Is It True That There Is No Absolute Truth?

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A Bible-believing seminary student attended a postmodern church by mistake. The pastor preached that all religious beliefs are true. Sermon over the student tried to slip out unnoticed, but the pastor with booming voice and a big smile shook his hand and asked if he lived in the area.
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He replied, “No sir, I’m a seminary student living in Bowling Green, home on break.”
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“Wonderful” the pastor said, “What are your beliefs?”
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“I’d rather not say sir,” replied the seminary student.
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“Why not son?” asked the pastor.
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“Because I don’t want to offend you sir,” he replied.
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“Oh, son, you can’t offend me because I believe all religious beliefs are true. It’s okay, he said, nodding and smiling. “Please tell me what you believe.”
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“Okay,” the student leaned toward the pastor, cupped his hand around his mouth so those going out the door wouldn't hear him, and whispered, “Sir, I believe you’re going to Hell!”
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Pastor Postmodern stood straight, eyebrows raised; face turned pink as cool aid, cleared his voice and replied, “Well, guess I’m wrong after all. All religious beliefs can’t be right since yours certainly isn’t.”

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Pastor Postmodern's Rethinking
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This seminary student put huge troubling question marks in Pastor Postmodern’s mind about absolute truth. The pastor thought all college and seminary professors taught there’s no objective truth, or if so, we can’t know it. All truth is relative, not absolute. Statements can be true for you but not for me.

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Scratching his head, the light came on. Every one of these denials assumes there is absolute truth. And if there isn’t, then we have no sure reason to believe anything anybody says—religious or secular. Nobody could ever tell a lie and we can’t live by relativism. Oh, to think I paid those misfit professors to feed me demonic deceptions that destroy men’s souls denying absolute truth.

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When someone makes a claim that’s true all opposing claims have to be false. If it’s true that 2+2=4, then any number other than #4 is false. And that never changes. Truth is truth for everybody, everywhere, at all times. Truth is what corresponds to reality. It’s telling it like it is. In a room with the temperature 75%, some persons may feel cool, others comfortable, and others hot, but 75% is the same temperature for everybody, everywhere, at all times. People once believed the world was flat, but discovered it's round. The truth didn’t change. Its round no matter what people believe. One can’t even argue against truth without assuming the truth of their arguments to disprove truth. Absolute truth then is unavoidable and is always absolute, exclusive, and knowable. Everything opposing it is false and a lie.

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People hope to get the truth from parents, children, doctors, teachers, politicians, food labels, advertisements, salespersons, and the list is unending. Relativism of truth and morals is certain breakdown of society that leads to a dictatorship of forced slavery to curtail anarchy.

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What Then Is Fair and Truthful?
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Persons sometimes ridicule Christians as narrow-minded, bigoted, intolerant, arrogant, unloving, dogmatic, absolutist, imperialistic, even dangerous for saying their faith is true. But why is this only directed to Christians? It seems they alone have an the only sure basis for absolute truth. An infinite personal, ethical Creator is the only certain basis for absolute truth, and for human dignity in God’s image, human rights as God holds us accountable, ethics as God’ given ethical standards in creation, conscience and Christ. There can be no more certain basis for absolute truth than in the absolute standare of God Himself shown to us in the person of Jesus by his claims to deity with fulfilled prophecies and multiple miracles that prove it.

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The above objections apply to everybody who says their beliefs are true. Socialists say they’re politically correct. Atheist professors deny absolutes. Pantheists think the universe’s energy is god. Muslims believe the Quran is unquestionable truth and they should force infidels to accept it. All these groups hold beliefs claimed absolute truth but deny it to others. But unlike Jesus, they show no evidence their claims are true.

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Isn’t it hypocritical to condemn Christians for judging--always taken out of a context that specifies hypocritical judgment, Matthew 7:1-5--while their accusations judge Christians? Only Christians preach that God is love and that we should love one another because only Christians have a basis for love. God enables us to love by putting His love in us, and He will one day judge our behavior toward our fellow man. Before Christ came, the world had no concept of a loving God. Today society ignores the biblical basis of moral concern and responsibility—agapa. Society defines love to mean any physical pleasure and unrestrained sex with anybody anytime--eros.

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 How Tolerant Is The New Tolerance?
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The “buzz word” today is intolerance. Tolerance no longer means to respect a person’s right to hold views you believe false and disagree with. The absolutist’s view of truth and morals angers our postmodern secular society. You must accept their view as true and not claim your view is absolute truth. It’s like Nazism—Hitler murdered anyone who disagreed with him. Laws made behind closed doors are suspect because lawmakers know public protest. Christian teaching requires honest, fair, free, open debate that seeks the most good for citizens.

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 Pastor Postmodern converted to Pastor Truth-teller. Until now unwilling to admit it, he knew world religions and philosophies differ radically in their beliefs about God, man, salvation, and life after death. Limited human beings make opposing assumptions that are often no more than human guesses. Buddha’s philosophy, Confucius’ wise sayings and Muhammad’s claims could be their subjective human thinking. And we know these conflicting views can all be true and give no objective evidence of being true.

