Archive for the ‘English’ Category

God is a good Father

Monday, November 9th, 2015

shutterstock_277097090

Normally I would have waited until Father’s day to release this article but it was on my mind and so I decided to share my thoughts about it.
Anyway I believe that most normal people have a desire to please and identify with their father or a fatherly figure. However when this relationship is hindered from developing through some sort of dysfunction, such as with an absentee father through death, divorce, abandonment, neglect or abuse, etc. then this may have a profound effect on how they view Father God. This can promote a tendency to project such emotionally strong feelings of negativity as leading to a lack of trust with skepticism and hostility towards the ultimate authority and Father, namely God. Sometimes you experience this when you meet a person who reminds you of someone else who has mistreated you as influencing the way you think and behave around them as also including roles and gender.
Of course I realize that this scenario may not always describe all people who are able to positively work through this dilemma or on the other hand esteem their atheist/agnostic fathers as a role model in taking on their mantle of unbelief.
Yet even if a person is able to disassociate between Heaven and Earth there is another problem that emerges with the question of “How could God allow me to be victimized by life?” Respectfully, this predicament is the crux of the human condition as involving depraved, free will creatures who are ultimately responsible for their actions which I have written more about in another article dealing with pain, suffering, and evil.

Pain, Suffering and Evil


Another argument against the concept of an Almighty Father or God is by simply regarding it as “wish fulfillment” in strictly meeting their emotional needs and yet this is a moot point as this can equally apply to someone who also avoids God for psychological reasons e.g., immorality.

God is a crutch


Then there is the situation on how to reconcile the concept of Hell with a good Father who is both loving and just and all the questions that go with this matter which also becomes a non issue for those who are in a relationship with God as fulfilling the Creator’s will for their lives as His desire is that none should perish, 2 Peter 3:9, Mt. 25:41.

Is Hell Real?

What the Hell


Also whether consciously or subconsciously we all seem to have a tendency to want to make this intimate connection with our fathers even if it means substituting this heavenly/earthly model of a fatherly image to include counterfeits e.g., false religion and cults.

How to have a relationship with God


Furthermore in trying to get our fathers acceptance or approval we may also look for other avenues in which to please them such as our accomplishments or even by blaming ourselves for their failures so as to somehow win their favor. Yet whatever the situation might be, our earthly fathers, even at their very best is nothing compared to the Heavenly Father who loves you for the person He created you to be, Mt 7:7-11, Psalms 139:13-16.
Lastly if you have never received God’s love as your Heavenly Father I would ask you to reconsider your motives for rejecting Him. Happy Father’s Day my friend. #Godisgood

Romans 8:14-17 

14 For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are children of God. 15 For you didn’t receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!”

16 The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of God; 17 and if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint heirs with Christ; if indeed we suffer with him, that we may also be glorified with him.

 

 

How to know God
Atheist and Agnostic Resources
English Articles on Atheism and Agnosticism
Seekers

 

 

Photo provided by:
“hidesy/Shutterstock.com”

Put the Thank God back in Thanksgiving

Sunday, November 1st, 2015

shutterstock_60743602

My post is not about the historicity of the holiday but more about the modern way in which it is celebrated as usually involving family gatherings, good food, ball games and a turkey nap. This scene is typical and customary among contemporary American households and in my opinion doesn’t really exemplify a spirit of thankfulness as much as it does an excuse to get together with those we love over food.
Sometimes this kind of behavior is no different than a church service as seeing an opportunity for socializing as trying to stay awake during the worship festivities while dreaming about the potluck dinner afterwards.
Anyway I know I’m talking turkey here but my intention is to remind all of us to reflect upon the goodness of God, with gratitude, as in Him we live and move and have our being as giving us everything we need for life and godliness by which we should continually praise Him as the Bestower of great blessings upon our life. Are you truly thankful? Romans 1:21, 2 Peter 1:3, 1 Chronicles 16:34, Acts 17:28, James 1:17.

