he couldn't have created anything. You have been told evolution is science and creation is religion. This is deceitful and wrong. What does anyone know for sure about evolution? Nothing! How can that be science? It can't! It is however a religion. It is the religion of the atheist.

Darwin brought out the idea that design does not imply a designer! The only reason his theory of evolution took hold so well was because it was difficult to disprove (Not that there was any evidence for it anyway) and it suited the academics who didn't like the divine hypothesis on origins. The evidence today shows that there is no mechanism for evolution to happen. All the evidence fits the Creation model of the beginning of life and the universe.

The primary evidence for the existence of God is the Universe and all it contains. This is so strong that the Bible says that every one will be held accountable on the basis of what the Creation all around says. That includes you.

It must be noted that no one can prove God's existence one way or another. That is, except God, of course. If he reveals himself to someone they will be certain of his existence. His existence cannot be proven any other way. However, a good look at the evidence will be sure to convince anyone with an open mind to truth. If you are willing to consider the existence of God in the first place.

If you really wanted to know you would listen to what those who are so convinced have to say. You might even try looking at what Jesus had to say seeing as he rose from the dead. (People might laugh at that but there is plenty of evidence to prove it.)

The reason that people don't want to consider the existence of God is not because its not intellectual but because of the moral consequences of believing in God. While you believe that there is no God you can do what you like. If Jesus is God then you must submit your life to him. This is the real reason that you don't want to believe in God. Because you want to be god yourself!

If you have an open mind consider carefully The Message of God.

If you want to know what your biggest problem with all this really is, click here.

What about all the hypocrites in the Church, Part 1

What is a hypocrite anyway? It is someone who is an actor. It is someone who is pretending to be what they are not. This becomes very obvious when you have people who say that they are perfect, that they keep the Ten Commandments or whatever. It doesn't take much to see that they can't really live up to their claims. They are hypocrites. But everybody who claims something good about themselves will be found to be a hypocrite at some point.

No one is perfect, we all fail to keep our own standards let alone God's. The hypocrite is the one who says that they are good when they are not. So what about the hypocrites in the church?

Those who are seen to be in the church and are saying that they are better than others have missed the whole point of what Jesus was talking about. They have missed the whole point of the gospel message.

Christianity is not for good people it is for the wicked, the ungodly, the rebellious, the sinner, the sexually immoral, the homosexual, the murderer, the thief, the liar, the drunk, etc., people like me. This is what each real Christian was at one time. Jesus said that its not healthy people who need a doctor but rather the sick. You don't go to the doctor if you are well you only go if you are sick. Jesus was saying that we are all sick. He said that he had not come to call the righteous but the sinners to turn back to God. What is a sinner? Well you are one, just like me and everyone else. A sinner is considered as scum! (Psalm 119:119) ... I don't like that very much either but its none the less true. Its true of me and its true of you.

What about all the hypocrites in the Church, Part 2

Now, you see, the hypocrite is the one who says that they are all right, that there is nothing wrong with them. I cannot say that I am all right. It would not be true, I would be being hypocritical. Also to say that I am never a hypocrite would also be hypocritical.

Christians are not good people. They are bad people who need a Saviour. The difference between the religious hypocrite and a real Christian is that the real Christian knows that they need help and that they are not good enough, while the religious hypocrite thinks that they are, at least, reasonably good.

Christians are bad people who are changing. Some change faster than others but they are changing.

Real Christians are people who have turned to Jesus recognising that they are completely unable to do what is right, that they can never satisfy God's demands and that they are ... hypocrites. They truly believe that Jesus paid the penalty for all their wickedness on the cross when he died. They believe that they have a righteousness that has come from God and was given to them as a gift. It is a righteousness that they have not earned but one that God freely gives to those who believe that Jesus paid for them. - Romans 1:16,17; 1 Peter 3:18.

The real hypocrites are the ones who deny that they need help and refuse to turn to Jesus. Or worse still who pretend to follow Jesus in outer performance only and who haven't surrendered their hearts to him.