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The Only Certainty!
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The only certainty about such things would be if God himself came into our world, told us who he was, and did things honest, fair-minded people, who could put aside their pride and prejudice, could believe. And this is exactly what the New Testament, the Christian creeds, and Christians from Jesus until today claim. Christian faith is the only world religion that can show multiple ancient detailed prophecies of Messiah that fit Jesus exactly.

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Bible Christianity is the only faith that can show published records proclaiming Jesus deity and miracles within three decades of Jesus’ life--witnesses still lived who could verify the facts. And creeds and hymns used in the churches were incorporated into the letters of the apostles scholars believe go back to within three to eight years after Jesus’ death (Rom. 1:3-4; 1 Cor.11:23; 15:3-8; Phil. 2:6-11; Col. 1:15-18; I Tim. 3:16; 2 Tim. 2:8; John 1:1-18; 1 Pet. 3:18-22). Christian martyrs didn’t die to blow up innocent men, women and children and send them to Hell, but to verify God’s truth with their own blood. Bible Christianity is God’s authority—it teaches love, respect, free speech, truth. As such, it has no rivals--it alone is God's absolute truth. 
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Jesus is the Source of truth because He's our creator. He then is the Judge of whether we follow His will. And He can be our Savior if we trust Him to save us as unworthy sinners. In John 14:6 Jesus said, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me." Have you come to the Savior of sinners yet? If not, won't you humbly admit your sin and trust Jesus to save you? Then link this blog to yours & share God's truth with as many persons as possible. See my note below. God bless you as you unashamedly share God's absolute truth.
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Three Friends Discuss Good and Evil

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#Evil    #Worldviews
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Land laid waste, strewn bodies hacked to pieces, fields blood drenched, women and children forced to be prostitutes and slaves, families torn apart. It’s history. Genghis Kahn, the Huns, Vikings, Caesars, Hitler, Stalin and Mao—the list of heartless killers never ends. Today, instead of slaughtering each other with spears and swords, we can devastate our planet with ballistic missiles carrying atomic warheads.

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Why can’t people live together in peace and work for a good world thought Terra as she waited on her friends to bring the drinks and pizza to the park table?

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Pan arrived with the drinks. “Hello, Terra, have you been waiting long?”

“No Pan, I arrived five minutes ago. I brought a chocolate cake.”

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“Great. I love chocolate. Chris does too. Here he is with the pizza. Everybody dig it. Boy, this will be a good outing. What subject would be good to discuss today Terra?”

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“Well I’ve been thinking about wars, devastation and our real danger of destroying life on this planet. We can discuss what we think about good and evil and what might be the outcome. Do you guys agree?”

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“Oh yes, Terra that bothers me too.” Pan grabbed a big piece of pizza and a bottle of green tea, “Chris, is that alright with you?”

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“Sure, Terra what do you think about good and evil?”

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The Materialist View

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“Well, they both definitely exist and I prefer the good. Since man evolved, we’ve been slaughtering each other in larger numbers with greater efficiency. It’s scary. We might exterminate everybody. Or, if we don’t, a huge asteroid slamming earth might. The universe has always existed--it’s just energy evolving into plants, puppies and people. Maybe people exist on other planets too. We can’t escape destruction. Even if the sun doesn’t blow us up our lights go out when we return to dirt. I think science proves me right. It’s our fate. So, ‘do your own thing’ seems logical. Shrugging her shoulders--eat, drink, be merry for tomorrow we die. But, it bothers me. What do you think Pan?”

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The Pantheist View

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Smiling, “I think this sure is good pizza. But I’m glad it’s plain cheese. I don’t eat meat. It might be one of my ancestors. Ha! Ha!”

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“I largely agree with Terra. The universe is a mass of energy that assumes different shapes. But I believe its all illusion. It’s like the movie horse and rider moving across the screen. Flick the switch and it disappears. It was never there. It’s like vegetation that comes to life in the spring, dies in the fall and returns next spring.”

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“Justice requires we reap what we sew—things assume thousands of forms and lifetimes until ceasing to exist. They’re absorbed into the World Soul like waves of the sea coming to rest.” The universe is a principle, a force—it’s god. And as part of it, I’m god. Only ignorance imagines that pains, death, disasters, disunities are real.”

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“Chris, finish off that big piece of chocolate cake and tell us what you think.”

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The Christian Theist View

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 “Hum. That lunch was good. Okay. First, I’m thankful I live in a country that still respects human life, allows free speech and opposing worldviews. But I believe my view of the world is what makes this possible. And I believe my view alone gives life dignity, a basis for ethics, makes sense of justice, truth, love, freedom, responsibility, assures us of an afterlife, and furnishes ultimate purpose for living. So goodness will triumph.”