How to know God

Atheist and Agnostic Resources

English Articles on Atheism and Agnosticism

Seekers

Photo provided by:
“IngridHS/Shutterstock.com”

Jesus the door to door salesman

Thursday, October 29th, 2015

shutterstock_20760373

Some may think of Jesus as a door to door salesman or a cold call telemarketer. So that when He phones or approaches your door you pretend not to be available or at home by not answering the call or knock, others may become disgusted as slamming the door in His face or hanging up the phone, or if caught off guard unexpectedly may just dismiss Him all together by simply saying I’m not interested.
Now I am know what you might be thinking, this is just like those annoying religious people who you try to avoid when they show up at your door step peddling their religious wares. But I’m not talking about joining some kind of man made religion, but rather, securing a loving relationship, not someone trying to pressure you like a greedy salesman who is only interested in stealing the deal with some sales pitch as promoting a heavenly gimmick while avoiding the pit fall of Hell just to get your money.
Rather it is a complete role reversal from a “what’s in it for Him” to a “what’s in it for me”, as receiving rather than giving, Mt. 20:28.
We have been conditioned to believe that such behavior should be treated with great skepticism as sounding to good to be true and yet when it originates from the perfect love of God then we should take the offer more seriously, John 3:16.
This reminds me of the story of the Samaritan woman in John 4 who sees Jesus as an opportunist wanting a drink of water not realizing that this was going to be the offer of an eternal lifetime as receiving His “living water” of which she would not thirst again. Thus the reality of this whole visit became disproportionately advantageous to what seemed to be a momentary inconvenience.
Anyway when Jesus shows up, and He will, I would kindly ask that you would at least hear Him out before taking your business elsewhere.

 

How to know God

Atheist and Agnostic Resources

English Articles on Atheism and Agnosticism

Seekers

 

 

Photo provided by:
“EdBockStock/Shutterstock.com”

Trick or Treat

Saturday, October 24th, 2015

shutterstock_264711281

Being this time of the year I thought I would write about Halloween, or as my wife calls it Helloween. Anyway the purpose of this blog is not to debate the nature of this holiday but to discuss how some people treat Christ as a “Trick or Treater” who comes knocking at our door thinking of Him like some kind of folklore spirit that needs the sweet appeasement of our personal peace offerings so as not to be tricked to Hell.
So when greeted from behind closed doors they dress the part in their relationship to God as stating, I am a good person, I do good deeds, or I am trying to do better. They may even mention their yearly attendance of services around certain sacred events, performing the mantra’s of confession and creeds with rituals performed and monies given. Their seasonal devotion may include decorative statuaries, symbols, and wall hangings.
Yet these measly kind of sacrificial offerings are trivially characteristic of cultus religious activities as adding to the bag of different goodies in hoping to find another year of peace and prosperity,  Ephesians 2:8-9, Hebrews 10.
Yet what God desires is to Cross over the threshold of our homes rather than fearfully being kept at arm’s length as a costumed stranger, Revelation 3:20.
Therefore God is holding out to us with the intention of receiving a personal relationship rather than  securing the benefits of a one night fest.

How to know God

Atheist and Agnostic Resources

English Articles on Atheism and Agnosticism

Seekers

Photo provided by:
“Freedom Studio/Shutterstock.com”

Looking good

Thursday, October 15th, 2015

shutterstock_269313245

My wife recently went to an optometrist due to a flash of light that is intermittently occurring in one of her eyes. Before conducting a more thorough examination to find the source of this problem he first gave her an eye exam in which the optometrist discovered that her eyes were worse off than the “over the counter” reading glasses she was using. To determine her visual acuity he checked her vision with the phoropter by asking her questions as he changed the lens, such as, how does that look or appear, is that clearer, is that better, so on and so forth.
Apart from this subjective questioning he also would have used a more objective method by utilizing a retinoscope or autorefractor to project light into her pupil as to measure and study the light reflex. This is pretty much a standard procedure to determine the refractive error of the eyes with the intent of correcting her vision to a more normal condition.
As a starting point, another basic and quick method to see how well our eyes are functioning is by using the Snellen Eye Chart. By reading lines of letters the standard or optimal range for our eyesight is determined to be somewhere around 20/20 whereas most humans are unable to see any better than 20/10 and anything worse than 20/40 means that a corrective lens is needed just to drive a vehicle.
What really got my attention to this whole process was a dialogue that took place between the optometrist and my wife who was having difficulty in understanding his point of reference as English is not my wife’s first language or culture. This disparity over word usage challenged the patience of the optometrist in trying to explain the matter that at one point he asked me if I could make her understand what he meant.
One comical exchange that took place was when the optometrist was trying to convince my wife that her vision needed correction in order to see better and my wife in turn told him my vision is just fine, so better than what? The optometrist said that her vision was not normal according to his examination which she had agreed to as looking through the various lenses as contrasting her normal vision to an enhancement made available through his instruments. There were other side conversations that took place as well which contested his judgments but basically the outcome of his trained and experienced observation was that she was losing her eyesight regardless of denial or unawareness and her first clue should have been the purchase of her reading glasses.
This is somewhat like the human condition in that just like our eyes, which typically function better when they are youthful, so does our moral aptitude which is generally more insightful as seeing our true condition which isn’t blurred or distorted as damaged by living life. I am told that the eye has the capacity to adapt to trying to correct our visual handicaps much like we try to do when we don’t quite measure up to the standard of God’s law which is plainly written upon our hearts so as to correctly see the chart of right and wrong, good and evil, as either justifying or condemning our behavior,Romans 1: 18-32, 2:14-16.
What happens as adults we challenge the Eye Maker through sophisticated adaptations or arguments as denying we have any seeing problems to begin with by avoiding the eye doctor all together, redefining our own way of looking at the chart through the subjectivity of relativism as seeing an E as possibly an M, W or an F, by comparing our sight with others as average or a little better or a little worse, or by outright not wearing our glasses at all for whatever reason or excuse, etc., etc.
However the conscious is God’s visual cue to the inner eye to view the symptoms of guilt and shame in our lives. God’s light manifestly reveals this in a language that we all can see and understand so that we are without excuse. The good news is that by examining His revelatory word we can more perfectly recognize that He has given us eyes to see the hope of Truth as in Christ apart from the condemnation for those who refuse to see it God’s way.