The religious hypocrites, along with all those who reject Jesus, will be in Hell. Will you be with them?

If you want to know what your biggest problem with all this really is, click here.

Can anyone be sure of what will happen after death, Part 1

Of course this is all assuming that you could be good enough in the first place and you can't.

According to the Bible you can know for sure that you can be accepted, that you can have eternal life. Not only can you be sure of eternal life in the future but you can have it now here on earth. Its not just "Pie in the sky when you die." "Its life on earth after birth."

This is a strange thought and impossible to most people but that's because you are thinking about and depending on your own performance. This is where the crunch comes in. The only people who can be sure of life after death and eternal life now are those who are not depending on how they live their lives. Does that sound strange?

The Eternal life that the Bible talks about is not merely life after death but it is knowing the eternal living God personally. Yes, you can know God personally and you can know where you are going to spend forever too. The only way that this can happen is if it doesn't depend on you.

Eternal life is a gift that God gives. Now it is important to understand what a gift is. A gift is something that someone gives because they want to make someone happy. Its not like a wage which is what someone is obliged to give to someone who has worked and earned it.

So if God gives you this gift because he wants to bless you, you don't have to do anything for it, do you? So who does he give the gift of eternal life to? He does not give it to those who work for it. No those people are saying to God that they don't want his gift. Their pride gets in the way and they cannot just accept it as a gift, no they must do something.

Can anyone be sure of what will happen after death, Part 2

God's gift was very expensive. Jesus had to pay for it with his life when he died on the cross nearly 2000 years ago. If you will trust him, believing that he loves you so much that he has paid for all of your wickedness, (no matter how good you think you are) he will give you his gift of eternal life.

You can know that you have it if you depend on him and what he has done and not on what you did, are doing or will do.

I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life.- 1 John 5:13 (NIV) Notice that John wrote in the present tense here, not in the future tense.

Now when a man works, his wages are not credited to him as a gift, but as an obligation. However, to the man who does not work but trusts God who justifies the wicked, his faith is credited as righteousness. - Romans 4:4,5

Here you see the point I'm trying to make. Its the person who does not work but who trusts God that is credited with righteousness. That righteousness comes from God not from the person himself - Romans 3:21

So what do you want to do? Do it yourself or accept that you can't and that God has and wants to give you eternal life as a gift?

If you want to know what your biggest problem with all this really is, click here.

Is it really History?

If the Bible is true then it follows that it must be historically accurate too.

Many archaeologists have been digging in the Middle East for quite some time. At times they have said that certain things, people or places that were mentioned in the Bible didn't really exist because they had not found any evidence of them. However, in time many of these so called missing items have later been found to actually exist. If anything archaeology has stood by the Bible and confirmed it as a historical document.

William Albright went out to prove that the Bible was in error and was not written by those whom the church was claiming had written it. After his searching around he came to the conclusion that Luke (The author of the Gospel of Luke and Acts) was a foremost historian of his time. He even became a Christian because of the overwhelming evidence he had found.

Nelson Gleuk, another archaeologist, came to the conclusion that "no proven archaeological find has ever controverted a single Biblical reference". He at one point started to use the Bible to direct him where to find things.

Another important aspect of the historicity of the Bible is the Nation of Israel. The Bible talks a whole lot about this people. It talks about their dispersion and that they would come back to their land. This they have now done. If you believe that the Bible is not historical you have some question to answer here.

Those who don't want to listen to the demands of the Bible will certainly try to discredit it. They are only fooling themselves and those who are foolish enough to believe them.

There are so many interpretations

There are so many interpretations how can we know what is right? Well most people come to the Bible and take things out of context with little understanding of what was happening at the time of writing. To approach any literature like this will mean that you come to an erroneous conclusion.

The cults are a very good example of this but it happens in Christian churches too. Scripture is taken out of its context and allegorised so bringing out a totally different meaning to what was intended by the original author and indeed by God. Many people twist the Scripture in order to suit themselves. Honesty and careful study within the context is the best guard against those who would lead you astray. Just because what some one may say sounds great does not mean that it is correct.