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“If we can put our philosophy aside, science shows the universe is not eternal. Like a new wound clock, it’s running down, so it must have had a beginning, a starting point. Good sense, experience, and science shows non-existence can’t produce existence. Something can’t come from nothing—nothing is mindless, powerless, space less, timeless, a no-existence. So the nonexistent universe didn’t produce itself—that’s a logical contradiction. Then something must have produced it.

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“An eternal source is necessary to explain this temporal dependent universe, and its cause must be equal to or greater than its effect, the universe itself. It would be the source of all life, consciousness, intelligence, power, and will existing in the effect. That being true, we owe our every breath, our every heartbeat to our source.”

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“I know of no evidence that molecules can evolve or arrange themselves into men even in fourteen billion years. True science acknowledges amino acids in nature do not form proteins or a chain in DNA sequence, and they easily break up. One microscopic DNA molecule contains as much information as a big city library. This requires a creative intelligence far exceeding a human mind. The human body is irreducibly complex and must be alive and functional at the outset. And the anthropic principle of 122 factors—right atmosphere, water, temperature, gravity--shows the physical universe is exactly what it must be for man to originate on earth.”

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“Chris, it sounds like you believe in God. Do you believe the Arab who claimed an angel told him God’s word?”

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“No Terra. I believe the man who came from heaven, lived a perfect life, healed the sick, in love gave his life on the cross to correct our wrong doings, arose from the dead, and promised all who trust in him eternal life. He’s the only hope for this evil world. Not just some man who came out of a cave and claimed an angel nobody else saw. Jesus is the One who loved us and died to save us."

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“As made in God’s image, we have dignity and choice--we will not be annihilated. King Jesus will imprison evil forever and restore the earth to its original paradise. He triumphed over death, the devil, deceit and evil. We can too if we choose life in him and his restored paradise.” Would you like to say, Lord Jesus I'm a sinner and I trust you now and forever to be my Savior, Lord and Guide. Done! Thank you Lord. I know according to your word: "he who hears Me has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death into life" (John 5:24). Praise God I'm born into God's eternal kingdom right now to live forever with Him.

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Dr. Evangelical Speaks at Darwin University

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#Darwin     #Secular
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Darwin University President, Dr. Secular, introduces the speaker.  With administrative approval and as president, it’s my privilege to introduce my longtime friend and our speaker today. He holds to a faith and worldview opposed to what we believe and teach here at Darwin University. This should challenge the thinking of those who believe we secular humanists devoted to Darwin are too closed-minded and arrogant to allow a speaker even hinting at God, religious authority and freedom.

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Dr. Norman Evangelical (Norman L. Geisler) is a well-known and highly esteemed educator who founded an evangelical theological seminary. He has written seventy some books, numerous articles in scholarly journals, and for many years taught philosophy, logic, ethics, Bible and theology. He’s widely known for his Baker Encyclopedia on Christian Apologetics and his Systematic Theology. He fearlessly debates us secular scholars in the U.S.A. and around the world. Ladies and gentlemen, I give you our speaker and philosopher-theologian Dr. Norman Evangelical. --Boo. Boo. Boo.

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Thank you my friend, Dr. Secular. I’m not here to survey the arguments for God’s existence, or to present the arguments against mindless molecules evolving or arranging themselves into men. I do hold to those arguments, however, and intellectual integrity requires we consider them seriously. I’m here today to show contrasts between two faiths, two opposing worldviews, and the crucial differences they make for our lives. These two opposing views are secular humanism and biblical Christianity. Each has the most serious and practical consequences.

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I don’t believe any mystic’s mere claims to be God or tell us about God whether it’s Zoroaster, Muhammad, Moses, or Jesus. You or I could make the same claim. The radical difference with Jesus is no mere claim. Jesus did things we can only ascribe to God such as heal various diseases immediately, walk on water and raise the dead. And his disciples published these events not centuries later but within three decades or less while living persons hostile to Jesus would have utterly repudiated all false claims. Jesus’ skeptical disciples didn’t stupidly believe in fairy tales, would not change their Jewish faith to risk being caste into Hell, and would not endure rejection, persecution, and torturous deaths for what they knew to be a lie. So, based upon arguments alluded to above and upon Jesus, I present four crucial contrasts between the two worldviews. My topic is:

                          The Essential Foundations of Human Existence.

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First, consider human dignity. The Bible teaches all persons are descendants of our first parents, Adam and Eve, created in God’s image, immortal, a little lower than the angels. This gives all humanity great dignity and the same equality. No inherent difference exists between a person’s race, color, nationality, age, belief—all are persons. So we should show all the same great respect and care. But secular humanism says soulless man is here by accident. He’s only a more sophisticated animal crawled up from the slime pit to which he returns at death. Nietzsche and Hitler enacted evolutionary humanism, Mother Teresa and Salvation Army’s General Booth divine creation. Secularism regards us dispensable soulless dirt; Christianity mandates God’s creations be treated with dignity.