 

 

How to know God

Atheist and Agnostic Resources

English Articles on Atheism and Agnosticism

Seekers

 

 

Photo provided by:
“Delpixel/Shutterstock.com”

*Aspects of this blog post are paraphrased

Fishing with Lies

Monday, September 28th, 2015

shutterstock_237446518

We recently took a vacation in Missouri with my daughter/son-in-law and my parents. The part of Missouri that we visited was in the Ozark Mountains at Roaring River State Park.
mostateparks.com/park/roaring-river-state-park
My family stayed in a log cabin and we trout fished, barbecued, made S’mores over a campfire, and just basically had some good family time.
The highlight of the trip was the trout fishing which started in the morning and went all day; finishing in the evening with a siren which meant you needed to quit fishing and make it to the cleaning station to take care of your fish.
We had to purchase a fishing license and a daily permit which only allowed us to keep four trout a day which were primarily Rainbow Trout.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rainbow_trout
Anyway the water was crystal clear and you could often see the fish that you were catching before you even got them to the bank. Some used real bait while others used an artificial bait such as a “Power Bait” which simulated salmon eggs with various colors/scents or artificial lures such as dry flies and spinners, etc.
When utilizing man-made materials the concept was to trick the fish into thinking they were getting something real, as naturally occurring, which corresponded with the spawning season as many of the trout we cleaned had egg sacks or perhaps something that mimicked the insects in the area. Furthermore, the secret was to use a very light test fishing line with a 907 gram fluorocarbon leader along with a very small hook (No.8-12), for concealment, which is undetectable to the fish as they have a very keen sense of sight.
One way to fish was to place a lead weight, such as a split-shot, about .3 to .6 meters above the bait and throw the rig upstream allowing it to naturally drift down with the current. The eggs and dry flies are designed to float so as to give it a very attractive and appealing approach to the fish which are competing for food in the river.
We happened to be fishing downstream of a hatchery so there was plenty of fish you just had to make the right presentation to catch them.
Of course, I like to use analogies when living life as to correlate activities to that of a spiritual reality or truth. In this instance, I see that our culture often presents us with a worldview(s) which we often find alluring for various reasons. What usually gets our attention is something which we as humans often find attractive; of which we innately hunger for in respect to sustenance, beyond that of local cuisine, as something that is properly basic to the human psyche as to give ultimate purpose and meaning to life as to discover “Who am I” and “Why am I here” as attaining such universal values as love, joy, and peace.
I think that many times we find ourselves taking the bait (a.k.a. hook, line, and sinker) when we find something that at first glance may seem to satisfy these primal instincts as becoming hooked, not realizing that such superficiality can result in being reeled in as caught off-guard only to be exploited by the Catcher who steals, kills, and destroys, John 10:10.
The bible portrays such a character as Satan who is the personification of evil as an adversary and deceiver of humanity who presents an array of various tackle in the form of false religion and philosophy as to satiate the cravings of our sinful soul to capture us in deceit as enticing us, without revealing to us its artificiality, in presenting it as authentically true or as half-truths e.g., Adam and Eve in Eden and Jesus in the Wilderness.
Antithetically Jesus enlisted some fisherman whom he called ‘Fishers of Men’ who had kind of a catch and release method as relocating the fish, unharmed, from such dangerous waters to inhabit streams of living water, John 7:37-39 and John 10:10.
The final question isn’t whether or not we will be caught but rather who or what has caught us. I have written more articles about this very subject at
jesusandjews.com/wordpress/category/seekers/

