Thursday, April 30, 2009

A Defense for Christianity

In the day and world we live in we must have a defense for Christianity. It is not enough to say that Christ is Lord and so that is all we need to say. There has to been logic and reason to support the existence of God and reasons for us to believe that we is real. I want to present briefly five arguments for Christianity. 

Argument 1: The origin of the universe demands an uncaused, timeless,  very powerful Source that we call the Christian God.  (1) Something came from nothing; (2) The universe itself is eternal; or (3) The universe was created by something (or someone) eternal. 

There must be a source from which the universe came about. Science tries to explain this with the Big Bang Theory and Evolution but what they theories don't take into account is the fact that there is divine, supreme, power that is both creator of creation and ruler of all nations. There preceptive is off because of the science. Science does not discount God but these theories do. They don't explain the unexplainable. To say that God can be fully understood to shine a light of ignorance to who God is. He is the highest of highs, he is the greatest of greats. How do you define that in logic? You define God has that which can't be explained. 
Just as the question is often asked, Can God create a rock too big for God not to lift? Why, is this not true, because it is not in the nature of God to create something he can't do, because there is nothing that God can't do. There the question is God is not able to do that which is not in his nature such as lie, cheat, or steal. If he did than his supreme authority and power would be called into question.

Argument 2: The intricacy  of the universe on both a macro and a micro level indicates an Intelligent Designer. If oxygen levels on earth were higher or lower, animal, human, and plant life couldn't exist. If the earth were closer to the sun it would be too hot to support life; if it were farther away it would be too cold.  The inter-dependent complexities of the cell, the human eye, and the eco-system displayed intelligent design that could only come from an Intelligent Designer, such as the Christian concept of God. 

We are created with such a precision there is no way possible that someone could say he just came about. That is not logical. To say we just came about or just evolved over time. But who created the monkey from which we came? Who created his ability to think, to eat, to hunt, to sleep, and to evolve. There is no way that a divine power could not have created this because it is too complex to just have came from thin air. What atheist and evolutionaries don't take into account is the fact that there beginning had to have a beginning. Who made the rock that went bang? How did it all happen? Creationist are the only ones that answer all of these question. There is both proofs in scripture and in science to prove this. 

Argument 3: The existence of moral absolutes (such as justice, truth, good, etc.) can only be explained by an infinite Moral Lawgiver, or God. Ethics are not merely a matter of convention, agreement, intuition, or genetic programming, but instead reveal the existence of a Moral Lawgiver whose ethical nature provides foundation for moral absolutes in human society.  Such absolute ethics are not dependent on human thought or conscience, but on the Moral Lawgiver who is beyond the limits of the universe in which we live. 

What is the basis from which all morality and ethical reasoning comes from? 

There has to be a moral absolute. Morality can't stand on its own without a judge from which to be judged. 

There can't be just human reasoning to like morality what it is because humans are not moral. 

Being not perfect we can't be the ethical representation of what is wrong or right. 

There has to be a moral absolute and a ethical absolute. 

Without it then Hitler is right in killing Jews and pain and suffering in the world is good because someone in the world said it was.

Argument 4: Humanity's desire for meaning and value in life presupposes the existence of God.

 human society throughout history and around the world has a belief in God, eventhough their understanding of God may differ. 

Our innate desireto experience the transcendent, to have value and meaning even after death, can only be accounted for if there is a God who implanted these beliefs and desires in us. He quoted the early Christian church father Augustine, who said, "Our hearts are restless until they find their meaning in God."

We desire to understand and were created with a mind that always wondering and wanting to have truths.

Without the mind that seeks value we are not human. The differences between us and animals are the fact that

we desire to have value or the sense of what is wrong are right. Therefore, there must be a creator because

we are not able to create that on our own. It has always be inside us, this only points more to a creator.

Argument 5: The bodily resurrection of Jesus Christ is so verifiable historically that it passes any reasonable test for history or ancient literature. It can be accepted as not only reasonable, but a true historical event.

This argument ties in with the previous four arguments in two ways. First, it is itself an argument for the existence of God because it argues that only God could do what Jesus did, raise himself from the dead. Second, the one who rose from the dead has demonstrated what is necessary to tell us that God exists and what God is like. 

This account of the resurrection appearances relates that more than 500 people were eyewitnesses of the resurrected Christ. The evidence that Jesus actually died on the cross and that the tomb was empty after three days. The resurrection accounts have the ring of authenticity, especially in that those who became believers had started out as disillusioned disciples who were not expecting a resurrection. 

There is also a ring of authenticity in the record that women were the first witnesses of the resurrected Christ. Since women in that time were not considered reliable witnesses, someone merely inventing a resurrection would not have concocted their story in a way that had the risen Jesus witnessed first by those who could not testify in court. Because of the physical demonstrations the risen Christ made and the life-changing impact those had on his followers (whose hopes had been dashed at his death), we can be assured that this resurrection was physical and bodily; it was not an illusion, mysticism, wish fulfillment, or spiritual projection.

