By the Numbers

Friday, February 22, 2013

Questions Deserving Good Answers

                        Questions Deserving Good Answers
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Life's circumstances and issues can be bewildering. Some persons feel life doesn't make sense. They ask, "What should I believe? Can we even know what's right? Is there a basis of truth to stand upon? What does the future hold? Is there life beyond the grave? Am I just a perishing animal. Is there any hope?"
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I believe there are some reassuring answers to these crucial questions. Let's start at the beginning and you check me out. It requires a little thought. So thank you for your patience and interest. I hope I'm of help. Maybe you will like to share these answers with friends.
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1. Unless the universe created itself, every part is the effect of a great cause. Simple logic tells us nonexistence has no mind, will, power or force to create anything. Science tells us  the universe  is expanding, running down, cooling off, and can't be eternally backtracked. Doesn't all this  show  the universe's  beginning requires a beginner or uncaused cause? Where is the evidence that nothing--nonexistence--can produce anything and everything? There is none!
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2. Now wouldn't this complex material dependent universe require an intelligent, immaterial, independent, eternal  (self-existent & unchanging), and infinite beginner as its cause? Doesn't this cause also seem much like the infinite, eternal mind and will described in the Bible as the eternal Almighty Creator God?  
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3. Then also, wouldn't all life be the effect of the intelligence of its cause/creator and nothing be an effect of accident or mindless chance? Hasn't science demonstrated repeatedly that molecules can't arrange themselves into super complex life forms? Further still, while some claim thousands of missing links between all life forms, isn't this an unproven assumption? If we should believe what we actually see, there may not be any missing links! Indeed, any basic change within a life form requires throughout it other multiple simultaneous harmonious changes.
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Life forms have complicated systems and organs that must exist and function together from the outset. What animal can exist with a partially developed digestive, reproductive, and circulatory systems, or with undeveloped eyes, ears, and legs? All this clearly suggests intelligent design of an infinite designer. As the Bible puts it: God created everything to reproduce after its own kind. Aren't life forms better explained then by a Common Designer than by a common ancestor as evolutionists assume? Shouldn't common sense trump our assumptions?
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4. Wouldn't someone who claims there is no personal God have to know everything within space and time? I'll admit they sure would be smarter than me since I don't know what's happening in the next house or around the corner. Further still, if there be a Creator, then we are in no position to prescribe what the Almighty Lord over nature can and cannot do. He could create anything that suits his purposes be it angels, man, miracles, prophecies, or even God taking on a human nature and form as is claimed of Jesus Christ. Skeptics have no basis to deny a real God who can act in our world.
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5. Some persons claim the only way we can know anything is by scientific method  through repeated experiment, observation and measurement. The fact is we must already know logic, math, that our senses are reliable, and that we have reliable data before we  can even apply the scientific method. Moreover, social sciences, earth sciences, history and law have their own methods. Further, science is limited to material observation and can't rule out anything spiritual or supernatural. Not even that death destroys the human soul which may depart elsewhere.
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6. Now while the Creator is infinite, we are far more like our Maker than any other living creature. Animals act by instinct and to eat or be eaten. But we can reason things out seeing causes, consequences, and choose to make changes to improve things. Unlike animals, we can use fire, the wheel, weapons, and machines. And, we know logic, math, building, writing, science, philosophy, art, law, religion. Now doesn't all this fit nicely with the Bible's teaching that we are in God's image unique among other creatures and made for relationship with the Lord? Even atheists sometimes admit a longing for something or someone above or greater than them. Like water exists to satisify our thirst, God may exist to satisify our longing and need.
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7. We can and often do suppress it, yet  don't we have a unique inner sense of fairness or justice to guide our actions in relation to others? We call it our conscience. Everywhere men recognize a perfect moral standard that we must adhere to. We recognize moral progress or decline by this standard. We feel compelled to make excuses when we fail to keep it. We suffer guilt to break it. Like mathematics, it isn't invented but discovered. We even feel it a duty to save lives at the risk of losing our own. And while laws may differ somewhat from culture to culture all recognize things like genocide and rape are wrong and evil.
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Persons who claim there's no moral law, quickly shout you did me wrong if they're cheated, lied to, betrayed, robbed, injured, or in any way mistreated. The sad truth is justice is never fully realized in human lives and to be real there must be another life and a Moral Lawgiver to whom we're responsible if it is ever achieved.