 
How to know God

Atheist and Agnostic Resources

English Articles on Atheism and Agnosticism

Seekers

 

 

 

Photo provided by:
“tab62/Shutterstock.com”

Life after Death

Thursday, May 21st, 2015

Death is a reality we all have to face sooner or latter. Most of us never really know when that fatal moment is going to be and therefore we should be prepared to face the possibility of life beyond the temporal physicality of this life.
I have a couple of reputable friends that have had near death experiences (NDE’s) and have spoken to me of a heavenly experience.
Anyway even though I can’t confirm every story or testimony I would still encourage you to be open to the possibility of the afterlife.

www.godtube.com/watch/?v=KYD7DPNX

www.godtube.com/watch/?v=F1JJCMNU

 

 

How to know God

Atheist and Agnostic Resources

English Articles on Atheism and Agnosticism

Seekers

The Salvation of Secular Humanism

Sunday, June 22nd, 2014

The philosophical beliefs that support secular humanism is a presumptuous view of trusting in the success of the human species based strictly in the good will of mankind. However this faith in the human genome alone has been largely a fantasy with its repeated dark history and proliferation of evil as characteristic of the human race. Thus the ability for mankind to save himself has proven to be dismal and futile in light of modern history especially with its foundation of an atheistic worldview as a failed attempt to deify mankind as a demigod.
After Word War 1 the atheistic clergy preached a creedal formula to its secular congregation with a gospel or salvation message known as the Humanist Manifesto 1 in which the savior, mankind, was to save and heal themselves which due to the atrocities of World War 2 showed such flattery to be overly optimistic and unrealistic with a need of altering its outlook as a viable answer to solve the world’s problems. Its solution was to offer a revision as the magic combination to unlock its efficacy. Yet no matter how many brilliant minds try to break the code as to endorse and subscribe to the program; its new and improved formulation could never be the “cure all” as the best lie is mostly true. Also to be able to temporarily reduce or minimize human failure is not to completely remove or eliminate its potential to once again flourish as another generation or society may further alter or reject its humanistic value. Even Immanuel Kant saw a need to stabilize morality with an unaltered standard for the survival of society as to at least act as if God (Judeo-Christian) does exist. Therefore based on Kant’s suggestion it seems that an all-sufficient moral agent, instead of the variableness of humanity, could only be the answer for mankind’s success, as human intervention regardless of endless revisions, does not prove to be the ultimate solution  even if it is able to become less erroneous.
With the scriptural revision of Manifesto 2 it has lacked the effectual influence to convert the masses as proving to be yet another false prophecy of revelation in failing to be the way, truth, and the life especially as the world continues to backslide in making any real progress towards with an evolutionary humanistic optimism? It is matter of blind faith to say we believe it to work because we want it to work does not necessarily mean that it will work as inconsistent with reality and thus reduced to hopeful and wishful thinking that is not rational nor reasonable in its outlook on life. Thus the myth continues as yet another authoritarian cult in preaching dogmatism to divert people with the false hopes of a utopian prospect.
The secular humanists will continue to make changes as to seemingly correct their views but it doesn’t necessitate  a more effectual solution in resolving the equation as still factoring in the same common denominator of mankind as promoting the wrong answer to the problem without any evidence that these figures will ever amount to a breakthrough with its human computation. That’s because this view underestimates the human potential for evil in thinking that mankind can be completely tamed and civilized through global socialization, technology and education as a means to altruistically reform as becoming self-actualized as developing a positive human potential through these humanistic self-help gurus as magically transforming this frog into a prince. Though figuratively we can dissect the frog, study and analyze it for further understanding, nonetheless it remains a frog, is a frog, is a frog. One of the foundational supporters of Manifesto 2 was Behaviorist B.F. Skinner who presented his theories as manipulating human behavior as treating people more like instinctual animals than human agents of free will by which such experimental treatment has only led to limited results instead of creating  an extensive human paradise to transform society at large. In spite of all this I think it is reasonable to say that mankind has preserved some God-given potential for good as we are imprinted with His image but not to the degree by which we are totally self-sufficient in acting as both the patient and the physician simultaneously as if to always heal ourselves and even with societies best you still have the psychiatrist who must see his own shrink or a doctor that needs the assistance of another MD and so ultimately in the end I believe healing can really only occur through the outside agency and intervention of a Divine Healer aside from the temporal treatment of our colleagues.