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Next, consider ethics. The Bible teaches a Personal Creator, Life Giver, and Moral Lawgiver set standards to insure our health and happiness, our security and sanity and that abuse of God’s standards results in his just but loving discipline. Humanity has God’s witness of conscience and God’s Holy Spirit reflected in peoples’ acknowledging a moral code and strongly protesting when abuses such as deception, robbery, rape, murder turn upon them. But evolutionary humanism suppresses these witnesses and denies God’s existence. Thus, evolutionary humanism has no basis for ethical standards--nature's is can't tell us ethics ought. Without a personal ethical absolute authority anything is permitted. Right and wrong is just limited, conflicting human opinions which boil down to might makes right. Whoever gets the big stick can enslave others helpless to resist. Such tyrants can order the extermination of millions, which is exactly what 20^th century Godless dictators such as Hitler, Stalin, Mao, and others did.

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Further, consider marriage. . In biblical teaching God made Adam directly a living soul and Eve from him since no suitable mate existed among the animals. Jesus was clear that the one flesh marriage at the beginning is permanent. God hates divorce and it only shows the hardness of human hearts. That one flesh marriage excludes a person’s having many spouses despite its flagrant abuse in biblical times and today. One man cannot show proper attention to many wives and it’s terribly unfair to men without wives. Further, male and female bodies show God designed us with compatible anatomies for a one-flesh relationship to have children, and that’s something evolutionists find difficult to explain.

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Evolving secularism has no sexual bounds. Same sex marriage even people having sex with animals is now being considered; after all that's all we are.  Homosexuality carried out consistently would eradicate the human race and it provides no true family model of both genders. God married Adam to Eve, not Steve. And God meant man to be head and loving leader of his wife and to discipline their children. God created both genders in his likeness but for different roles clearly shown by man’s physiology being bigger and stronger and woman’s being helpless during pregnancy and nurturing babies. Women are in God’s image and entitled to good treatment as much as men.

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Finally, consider government. The Bible teaching is that God ordains governments to enact laws, which protect citizens and secure their well-being. It includes raising taxes and use of the sword or capital punishment for violators. Christian citizens are to obey government laws except when they annul God’s higher moral laws and freedom to preach the good news of Christ as Lord and Savior. Bur secular governments can ignore God’s laws. They decide what is true, what’s law, who lives, and do so without moral boundaries as human dignity, marriage, sex. They are tyrants and world history confirms it.

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Friends, fight for survival of our family, of our children, of human dignity, of human freedom, and of human life. Please, work with me to raise the Christian flag in this human crises and cultural war. In Christ, we can save human dignity and equality, save ethical decency, save marriage, and have a just and compassionate government. The Darwinian philosophy of molecule to man can only enslave and destroy us, make us worthless dirt to be manipulated and murdered.

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Thank you for having me. I’ll be happy to answer any questions in your lounge next door. In addition to my books mentioned above, check out my others books on the table below. Again, thank you so much for having me.
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  A Professor Surprised About Miracles!

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#Miracles
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David Hume Jr. said, "Jesus never performed miracles. It’s impossible. Nature’s laws won’t allow such violations. Besides, I’ve never seen anybody walk on water, heal people instantly, raise the dead. It’s as Professor Skeptic said, 'All Jesus’ miracles are incredible and have some other explanation.' "Those preachers who say otherwise are wrong. They’re just what ignorant Bible-thumping Christians claim."  Are You Sure?

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“Hey, David! David Hume!”

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David looked up to see his friend, Norman Evangelical, with a big smile. Norman is a nice guy, smart, sensible, fun loving. He and Norman go together with their girlfriends to school football games at Spinoza Stadium and cheer loudly for our team. But something about Norman made David feel a bit uncomfortable. He’s different somehow in his talk and actions.

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“David, my friend, what’s happening? You want to take the girls to see the game this weekend?” Norman asked.

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“Oh, I guess so. I’ve just been thinking about Professor Skeptic’s class. He says the modern scientific worldview has shown supernatural religion of God and miracles outmoded. It’s a form of escapism and illusion like Freud said. I think he’s right, don’t you Norman?”

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“No, David, I don’t,” looking rather serious. “We now know Freud’s psychoanalysis is unscientific fraud and his atheism may be his escapism from facing God and Hell. Science puts itself in the place of the all-knowing God to pass judgment on immaterial things. Science is limited to experiment with things known through our physical senses such as sight, sound, touch, taste and smell. Science exceeds its limit to say God, angels, revelations and human souls don’t exist.”

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“But Norman, we have nature’s laws that make miracles impossible.”

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“Yes, we have patterns in nature that normally would exclude miracles. Christians knew nature’s laws so well that it always astonished them to see Jesus’ miracles. The Virgin Mary, Jesus’ mother, was astonished to be pregnant. She asked how it could be since she knew not a man. The universe’s Creator can overpower the natural order he upholds when his purpose is to get people’s attention. What better way could there be to make his presence and power known? Philosopher David Hume erred to say a majority testimony against miracles makes them incredible. That would rule out any new discovery and precludes the possibility of God. Man can't legislate that the Creator can't use miracles. That's the way a loving God can show His presence and redemptive purpose for our lives.