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8. Now what must this Moral Lawgiver be like? Certainly not a mere force or abstract principle that can't know anything or care anything about us. Nor can limited tribal gods who only want appeasement and sacrifice offerings attend to a universal human need. Only an ethically perfect personal Almighty Creator God can attend to an objective universal moral problem. But, even then, how can we know such a God would care for us individually when we in no way can meet a perfect ethical standard? Ancients as the Babylonians, Greeks, Romans, Hindus, had no conception of a loving God. Ancient gods were vengeful and immoral themselves.
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Only during the Christian era after the crucifixion of Christ did the world gain understanding of a loving God who really cares for us, was even willing to die in our place to pay for our sins. Christ's willing to sacrifice himself for us as wretched sinners is the greatest display of love the world had seen. It was the beginning of understanding that God is both perfect justice and also mercy,  love, forgiveness, and relationship. It was the just God paying for us unjust sinners deserving eternal banishment and punishment for unacceptable wrong doing.
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9. But is a mere claim someone is God convincing? To claim Christ was God is of no greater value than Muhammad saw Allah's angel, or Moses gave the Ten Commandments. We must have tangeable evidence--its more than a mere claim anybody can make. People can be bias and closed-minded as in ways mentioned above. Consider this: Only Bible Christianity  has eyewitness evidence within three decades of Jesus that he walked on water, healed all kinds of diseases and ailments for over three years in daylight before hostile critics and even raised the dead! Further, Jesus is said to fulfill centuries earlier statements of a coming Messiah who would be born in Bethlehem, perform miracles, die for sins and be raised from the dead. There's simply nothing like this in conflicting world religions. See my other articles for full exposition such  as  A Professor Surprised About Miracles! 
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My friends, that's real evidence God acted in our world.  Jesus claimed many times to be our God. Archaeology and secular writings confirm many persons and circumstances of Jesus' day. They mention supernatural events of his life such as his virgin birth, cured the lame and blind, and raised people from the dead. Check it out in history. Jesus even established our dating system as B.C. and A.D..
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10. Let me sum up our argument. There are good reasons to believe in a personal, ethical Creator God who wants relationship with us. This complex universe has an intelligent personal Creator. All life and especially human life calls for such a Creator. Neither evolution, atheism, nor science rules out a personal ethical Creator God. It is not unreasonable to believe God made us in his image for relationship. Limited tribal vengeful gods, nor a divine force can serve as a basis for universal objective morality. Our conscience makes no sense unless we have the standard of a  perfect personal Moral Lawgiver who knows everything about us and holds us responsible as the Bible declairs. 
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The world's understanding of a loving God who really cares about us originated with Jesus dying to pay for our sins on the cross. Empty claims that anyone can be God will not do--it requires objective eyewitness historical evidence. Such evidence was given us in Jesus fulfilling ancient propheties of the Jews Messiah and performing hundreds of eyewitness miracles close at hand before large crowds.
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There's nothing like this in world religions. We're simply truthful, not  arrogant, biased,  unreasonable, or unfair to admit world religions are mutually contradictory, and we only have objective rational evidence that Jesus is in fact our God and Savior. He said, "I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life, no one comes to the Father but through Me" (John 14:6). He further promises to save anyone from sin, the grave and hell if they believe in him and trust the Holy Spirit to be their life guide. Would you like to become a child of God? Just pray, "Lord, I trust you as a sinner to save me now and use me as your loving child." 
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 See Bible verses: John 1:1-5, 14; 3:16-21, 36.  Now maybe U would like to be God's faithful minister sharing these  gospel articles with friends. God bless your efforts. You may one day see persons God used U to win to the Savior. Can anything else in life be more important than that? Certainly not playing computer games or watching television!
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See following note.

2 comments:

  1. Sometimes I recommend some books. But I don't believe a bibliography or footnotes are appropiate for most of my articles. I'm not impressed by alleged experts or great credentials either. I know such persons can be biased, closed minded, & hostile to Christian faith. I just want to examine the facts to see if they hold true. I recommend others do the same. I try to be honest, fair and helpful.

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  2. These books confirm eyewitness historical evidence of Jesus.
    Gary Habermas, "The Historical Jesus. Ancient Evidence for the Life of Christ".
    Josh McDowell & Bill Wilson, "He Walked Among Us".
    D. James Kennedy, "Skeptics Answered".
    D. James Kennedy & Jerry Newcombe, "What If Jesus Had Never Been Born?

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