Anyway one of the hypocrisies of their belief system is based in situational ethics as being subjectively relative yet ironically they understand that this view is unlivable or unsustainable as they hold to certain absolute values through their Manifesto bible. This is because moral relativism proves to be a false dichotomy in the same way that one man’s treasure can become another man’s  trash or  another person’s good  can become another individuals evil such as with the genocidal tendencies of ethnic cleansing in which these atheistic regimes have treated people subhumanely as just another animal. So essentially in order to hold to the position of being a pure moral relativist would mean that you couldn’t criticize others under the ideology of Nazism as forcing your own morality as judging them to be immoral and yet intuitively we know that to approve of such behavior would be problematic. Thus the subjectivism of situational ethics would only create problems, as to accommodate one person’s situation could potentiality conflict with another person’s viewpoint creating strife, not harmony, and even the utilitarian idealism of the maximum amount of happiness for the maximum amount of people can be ill-defined as potentially disastrous as misused or abused to support such matters as to repeat the modern atrocities of history or at best to silence the minority view. This outlook may at first sound good to others until you become the victim as being ran over by this “trolley problem”. Therefore moral relativism can never be a form of self or societal government which would only lead to the lawlessness of looting and rioting as mankind is not completely capable nor willing to do unto others what they want others to do unto them as people would rather do what was right in their own eyes. Thus these secular religious beliefs would be largely ineffective especially as there is no absolute authority to ground morality on which at best can only lead to a police state as a form of human government much of what we already have in place as holding people accountable otherwise it would only lead to chaos and anarchy not the prosperity of the human race and therefore you can never divorce yourself entirely from the authority factor whether it be God or human government.
Moreover this open morality has selectively marginalized the main stream religion of Christianity which supports an absolute value and therefore its position is largely a reactionary and rebellious response against Christianity. Yet in spite of this anti-religious stance how ironic is it for this group to plagiarize some of the biblical precepts in adopting them as their own but just to a lesser degree as to rewrite their moral law code with a permissiveness as making themselves free from the standard of biblical moral beliefs by watering them down. At times it sounds like the Bible but without a positive reference to God as crediting secular humanists as the supreme being(s).
Again the ploy of this movement is a drive to retain autonomy as avoiding an overarching Supreme Being or Judge which in part has to do with  its own selfish gain as to exploit life in rebellion against a Holy God apart from merely pursuing its humanistic goals towards the betterment of mankind. This can be somewhat exampled as emphasizing their right to sexual freedom in contrast to certain biblical laws and I believe is one of the motivating factors that makes this philosophy so alluring as satisfying their sexual appetite with a moral laxity that can be defined as consensual in nature. Thus an effort has been made to usurp religion as an act of hostility in attempting to overthrow God  and if you doubt this motivation than simply ask yourself if God is real would there be an immediate response to embrace Him and  relinquish control of your life or would you still try to avoid Him at all costs even if it meant to deceptively devise a counterfeit worldview which is what secular humanism has done.
As previously mentioned the behavioral sciences has it limitations which would also include modern scientific technology as failing to be the ultimatum as the agent of enlightenment towards the morality of human evolution as it has become more  sophisticated in performing evil with the dangers of its technological advances as to bring about weapons of mass destruction more so than any other time in human history. Thus technology becomes a double-edged sword with its benefits of forwarding human progress while also having the likely potential to harm life as it is driven by fallible human beings.
Consequently it has been the likes of such religious groups as Christianity that has countered such threats by creating the  institutions of hospital and orphanages apart from the extermination camps and abortion clinics in serving as the hands of Christ in healing the downtrodden and broken-hearted while atheism, left to itself , has often exacerbated evil.
However, in all fairness, I offer the same criticism against false religion, which in my opinion, is no different from its atheistic opponent and should be opposed and resisted according to its hate crimes. Regarding Christianity, which is the position I support, should likewise be accountable to those who are behaving unbiblically such as a direct participant of either a religious or a secular war outside of what would be defined as “just warfare”. Essentially those who take such positions may prove to be pseudo believers or at least unfaithful to their Lord. Christendom was never intended to propagate a message of malevolence with its salvific theme of “peace on earth and good will towards men” and thus there is no justification to support these aberrant beliefs and actions as conflicting with the teachings of the scripture. Thus It would behoove society to accept rather than antagonize authentic Christianity as it brings the message and power of God’s redemption of humanity in changing mankind from the inside out as evidenced by love and peace as bearing the fruits of the Kingdom of God on Earth which should be praised and not grouped in with the ills of religious abuse. Anyway I have written an article as discussing the view of violence within religion in contrast  to atheism at