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“But Norman, wouldn’t a miracle disrupt all nature and make science impossible?”

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“No. When Jesus turned water into wine, he just accelerated the process. When Jesus walked on water everything else remained the same. Jesus miracles were not like the wild, bizarre imaginings of the Arabian and Greek myths. When he ascended into heaven, he simply exerted more power than gravity as do modern rocket ships taking off. His miracles occurred in one place, didn’t disrupt all nature, and scientists could be there conducting experiments all over the world.”

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“Oh, but Norman, it’s superstitious to believe in supernatural ghosts, spirits, magic and the like that makes science impossible.”

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“David, my friend, this time I agree with you. But it was those who believed the world illusion, or spirits were in every tree, and nature was too mysterious and sacred to tamper with that inhibited the development of science. No! Christians, unlike the superstitious pagans, believed in a good and rational God who told us to develop, care for, and enjoy the good world he created. Christians believed the world to be real, rational, orderly and useful for experimentation. In fact, the first experimental scientists were believers in the Christian God and many were Christians.

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“Norman, what scientists were Christians and why do we never read about this in the science textbooks.”

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“Well, to start, the greatest scientist, Sir Isaac Newton, believed in God and wrote commentaries on the Bible. Francis Bacon, father of the scientific method, believed the Bible saves us from error and reveals the will of God. Robert Boyle, the great chemist was another devout Christian who wrote books on Christian apologetics. Lord Kelvin, who formulated the laws of thermodynamics and held twenty-one honorary degrees, was a man of deep faith. The brilliant mathematician and astronomer, Johannes Kepler, was a devout Christian whose faith sustained his life and motivated his research. Sir Michael Faraday, Charles Babbage, Blaise Pascal even Galileo Galilei and many others were devout believers.”

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“Then Norman, why don’t we hear about this today from people in science. We get the opposite impression from the universities.”

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“David, I think three reasons. We have a build in reluctance to think of God and his rule over our life. Also, since Darwin’s day, many use evolution as an excuse to do whatever suits their animal desires. And third, writers of science textbooks think religion or any mention of God is out of place.”     

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“You make it all sound so reasonable Norman, but can’t Jesus miracles have natural explanations. Professor Skeptic showed this clearly in class. So we don’t have to believe in Jesus’ miracles, or that he is God.”

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With a curious grin--“Just what did the good professor say, David?”

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“He gave reasonable alternatives. Jesus’ superstitious disciples believed in ghosts. They thought Jesus walked on the sea. But he really walked around the sea to greet them standing on a sand bar on the other ashore. When a hungry boy took out his lunch, the 5,000 took out theirs. During the storm on the Sea of Galilee, Jesus bade his disciples row the boat to a calm area. And the alleged dead girl revived from a coma. It’s all so natural, no miracles required. Don’t you agree?” David crossed his arms, looked up and felt rather self-assured. 
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“No, I don’t David for several reasons. First, Professor Skeptic didn’t do his homework. It’s easy to sit behind a desk, ignore the facts and imagine you know more than the persons involved. Second, alternative natural explanations don’t disprove miracles and may not be true explanations. Third, explaining away a few miracles when Jesus probably performed hundreds (Jn. 20:30-31; 21:24-25) doesn’t make the case. Fourth, to extract miracles from the accounts renders them ludicrous nonsense. It makes Jesus’ disciples incredible idiots to affirm known lies, endure ridicule, and martyr’s deaths. Finally, hostile eyewitness three decades later reading the published Gospels would discredit fake miracles and would destroy the Christian movement. Now let’s take the good professor’s explanations one at a time.”

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“Jesus walked on the Sea of Galilee (Mt. 14:24-36; Mk. 6:45-52; Jn. 6:4-21). The texts say the disciples saw Jesus in the early morning darkness (3-6 a.m.) walking in the middle of the lake that is 80-160 feet deep. Knowing natures laws, His terrified disciples thought him a ghost. Who wouldn’t in such circumstances? Peter walked to Jesus on the water, but doubted and sank. Jesus rebuked his unbelief. Both got into the boat, returned to the other shore where the astonished disciples worshipped Jesus as the Son of God. But their worship took such a stupendous event to impress it on the disciples minds. Did Professor Skeptic mention these facts? You mean he just forgot!”

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“Jesus fed the 5,000 (Matt. 14:13-21; Mk. 6:35-44; Luke. 9:11-17; Jn. 6:1-14). The texts say near Passover time hundreds saw Jesus’ healing miracles and hurriedly left the cities to follow him to a deserted place for healing. They became hungry as the day wore on and were without food. A desperate search turned up only a boy’s lunch of two fish and five loaves of bread that couldn’t feed five thousand men plus women and children (Maybe 20,000). Jesus prayed, divided the boy's food and disciples distributed it so everyone had plenty and eleven baskets were salvaged. That's no great feat if Jesus be our loving Creator?"And it's so unlikely to be a made-up story.