 C. S. Lewis noted, "If Christianity was something we were making up, of course we could make it easier. But it isn't. We can't compete, in simplicity, with people who are inventing religions. How could we? We're dealing with fact. Of course anyone can be simple if he has not facts to bother about."

Worship

You can enter 6 different churches in America and you will experience 6 different types of worship to God. Even the same denomination does not worship the same way within the setting of the local church. However, what is important the heart of that worship. How your heart worships God, it is so easy to get distracted from worshipping God in church. From girlfriends, to people's clothing, to bad singers, to messing up on musical instruments, to loud singers in the congregation, and the list goes on. However, wether your worship is lifting your hands, closing your eyes, standing straight, sitting, clapping, or just being in service, what really matters is how your heart worships. 
What is key for worship is the personal worship of the individual. It is not how pretty the leader sings or who sings in the choir but is is how the people in church worship within their own hearts. When the hearts of the people in line with God and they are open for God to fill them up, that is when denominational lines are crossed and the walls of separation are torn down. I enjoy loud music, and so in church I enjoy loud music. I enjoy soft music, so in church i enjoy soft music. I have found that I can and need to be able to worship no matter the song and no matter the setting. 
I have had the great opportunity to preach in 6 different denominations. Each worship service very different from the next, but I have found one thing common in all of them. When the people of God come together in worship with open hearts ready to give God their very best and those on stage are focused completely on him then it is a beautiful thing to behold. It is then that regardless of how you worship or what style you like, you find true enjoyment of worship and I believe it is in that all of heaven rejoices and GOd is glorified the most. When we drop the theology and doctrine and just focus on him that is when he find out who God really is. 

Speaking in Tongues

What is the need for tongues? Why? Is it for me today? With so many different opinions on the gift of tongues it makes in the most devoted believer in tongues doubt the need for them in the church world today. However, a question to ponder, would we have the church we have today without the infilling of the spirit on the day of pentecost. It was this event that encouraged, gave faith, gave hope, and empowered the disciples to go out a spread the message of Christ. It was the faithful 120 that stayed that received power from on high. And just maybe in the world today it is just that 120 in sense that are faithful to the cause of tongues and the spiritual gifts. 
 
By 120 I mean the pentecostal denomination that believes in tongues is basically all that is left this includes: Church of God, Assemblies of God, Church of God of Prophecy, Independent Pentecostal Churches, Holiness Church, and many others that are unnamed. Maybe it is not the fact that so few believe but it is that there are only a few left because that is the way that it is supposed to be, just a few who want more of God, and want a God they can feel. By NO MEANS am I saying that theses churches or denominations are better than Catholics, Methodist, Baptist, and others, but what I am stating is there could be an argument for the fact that there were only 120 left and there seems to be a small number of tongue believes left here today in our world. 
There are 600 million people in the world today that believe in speaking in tongue according to church surveys and numbers. To say that it is not real and to say that its not for today is to say that those 600 million people living today are liars and everyone before them that spoke in tongues are were taught lies as well. 
You may ask were is the scripture to back all this up and show me were tongues are used after the event of Act 2, because no where else in Acts is it that important because it is not mentioned. Well, one could argue the fact was they are were filled and so there was no need to say anything else, they wrote with the presupposition that believers that would read would already be filled or would have a similar experience. How was Luke to know the Catholic Church would arise and it would take 100s of years before Martin Luther would challenge the "faith by deeds, and establish an entire different denomination. 
 
As for the question where is scripture on tongues in the bible and if so why is it for me. Seek out the word of God, look up and down and find one place were it says, this is for the disciples only and not for people of today especially people in 2009. Tongues in throughout the New Testament Paul speaks of tongues and the tongues of men in 1 Corinthians 13 and from there on in chapters 14, 15, and 16. Only to name a few places were it is in the bible. Throughout Acts the filling of the Holy Spirit or what is called "Baptized in Holy Spirit" is mentioned many times. You can't say that tongues are not in the bible because they are, the entire book of Acts hedges on the fact that they (the disciples) are waiting on the move of the Holy Spirit. There would likely be no Acts without this infilling, and probably in Paul or John writing Revelation. Because ladies and gentlemen it takes boldness, and not boldness they received to be killed for Jesus to die for him, to speak for him, to write for him, and to even die like he did (Peter) came from this one single encounter with the Holy Spirit, the infilling of the Holy Spirit in their lives in Acts 2. 
So since you don't believe in it, you can't say it isn't real and that you don't believe in it, because you wouldn't have parts of the New Testament without it. Nathan are you saying without this the book of the bible would not have been written? Yes and No, I am saying it is very possible we would not have the book of the bibles written by disciples without this encounter because remember Peter and his denial. In fact, all of them deined him, why not deny him again and again. What changed it for them? IT WAS THE COMFORTER. It was the fact what they believed became real to them. God final showed them the power that he has when you allow him to move and take over. Without this experience it is VERY VERY possible that they would not have ever written Acts or would they meant Paul or ever been able to stand for him in the midst of facing death!!!