jesusandjews.com/wordpress/2009/10/21/religion-causes-bloodshed/

The theory of the secular humanists as outlined in article 7 presents itself as preserving the freedom and dignity of an individual, as supposedly including religious liberty but gives the impression as long as is doesn’t interfere with other people’s interests. I understand the need to honor other people choices but to say that we can’t respectfully challenge others in trying to be a positive biblical influence is an oxymoron to this group who is just as vociferous to share their meta-narrative. Religion often gets bashed for pushing its agenda while secular humanism would bulldoze others with their orthodox beliefs about what is right and wrong in opposition to their religious adversary. Thus one on hand they speak of religion favorably but secretly would rather remove or eradicate certain religions as the final solution in damning them with their bigoted views as a duplicity to their standard. In conclusion they want to blame Christianity as being authoritarians but in turn they would like to enforce their vision.
Another matter held by these political atheists, which is particular in America,  is supporting a misconceived view towards the “separation of church and state” which is unconstitutional and is a complete twisting and misunderstanding of one of Thomas Jefferson letters of not allowing the state to interfere with church affairs not vise versa. Not only does it want to somehow uproot the Christian faith from American history, in association with many of the founding fathers, but to also rid its influence on modern American Society as forgetting the positive impact of christian influence on America which is plainly dishonest and a deliberate oversight. Anyway to be consistent in this matter it would  only be fair to say that this should equally apply to their own ideological propaganda beliefs as they should avoid influencing the state with its prejudicial minority view. Furthermore to selectively use the word “church” in a multicultural society becomes seemingly discriminatory as well in profiling one particular faith.
Favorably speaking this movement supports  such values as human rights and welfare opportunities, equality, recognition, betterment of society, individualism, satisfaction, however this positive concept does not prove to be promising as sacrificing oneself on the altar of religious atheism for the betterment of mankind contrary to the individualism of the survival of the fittest without regard for the ultimate good of society and this can be coaxed out as in Maslow’s hierarchy in that self-preservation is the king of the hill, not the community, and when it is all said and done the bottom line is that among Atheists there is really only themselves anyway and no other ultimate reality beyond me, myself and I. Finally this statement promises the world but I think it will only implode as mostly empty and shallow political words.
Also another great idea they have is expressed in article 9 as the concept of war as being an obsolete solution and yet as you can readily see there is no sign of warfare slowing down as to become extinct with its nuclear, biological and chemical weapons as agents of mass destruction which have not, nor will ever, be completely eradicated, and even if they are reduced as buying into the secular humanists diplomacy it is not even realistic in lieu of constant world threats with its oppositional motif of “might makes right” as settling disputes through military presence or action as laughing in the face as to ridicule the sweet talk of negotiation and compromise. The whole dilemma to this favorable secular humanist platform is that it is structured and supported by atheism which in the past has only proven to use military force and action for the non compliant as a means to the end to oppress as to kill and maim societies the likes of which they say they really want to help.
Another credible position that they have is to overcome world poverty as establishing an economic socialism but this too has never proved to work in the past as it only ends up with two classes of individuals in dividing the wealthy/powerful from that of the lower class who have a carrot dangled in front of them to keep them motivated as trudging along but never being able to reach the prize. After all will the wealthy and powerful freely abandon their luxury for the sake of this idealism as willingly give up their riches for the poor? There is a reason why they are rich  and they intend on keeping it this way as they have stacked the deck in their favor as holding all the cards.  Even the efforts of sending outside assistance to these poor counties has often proved unsuccessful as these resources have been intercepted and the funds misappropriated.
Lastly another one of their popular ideas  is the concept of a new world order with a global government which may prove to be no more successful than the limited efforts of the UN. Yet if mankind is the truly the measure of all things then why should we even need such governing powers as it would seem that humanity or society should  naturally evolve as developing their own moral potential for excellence.
Finally even if the secular humanist was to succeed with a better model I think the concept of a utopian age apart from the future reign of Christ; is just a man-made Tower of Babel that in time will crash down as yet needing another support system to prop up its wrecked structure of belief with its replacement theology of an antichrist figure.
In conclusion secular humans as a vehicle to reach paradise would best be re-routed to the bunker of a doomsday prepper as driving this course down this human path will only lead to multiple setbacks as running out of gas, breakdowns, carjackings and finally human wreckage along this hazardous roadway in life as sadly leading to nowhere in failing to reach its final destination apart from God.
Revelation 21:1-5
21 Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. 2 And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. 3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place[a] of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people,[b] and God himself will be with them as their God.[c] 4 He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.”
5 And he who was seated on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” Also he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.”

