"..... the earth is full of the goodness of the Lord." Psalm 33:5. I would bet that the vast majority of Christians are asked now and then to explain their belief in something unseen, unheard and, to skeptics, unproven. How can anyone believe in a God who allows people to starve, be murdered, or become crippled or infected with a terrible disease? It just doesn’t make sense that a loving God would allow such things, right? How can anyone believe in a story told about a man, a God, almost a hundred years after his death, written by four men who never met him? We have all faced these questions. Modern day big brained humans are loaded with such skepticism. And you really can’t blame them. Typically they are told to just believe and, to have faith. For the most part, that doesn’t seem to work these days. People need logical explanations to ameliorate and to resolve their suspicions and doubts. So, how do we get around such skepticism? How do we communicate, substantiate our belief in the miracles of Christ, in Moses parting the Red Sea, in the authors of the gospel, in the resurrection of Jesus? This is what I do: First, I tell people to forget, for the moment, all of the stories that challenge the modern, big brained sensibilities. Stories like turning water into wine, curing the blind, walking on water, healing the ill, bringing the dead back to life - just leave all of that off the table for the sake of discussion and allow them to adopt the theory that none of it is true if they wish. And then I tell them this: Stop trying to wrap your head around God and try wrapping God around your head. Christianity, unarguably, unequivocally, absolutely, is, and has been, the greatest source of goodness in the history of not just mankind, but in the history of the entire universe as we know it. Pretty big statement. And, it is true. And it is easily proven. One man walked this earth for three years teaching and preaching during a time when many men did the same thing claiming to be the Messiah. But this particular one caught the mind and hearts and imaginations of millions, eventually, billions of people. His short existence on this earth shaped a global society of Christian followers who have lead the charge on charity, love, peace, worship, community, disaster relief, moral goodness, Christian missions, sanctuaries of faith and law - for the past 2,000 years. His life cemented the growth of Christian law developed from the Ten Commandments - which has become the greatest example of justice and fairness in the history of humankind. Click "Read More" to the right to continue. No other society, culture, army or nation or human being or perceived God has achieved or come anywhere close to achieving such things. Islam does not represent the same goodness of Christianity; nor does Buddhism, Hinduism or any other religion. You don't see a lot of Muslim peace missions to war torn areas or Buddhist missions to feed the hungry or Hindu disaster relief missions. It is a Christian thing. We are known the world over for our expressions of peace and love and charity.
Christianity has had its dark periods. Absolutely. Still, if one were to remove the Christian influence and presence from this planet today and for the two thousand years before it began, well: who or what would replace it? What other source of goodness equals it? What source of goodness on this planet comes close? What would our world look like without Christianity? So, what I tell people is to look around at their world and identify all the ways that prove Christ is present in our lives. Look at all of the goodness that came from his time here on earth. No simple ordinary man could achieve such prominence and sustain it and grow it for thousands of years. That sort of thing takes the power and glory of something extraordinary, something bigger than the human life form. Even time itself has been reset according to the life and times and death of Christ. He gave us B.C., Before Christ; and A.D., After Death. Every clock in the world is set by this time. How special does one have to be to be able to make the world set his birth and death as the standard way of measuring….. time? Even the dinosaurs bones are dated by the time of Christ. Even atheists set their clocks by the time of Christ. By this time in the discussion I can see the cogs spinning in the skeptic’s head. Suddenly, Christ and Christianity has become something quite amazing without the stories of the bible. If Christ can accomplish all of this over two thousand years, while he was dead, then, what is or what was he truly capable of when he was alive and walked the earth? Perhaps there is more truth to the gospel than modern big brain skeptics think. And then I see an open door. They can walk through it or not. It’s that free will thing, you know. Christianity, is the greatest source of goodness humankind has ever seen. There has never been and will never be an equal source of goodness. And as I explain my theories to skeptics who express to me their doubts and challenge me to prove them wrong, I watch them acquiesce under the weight of my presented evidence. I can see their eyes open up to see something truly magnificent that is, lives and breathes all around them every day. And then, perhaps, they will choose to take the next step and open their heart to belief and to have faith. When you look at all of the evil over the past ten thousand years it is difficult to point to one person, group or era that could be called the worst period to impact human life. But when you look for goodness over these thousands of years there is no contest as to who, what and what time period brought us, brings us, the greatest good. That is the awesome power of Christ. God is good. He is the greatest good we have ever known. Proof of that is everywhere. How cool is that? Comments are closed.
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(For a complete archive listing click here: "ARCHIVES" or access them under the Blog link above) Bonepicking With Jesus Are New Testament Miracles Still Performed Today? The Eternal Love Buffet Of The Godly Heart DOG GOD DOGMA God's Sunday Morning Blah Blah Blah Blues Cafe Happiness In The Human Head's Solar System The Whale Of Armageddon And Our War Scorched Sky Alternate Earth And Plundering In The Name Of The Lord Ghosts of Bible Thumpers and a No Knocking God The Supreme Builder of Extremes 5 Types Of Prayer Kumbaya Muslims For Christ Christian Lives Matter Even Cavemen Had Hope Discipleship: The Paradigms Of Purpose Thoughts Of Veganism And God God's Only Perfect Flaw Of The Human Design Christian Persecution 2017 Second Thoughts The Miracle Of Forgiveness Wild Thoughts About Wild Things And Light And God My Welcome Blog For earlier posts click here: ARCHIVES
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