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“Jesus stilled Galilee’s raging storm (Matt. 8:23-27; Mk. 4:35-41; Luke. 8:22-25). Cold winds pour down surrounding hills to stir up the whole sea with fierce winds and waves. Water filled the boat while Jesus slept on a pillow at the stern. Panicky disciples cried Lord save us  or we’ll drown. Jesus first rebuked the storm that ceased immediately, and then rebuked the disciples for unbelief. Astonished, they acknowledged that even the winds and waves obey him. Now, how can we explain this immediate calm of the sea at Jesus’ command without a miracle? David, I ate fish in a restaurant beside Israel's Sea of Galilee during such a storm. That raging sea is terrifying, and there's no calm place one can go as some critics imagine.”

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“Jesus raised three dead persons: the widow of Nain’s son (Luke. 7:11-15), Jairus’s daughter (Mark. 5:35-43; and Lazarus (John.11). A dead corpse is easily distinguished from a comatose person by being pale, cold and stiff. Do the critics think ancient people were too dumb to know that?”

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“I wonder how our noble professor would explain the temple tax in the fish’s mouth, Malcolm’s severed ear restored, Jesus’ transfiguration, His resurrection being seen by five hundred people many of them still alive when  Paul spoke of it (1 Cor. 15:3-8), unless Jesus be our God and Savior. Did the professor know these details in the Gospels are exactly what we find them to be today? Could Professor Skeptic be a closed-minded naturalist?”

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 “At Peter's request, the Romans crucified him upside down because he felt unworthy to die the same way as his Lord. Peter’s statement rings true rather than Professor Skeptic’s claims.

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Peter said, “We did not follow cunningly devised fables when w made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses of His majesty.” 2 Peter 1:16

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Despite the evidence, to deny miracles one must make the unwarranted assumption that no Creator God exists who can act in his world. Unless we know everything, we simply can’t say that. Honest evaluation of the evidence points to Jesus being our God and Savior of sinners. And Jesus will save anyone who admits to their sin and trusts in Him for his gift of eternal life.
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My friend, we're all sinners needing the Lord as our Savior. Jesus died upon the cross to pay for our sins and make us God's people who live for Him. In trusting Him, one day we will live in a perfect Heaven where there will be no more evil, no more pain. Won't you pray, Lord, I'm a needy sinner. I trust You now and forever as paying for my sin in Your death on the cross. I don't understand it all, but I trust  Your promise anyway.  Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved (Acts 16:31).
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If you trusted the Savior, you want to share this most wonderful news with others. You can do this simply by linking to these articles & sending them www. Walking Heaven's streets, we will rejoice with persons we invited to the Savior. Praise God! Being a good news messenger is most precious and will be rewarded at the judgement seat of Christ when other so-called important things--computer games, showing pictures, saying negative things won't count for anything. God bless.

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Three Challenging Ideas

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Chris Theon sought to share the good news of God’s forgiveness, love and promise of eternal life in Christ everywhere he went. After all, wasn’t that exactly what the Lord Jesus told Christians to do? And isn’t that the greatest thing one human being can do for another? Even greater than buying them a winning lottery ticket?

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 Some persons showed understanding, appreciation and acceptance for what Chris said. Others frowned, turned away, or even ridiculed his efforts calling him a narrow-minded religious fool. Chris prayed these persons would come to know the joy and love he came to know in Christ. Why can’t they understand and accept Christ’s claims?

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Thinking about his encounters with these persons, Chris realized it’s because many have one-legged Gods. They try so hard to avoid the ditch on one side of the road that they fall into the ditch on the other side. It’s like a cake burnt on one side but raw on the other. Some persons believe exaggerated half-truths about God. It affects their personality, attitudes, and responses to life and people in negative ways. No wonder some persons say, “I can’t believe in a God like that” and become atheists. Chris pondered these persons with their attitudes and actions.

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He recalled Diana Deist. She learned in physics’ class that the universe was running down like a wound up clock. So it must have had a Winder to begin. And if we could count back unending moments of time, we could never have reached today, so the universe had a beginning. Her biology teacher taught that Louis Pasteur and other scientists showed life doesn’t spontaneous appear from non-living matter.

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Furthermore, the DNA molecule even in simple organisms contains more information than an encyclopedia and its genes limit what it can become. Mind then preceded and produced matter. So it’s absurd to think unconscious, mindless molecules magically arranged themselves into man with multiple interdependent organs and systems no matter how much time. She concluded there must be an immensely great, eternal, intelligent power source worthy of being called God our Creator.