 

 
How to know God

Atheist and Agnostic Resources

English Articles on Atheism and Agnosticism

 

 

 

The Holy Bible, English Standard Version® (ESV®)
Copyright © 2001 by Crossway,
a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
All rights reserved.
ESV Text Edition: 2007
All marked references are attributed to:
© 2009 Josh McDowell Ministry. All rights reserved. No part of these Materials may be changed in any way or reproduced in any form without written permission from Josh McDowell Ministry, 660 International Parkway, Richardson, TX 75081. www.josh.org. +1 972 907 1000. Used by Permission.

Who am I and why am I here?

Sunday, June 15th, 2014

When first considering this notion of “who am I” and “what is my purpose in life”, I believe there is an original answer to this question that is staged within the human psyche with a general innate sense or intuition that plainly pleads to our primal conscience concerning the true nature of our being or existence. This epistemology naturally emerges and then through the sophistication of sophistry is conveniently and selfishly altered by posing various deceptive theories which can be religious in nature as stating that all of reality as we know it is just an illusionary experience while on the other end of spectrum the scientific community strives to merely offer a naturalistic explanation as a substitution as doubting a persons immaterial being or soul. So instead of following their first instincts towards a divine omnipotent origin many times those who are of a different persuasion of self-preservation would rather erect their own idol to worship as bowing down in devotion to the false god of a materialistic ontology. However a question that science can not effectively answer nor offer a sound solution to is to why does anything exist at all since the universe has no will or power to act and why are we as humans seemingly and selectively singled out to cognizantly rationalize through self-awareness conjoined with the ability to reasonably understand and consider as if to discover the grand wonders of our universe as privileged individuals with such foresight and intelligence in having the endowment to put the pieces of the puzzle together. Ironically in spite of all of this the dilemma remains that even with such wit comes the abuse of fallible people to have the propensity to be hostilely predisposed against a Creator God as suppressing their knowledge by creating their own counterfeit worldview as deliberately limiting their potentiality as distorting a tangible reality as extended towards that of the infinite and limitless power in displaying the undeniable greatness of God’s glory. I have written more about this design (teleological) model and I welcome you to discover the Supreme Intelligence apart from the impersonal random chance hypothesis.

jesusandjews.com/wordpress/2013/12/08/is-life-an-accident/

Romans 1:18-25 

18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. 19 For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. 20 For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse. 21 For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. 22 Claiming to be wise, they became fools, 23 and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things.
24 Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves, 25 because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen.
To begin with Nietzsche is an example of this fomented and rebellious rage towards killing God as he is emotionally driven to pontificate his philosophy as to indoctrinate his parishioners into believing a salvation of liberation with a speech of self motivation towards a rugged individualism that mankind must devise his own way of life and yet with such self-determination his seemingly powerful words became no more than an empty message of quotable rhetoric that lacks objectivity as just another round of reactionary statements in taking a subjective blind leap of faith and whose legacy of strength is weakened with such irony as succumbing to the epitome of human frailty and weakness as suffering an untimely death.
Another character to take over the pulpit would be Jean-Paul Sartre who preaches an existentialism that life is absurd, and if people’s lives are to have any purpose then a person must conjure up that meaning for themselves. That mankind is autonomous and has absolute freedom and that they determine their own essence by their personal choices as defining their character as to evolve into what they are becoming. Thus mankind is enveloped in subjectivity and must authenticate themselves as they are truly alone. All of this is given as the solution towards meaning and commitment, yet many have left this idealism as finding it unsatisfying including Sartre himself.
Perhaps as Sartre meditated on the nihilistic values of a meaningless life maybe he came to the reality of his own woeful and dreadful end as facing his demise and mortality as doubting Heidegger’s devotional on angst and death. With such brevity of time it often produces truthful and honest reflection as if to regain a sense of confidence in rationality towards theism when facing actuality, not propositions, as the triumphal exit led Sartre to finally confess upon his deathbed with a summarative quote, though not popularized, as stating “I do not feel that I am a product of chance, a speck of dust in the universe, but someone who was expected, prepared, and prefigured. In short, a being whom only a Creator could put here: and this idea of a creating hand refers to God.”
This thought is carried forward by the summation of Solomon’s wisdom and life after having “seen and done it all” in concluding that
Ecclesiastes 12:13-14