While there are some passages that are open to different interpretations, the parts of the Bible that talk about salvation are all clear and speak for themselves.

People's false interpretations of the Bible are no reason to say that it is not the truth and that you cannot approach it honestly and find out about God for yourself.

Where does the Bible come from?

The Bible was just written by men. It is the ideas of different men of the church.

This is not true. The church did not give us the Bible. The Church recognised the Bible for what it is - the Word of God.

It was written by many different men over a period of 1500 years. They were men in different positions of life. There were shepherds, slaves, rich men, kings, religious leaders, fishermen, traitors, etc. They all wrote as they were inspired by the Spirit of God. They did not write things that had their origin in their own minds but that had their origin in God. Of course if you don't believe in God you certainly won't believe that the Bible was written under the inspiration of God. But speculate for a moment, if there really was a God, would it be impossible for him to do this?

In all these writings by all these different men over such a long time span they all flow together. Some people say that there are contradictions in the Bible and so it could not have been inspired by God. What some people call contradictions are just things that they don't understand. In fact most people who say this have no idea of a single apparent contradiction.

Surely a text this old is unreliable

When something has been passed around for long enough it gets changed and is no longer reliable or so the argument goes. But is this the case with the Bible?

The answer is no. How can I be so sure? Because of the evidence we have of the way that the text has been handed down.

When it comes to the Hebrew Scriptures there are very few manuscripts. This is very encouraging. The way that they were copied was very precise indeed, to put it mildly. When a manuscript was completed they would have to have the right number of lines in a column the right number of letters in a line and much more. If the copy was flawed it would be destroyed. When a copy was successfully made the old one would be destroyed. The new one was regarded as being more accurate than the older one. This was because the older the manuscript the more likely it was to get damaged. When the Hebrew Scriptures we have today are compared with the Dead Sea Scrolls it becomes obvious how accurately they have been copied through the ages.

The New Testament is different. We have over 4000 Greek manuscripts, 8000 manuscripts of the Latin vulgate and 1000 from other early version of the texts. This is far more than any other works of antiquity. The earliest manuscripts that we have of the N.T. are from around 250 to 300 years after the original writings.

Compare this with one or two examples from other works of antiquity. Only ten or so decent manuscripts of Caesar's Gallic war survive today, the earliest of which are from about 1000 years after the originals. Also of the Annals of Tacitus (100 AD). There are around 20 manuscripts in existence which were written about 1000 years after the originals. There is a lot more evidence of course but not enough space here to deal with it. If you want to study this further then try looking at a book called "Evidence That Demands a Verdict" by Josh McDowell. He brings it out in far greater detail for serious examination.

If you cannot accept the Bible as being a valid and accurate historical document then you have to disregard all the other works of antiquity and history too. This is quite obviously not a smart thing to do. The Bible is trustworthy, read it and find out for yourself. Don't just go on the uninformed opinion of those who are bigoted against the Word of God.

If you want to know what your biggest problem with all this really is, click here.

Line-by-line explanation of the prayer

Oh Lord God, I am sorry for all my sins.
When you pray, you are talking to almighty God, your Creator. You must confess that he is Lord and that you are his sinful creature. You must be truly sorry for rebelling against him and for breaking his laws [The Ten Commandments].

Now I want to go your way.
God commands you now to live his way. You are now saying that you are willing to stop rebelling and follow him.

Please help me to do that.
Here you confess that you need his help to live a life which is pleasing to him. The good news is that he is more than willing to help you! He personally helps you by giving you a new desire to please him and gives you power to live this new life by giving you the Spirit of Jesus [The Holy Spirit] to live within you.