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But Diana couldn’t bring herself to believe God has much to do with our world and everyday lives. Her father left home when she was just six, never returned and her mother wasn’t always attentive to her needs. She had prayed earnestly for a boyfriend. But for whatever reason she couldn’t attract guys’ interest though she felt she was intelligent and attractive. Chris’s heart and prayers went out to all such persons.

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Chris remembered Pan Everything believed God is nature, impersonal energy, always changing forms as animals, trees, flowers, waterfalls, springs, the wind, rain, snow. God is everything, the whole universe and there’s no need for a Creator beyond nature. Things just move along the way they always have. She felt it odd of Christians to say Jesus is our Creator who dwelt among us. Jesus may never have existed, and if he did, he certainly wasn’t God come to us from the sky. Pan just laughed it off when Chris tried to tell her she needed the Savior.

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Chris knew Justin Trueman understood. Justin warned that God judges indifferent wayward people. Persons who say God is just love should read the Bible. He pointed out that God destroyed the violent wicked world of Noah’s day and burned the wicked city of Sodom. Many persons today aren’t concerned about idolatry, drunkenness, abortion, fornication, adultery, incest, homosexuality, same-sex marriage. They give these destructive practices less offensive misleading names to excuse and justify them. They reason anything is okay as long as it doesn’t hurt others, but overlook that such practices pervert persons, fracture families, demoralize governments and shame nations. The Bible proverb explains that those who hate God love death.         

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Deny God’s revealed truth and there’s no place to draw the line. Final steps of moral collapse are homosexuality, arbitrary murder, human sacrifice, sex with animals and with corps. Our merciful God warned the Canaanites to repent 400 years before sending Israel to destroy them. Later corrupt Israel too was devastated and exiled. History confirms nations began on a moral plane become corrupt and easy prey for invaders. Charity Lovemore strongly affirmed God‘s love. The Bible says God so loved the world and God is love. Jesus is God and showed compassion for all persons. He’s our example as a kind loving man who went about doing good. And didn’t he tell us not to judge others and persons without sin to cast the first stone? Persons who talk of judgment, punishment and Hell annoyed her. Yes, we make mistakes but we’re not bad. So to her an eternal Hell is a horrible torture chamber unthinkable of a loving God.

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Chris reflected on the persons who had one side of the truth but often denied the other, which was just as true and crucial. Diana Deist had good reasons to believe in a Creator but not his providence. Her upbringing seemed to hinder such faith. She needs to work out her feelings with a Christian pastor or counselor encouraging her self-esteem, to listen to testimonies of how God works in Christian’s lives and to read apologetics books showing evidences of fulfilled prophecies, miracles and Christ’s claims. 

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Pan Everything believed only in God’s immanence. She needs to exchange views with Diana Deist who believed only in God’s transcendence. Both should read Bible events showing how God works providentially in people’s lives. In our sinful fallen world, not everything can be pleasant. But God works evils out for good. Christ’s cross was the worst evil that worked the most good—eternal life for believers.

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Chris agreed Justin Trueman’s warning need serious thoughtful consideration.

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Charity Lovemore is right that God is love. Nevertheless, she needs to understand that justice and love go hand in hand. Since God doesn’t annihilate persons in His image, they will abide eternally either in Heaven or Hell. So love without justice excuses every evil; justice without love is torture and tyranny. It’s impossible to have one without the other: Hell allows Heaven; Heaven necessitates Hell. God’s displays grace in both in that it all depends upon each persons choice.

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Chris put these friends on his prayer list. He prayed that God would open their hearts and minds to full spiritual understanding and that they would come to trust the Lord and Savior of sinners.

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John’s Faith Tested and Confirmed

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John Jones, a state university student, sat at his dorm room desk head bowed thinking how Professor Brown’s class laughed at him and raised objections against his new faith. Embarrassed and ashamed, he wondered if he could ever face them again.

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Since becoming a Christian, John felt life had purpose, excitement in the things we do, things we say; they make a difference now and eternally. God exists. He knows everything about us, cares about us, and is with us good times and bad. Someday, He will reward our service. John sought to share this good news with classmates and friends. But when he mentioned Jesus, they stared wide-eyed, open-mouthed, crossed arms, with horrified expressions it seemed forever.

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“That’s arrogant and offensive, narrow-minded, absolutist and intolerant,” they said. “How can you be that way?”

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Startled and perplexed, John determined to master world religions. He spent hours of intense study in the library. He knew he too once looked at it that way but rejoiced now in knowing and loving the Savior.

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The Beliefs of Non-Christian Religions

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John learned that China’s Confucians and Japan’s Shinto worshiped nature and honored ancestors. Buddha denied a personal God. Pantheistic religions--Taoism, New Age, Unity and Christian Science--claim the universe is God and a force, not a person. Zoroaster affirmed two conflicting Gods, but only one can be Absolute or God.

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Alone in a cave six centuries after Christ, Muhammad claimed the angel Gabriel revealed the Qur’an which corrected the scripture of Jews and Christians making him God’s final prophet. Similarly, centuries later, Joseph Smith Jr. said the angel Moroni led him to the Book of Mormon that made him God’s final prophet. Now nobody else saw the angels these men claimed to see. So what does such a claim prove? Nothing! Anybody could say the same thing.