13 The end of the matter; all has been heard. Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man. 14 For God will bring every deed into judgment, with every secret thing, whether good or evil.
In point Nietzsche, though intellectual, died a crazed mad man and Sartre, though blind, came to see the “good faith” as recanting his previous commitment towards what he termed to be “bad faith” as leaving the revolution as a militant atheist in dropping his defensive right to bear arms as laying down his weaponry to recognize that all along he was fighting the wrong enemy.
Thus these self-made supermen and trailblazers of atheism have attempted to clear a path as joining others to themselves, as the blind leads the blind, away from God and while traversing this path some have lost their minds as ending up disillusioned, confused, lost, and disfranchised in this jungle of life as leading to nowhere. While others have humbly turned back as realizing that they were only headed towards the dead-end of a cliff in concluding that such avoidance is inevitably unavoidable and run back as if to concede or embrace the One to whom they willfully hated and rejected without a rightful cause.
www.leestrobel.com
www.josh.org
In closing I would like to offer an antidotal analogy to help think through this vital question of personhood by challenging the idea of independently defining self as simply saying that if you were deathly sick in respect to this crisis would you look for a real cure even if it seemed unpleasant at first to treat your disease or would you be equally satisfied as privately treating the ailment with the pleasantry of a sugar pill in hopes that the sweetness of a placebo effect would somehow miraculously have the curative powers to heal you of this fatal identity crisis? Not on your life, unless of course you were a diabetic, and yet people who are faced with this dilemma arrogantly think that they can competently treat themselves as having a PhD with the diagnostic ability of “knowing it all” when in reality they are pseudo malpractitioners and quacks as they prescribe and self medicate themselves with a preferential philosophy or religion of choice as stating it doesn’t really matter anyway as it’s all relative, as what really matters is what fulfills or satisfies you as giving you personal meaning and value in life and though this all sounds warm, fuzzy and accepting; the truth of the matter is that is may prove to be a bitter pill to swallow as realizing that your cure may really be poison.
Finally I apologize if I seem sarcastic or antagonistic with my statements its just I want to get you to seriously and critically realize that your identity is not a relativistic “free for all” as origins can carry a sense of responsibility and accountability which needs a positive and true identification not a playful or wishful ruse as with the pretentious immortalized men and gurus of the past, who have misused their charisma and talent to thrill and mesmerize their audiences as they are caught up in the passion of the moment as being hypnotically entertained with a sense of believability as accredited to their wondrous performance when in reality they are only pretending as staging themselves in a role by which they have personally casted themselves within the drama of a human production. Unfortunately many have failed to realize that the show is over and that the final curtain has fallen as the star of the show has left the stage and that no final standing ovation will ever bring them back again. My question to you is are you willing to vacate the theater or are you just looking for a replay or the next best show in town?
Anyway a true seeker should be willing to pursue reality and truth wherever it will take or lead them even if it is contrary to where at first they want to go. After all, therein, will be the answer to who you really are by which I reasonably believe is definable by the living eternal God rather than some dead mortal philosopher. Therefore in closing I would just like to encourage you, as a starting point, on this quest to research the Bible which states that trusting in the Lord is the beginning of this wisdom as reciprocated in a personal relationship with God by which you are perfectly matched as ultimately filling the void and emptiness as being properly identified by a Heavenly Father who orderly created you for His glory with the DNA of ultimate purpose.

Jeremiah 29:11

11For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.
How to know God

Atheist and Agnostic Resources

English Articles on Atheism and Agnosticism

Seekers

 

 

 

The Holy Bible, English Standard Version® (ESV®)
Copyright © 2001 by Crossway,
a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
All rights reserved.
ESV Text Edition: 2007
All marked references are attributed to:
© 2009 Josh McDowell Ministry. All rights reserved. No part of these Materials may be changed in any way or reproduced in any form without written permission from Josh McDowell Ministry, 660 International Parkway, Richardson, TX 75081. www.josh.org. +1 972 907 1000. Used by Permission.

Modern Birds and Dinosaurs

Monday, June 2nd, 2014

Evolutionary theorists have a model of modern birds evolving from dinosaurs and yet the excavations of the paleontologists do not support this view as the fossilized remains of present day birds such as ducks, loons, flamingos, albatross, owls, penguins, sandpipers, parrots, cormorants, avocets have been uncovered alongside that of dinosaurs. Yet you won’t discover these facts or details in most of your museum displays and in my opinion its more than just a matter of disinterest but rather it appears to be a cover-up as selectively exhibiting the evidence.

 

How to know God

Atheist and Agnostic Resources

English Articles on Atheism and Agnosticism

 

 

 

Permission granted by Creation Ministries International Ltd, P.O. Box 4545, Eight Mile Plains, Qld, 4113, Australia. Creation Magazine vol. 34, No.3, 2012 on “Modern birds found with dinosaurs”.

creation.com/modern-birds-with-dinosaurs