Thank you, Lord Jesus, for dying and rising again for me.
Here you thank Jesus for dying for your sin against God. When Jesus died on the cross, he was taking the punishment that you deserve. Instead of punishing you, God punished his Son Jesus instead. That’s why you & I need to say ‘thank you’ for what he has done. God has really shown us how much he loves us by sending Jesus to die in our place.

Also, you need to be thankful that God raised Jesus to life again. This ensures that one day you will also be raised to life to live in heaven!

Please forgive me and clean me up from all my sins.
Now you are asking to receive God’s forgiveness and you are willing, with his help, to change your life for the better.

Please come to me and take over the running of my life.
You are now asking God to be the ruler of your life. He comes into your life as Lord, Saviour & Friend. You now belong to him and will enjoy a relationship with him.

In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
You pray in the name of Jesus because it is only through him that we may have access to God. ‘Amen’ simply means that you agree with this prayer.

The message of the cross, Part 1

The Message of the Cross is all about how much God loves you and to what lengths he has gone to forgive you (if you are willing to accept that forgiveness) and to give you "life in all its fullness".

God has decided to forgive (save) all who will believe in the foolishness of what is preached - The Message of The Cross. See 1 Corinthians 1:18-21

The Message of the Cross is the Message of how much God loves you!

You have offended God - just like everyone else. You may be the best person in the whole world or the worst but you have offended God and that is eternally serious. God must punish your disobedience. He is Holy so he must deal with sin. If he has to punish you then you will go to hell for ever - not a nice thought really and not what God wants either but none the less true. Your sin separates you from God. Sin and holiness can never dwell together.

God's problem with this is that he doesn't want you to go to hell, he wants you to be with him because he is a God of Love as well as a Holy God. So then, how does God remain holy and yet have wicked people with him? In short its impossible - except for an absolute miracle that is.

The message of the cross, Part 2

God's miracle answer is the Cross. On the Cross Jesus - who is God in the flesh, that is what the term "The Son of God" means - took the penalty for all of your sin, past, present and future, on himself. God the Father punished God the Son for all of your rebellion and wickedness. In this way God satisfies his holiness by punishing sin. He satisfies his love of you because through Jesus your sin can be taken away and you can be reconciled to God.

God loves you so much that he became a man, suffered and died to pay for your rebellion, wickedness and sin, while you didn't care about him at all. He has already done it! This is real love.

For Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. 1 Peter 3:18

The only condition is that you turn to God wanting him and his will for you and that you put your trust, or confidence in him and in what Jesus has done for you. In fact its a command of God that you would turn to him and trust him.

You have nothing to lose. If God is not there nothing will happen. If God is there your life will change completely. He is the one person in the universe who can be trusted. He has never let me down and he will never let you down either, if you will just trust him.

You've Been Conned! Part 1

They’ve deceived you into believing something that has no supporting evidence. This has been achieved in many ways but the use of the following, false, statement has been fundamental: “Evolution is science. Creation is religion.” So now you believe that there can be no scientific evidence for Creation because it is merely religion and thus nonsensical. This, however, is a lie. Was it not Hitler who said that if you tell a lie long and loud enough everyone will believe it? Are you now, able to consider the alternative to evolution?
The idea that there is scientific evidence for Creation seems a contradiction in terms because most have believed what they’ve been force fed. There is truly compelling scientific evidence for Creation. Why have you not heard about it? Why have you been taught only one theory on origins? Why were you not allowed to make an intellectual decision between the two on the basis of all the evidence? The answer is because the “scientists” are very biased. They want to be free from moral restraints and so conveniently believe that there is no God. That's why they say, "Creation is just religion, do not consider it". Believing in evolution is the result of indoctrination not of intellectual choice based on evidence. You have been conned into believing a false, atheistic cult.