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What is the truth—nature and ancestor worship, no god, two gods, the universe is god, millions of gods, or one god? They can’t all be right. John realized that world religions radically conflict. So, if one is true, the others must be false. He concluded from his study that non-Christian religions are human imaginings, mere speculations. These mystics and alleged prophets furnish no visible objective evidence of God--only teachings from inside their heads.

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Besides being contradictory, besides having no visible evidence of a real God, John realized they have no empirical basis to believe people exist after death. Pantheists base reincarnation upon karmic justice meaning you reap what you’ve sown in your last life. Nature moves in cycles of death and rebirth. Human defects as blindness and blemishes, dreams and déjà vu affirm reincarnation. We explain this today as due to the earths tilt circling the sun, human imagination,A and genetic defects. Even supposing one achieved nirvana (personal extinction) or absorption into Brahma (World Soul), it is unknowable since no one returns to tell us.

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Non-Christian religions, however, usually do claim some moral precepts. People everywhere have a conscience and human compassion. And people who lie, steal, cheat, rape, whatever, scream unfair when others abuse them. This seems to be the basis for ethical precepts in non-Christian religions. This too explains why people universally believe that if their good deeds outweigh their bad maybe they will make it to paradise, Heaven, the Elysian Fields, happy hunting grounds, nirvana, or whatever. But when we deny a personal and moral God who sets standards and holds us accountable--anything goes. No absolute Lawgiver spells relativism of truth and morals. Anything becomes all right that seems to work for the moment.

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The Beliefs of Biblical Christianity

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Unlike those religions, biblical Christianity furnishes objective, eyewitness accounts that God exists. He lived among us as the person Jesus Christ (Lk. 1:1-4; Jn. 1:1-3, 14; 19:35; Acts 1:1-3; 1 Cor. 15:1-8; Heb. 1:1-4; 2 Pet. 1:16). Persons walked, talked, touched and observed Jesus for over three years. Three accounts of Jesus’ life and a dozen letters about the faith concerning him appeared within four decades for friend and foe to verify. Ten secular writers mentioned Jesus including details about his life. Jesus’ life is no fable; it is history.

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Two lines of evidence show Jesus is our God. First, centuries earlier prophets predicted Messiah would be Mighty God (Ps.2:6-8; Isa.9:6-7), Immanuel and virgin born (Isa. 7:14) in Bethlehem but from eternity (Mal. 5:2), and would die for our iniquities (Isa.52; 53:5-7). What claimant but Jesus, qualifies? Angry Jews shouted this man Jesus blasphemed to claim deity (Mk. 14:60-64; Jn. 5:16-18; 10:31-33). Second, Jesus’ miracles verified his deity. Open-minded persons shouldn’t assume nature, science or anything else precludes miracles; only honest investigation can decide that.

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Crowds jeered Jesus while naked, bleeding, and dying for us upon the cross. Critics try in vain to disprove eyewitness accounts of his cross, empty tomb, and resurrection appearances published within three decades. It established Christ’s deity, authority, the Bible, the church, Sunday worship, and the western calendar.                

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So empty claims and speculative opinions are nothing. Only the authority of the risen Lord Jesus Christ is the basis for human dignity and rights, absolute truth, ethics and assurance of an afterlife of justice or reward. He alone makes sense of the universe, conscience, life and self-giving love. He’s the God-man who promises whoever trusts in him eternal life (John 3:36, 8:24).

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The Objections John Jones Can Now Answer

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The Bible tells Christians not to be arrogant or offensive but kindhearted and seek everyone’s good (1 Cor. 10:32; 1 Pet. 3:15). Christian missions bring God’s love, salvation and uplifting benefits to everybody. Truth is exclusive since it opposes falsehood. Christian faith excludes no one as untouchable, sectarian, or clannish; it welcomes everybody—God so loved the world. Objective, empirical evidence shows Jesus is Messiah, Savior and Lord. Non-Christian religions’ claims are subjective imaginings, speculative guesses. So the real obstacle is not Christian narrow-mindedness; it’s non-Christian closed-mindedness. And yes, Christianity is absolutist since only Christians have a solid empirical basis for their faith. Intolerant, yes; not of people but of ideas and practices known to hurt and destroy people.
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Unbelievers might call biblical Christianity human treason for exposing human inadequacy and dependence; Christians worshipfully call it the grace of God shown us prideful rebellious sinners.
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 But to us who believe Jesus is the hope and light of the world. The giver of eternal life, human dignity, ethics, rationality, truth, science, justice, love and makes sense of it all.  Non Christian  religions have no basis for any of these things. We who have objective evidence of God's love and hope of eternal life can help others to know the Savior. Ask the Lord to help you have courage to share Him and His offer of eternal life.

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