You've Been Conned! Part 2: The demise of reason

The “Missing Link”, is what you’ve put your faith in! It should really be "Missing Links" as there ought to be hundreds of thousands if evolution were true. You believe in what is ... missing! Among the millions of fossils found there are no fossils of transitional forms evolving from one kind into another. If the transitional forms were really there, as some falsely claim, then why would someone come up with the idea of "Punctuated Equilibrium", e.g., that a bird hatched from a T-Rex egg without a transitional form? People believe these irrational ideas because they want to, not as a result of the scientific evidence. As it stands, the fossil evidence is what the Creation account in Genesis would predict. Creatures of separate kinds, appearing suddenly, with no transitions from one kind to another.
Evolutionists believe in evolution because they don’t want God, not because of what the real science says. For example, extra genetic information is necessary for each upward progression of an evolutionary form. Julian Huxley, in his attempt to explain the chance mathematical probability of this happening, makes it plain. His understanding is that the complex genetic information arrives by chance mutation. He suggests one good mutation in a thousand — which he says is generous. (It is very generous since no positive mutations of upward progression have ever been observed.) He talks of a million mutational steps being an underestimate as it would only be one every two-thousand years in his understanding of biological time. In conclusion to his look at the mathematical probability he says:
Of course, this could not really happen, but it is a useful way of visualising the fantastic odds against getting a number of favourable mutations in one strain through pure chance alone. A thousand to the millionth power, when written out, becomes the figure 1 with three million noughts after it; and that would take three large volumes of about 500 pages each, just to print!”
Isn’t it interesting what his science has told him? It told him “this could not really happen,”! He goes on to depart from science when he states his conclusion.
... No one would bet on anything so improbable happening: and yet it has happened!
Evolution in Action, 182 pp & pp. 45-46 (New York: Harper and Row, 1953)
At this point it becomes obvious to any reasonable person that he has departed, not only from science but also from reason. His conclusion is based on his religious bias (atheism) and not on his science.

You've Been Conned! Part 3: The demise and resurrection of truth

THE DEMISE OF TRUTH

Why are people so ready to believe in evolution without any evidence? Because they want to. Believe in God and you have to do as he says! Believe in evolution and you can do what you like. Murder, abortion, sexual immorality, etc., abound. A crumbling society is the result.
Evolution is an immoral religion and not a science. There is no scientific evidence to support it, only the irrational assumptions of those who preach it. They have been lying, whether intentionally or not. The truth has been deliberately kept from you. Why will they not let you make up your own mind based on the evidence? You have been conned!

THE RESURRECTION OF TRUTH

The Genesis account of Creation, in the Bible, has much compelling evidence to support it. But people don’t like what it says. It says that the world was not always the same as it is today. When God made it, it was “good”. When he made man, man was “very good”. Man lived in a paradise where he could do anything he wanted, except eat the fruit of one tree. So what happened? Man decided he could be like God and rebelled against God by not believing Him and eating the fruit of the tree. The result was what God promised. Man was thrown out of Paradise into a life of toil, suffering and death. Because God is good and man is not, man was separated from God. So started the downward regression, as opposed to the upward evolutionary progression, of man.
Genetically an offspring of the first man, you are separated from God too. The result is: murder, hate, sexual immorality, lust, stealing, lying, deception, witchcraft, cowardice, envy, jealousy, fits of rage, violence, idolatry, disrespect for parents, drunkenness, misusing God’s name, etc. One lie and like a murderer or a drunk, you are a law breaker — you are guilty! God says that you will die once and then face judgement. Being found guilty you will suffer in Hell, separated from Him, forever.
However, God wants you to be with Him because He cares about you. So much so, that Jesus (God in human form) arrived on the scene and paid the penalty for your rebellion by dying in your place. He took the wrath of God you deserve. He then rose physically, on the third day, proving the point.
It’s not moral purity that can bring you to God. You are completely corrupt, by birth. Only the death of Jesus can pay for your sinful rebellion. You need a miracle, a new life. In His words “You must be born again.” Admit your corruption, change your mind and turn to Jesus, believing that He has really given His life for YOU. Then you will receive a new life, God’s goodness and forgiveness. You will know The Creator Himself, by personal encounter.
Will you consider all the scientific evidence and submit to the claims of your Creator?

How can I become a christian?