A Challenge To Open Hearts & Minds

                     A Challenge To Open Hearts & Minds

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Politically correct is most incorrect if it seeks to stifle truth. We humans have minds that innately think, weigh evidence, and seek to discern truth from falsehood. Free speech is our inherent right and should be mandated everywhere by law. Authorities political, scientific, or religious that seek to suppress truth stifle the well being and progress of society. We must understand that truth is universal and reasonable, not just my truth against your truth that leads us to disrespect and strife. The questions below give Christian evidence authorities increasing seem to ignore, discount, ridicule, and marginalize from the public arena. I trust you to give it your honest objective reflective thought.
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Does Empirical Science Put God Beyond Human Knowledge? Some scientists claim we can't know anything that is not tested by repeatable, measurable experiments. The truth is only present physical objects are subject to such testing. Historical events, ethics, law, art, philosophy, even what you ate for dinner last week is not subject to such testing. Yet we know these things exist in the real world. Scientists assume even before they begin their experiments, that the world exists, it is knowable, our senses give accurate information,  we can think logically, and honest accurate data are imperative to discover truth. What is this then but a mountain of faith? 
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Consider this question seriously: If God could create a great universe with its laws, then would lessor things like angels, men, miracles, and heaven be difficult? Surely creation of the  greater means no problem for the lessor. And, if the Bible's God is Spirit or Mind, isn't it wrong-headed to expect to discover Him with microscope, telescope, or contrived experiments. Even supposing God exists, can we demand He perform a miracle we can film to prove He exists and can act in our world? What if God made us in His image for loving relationship with Him, then wouldn't it seem reasonable for Him to make Himself known to us?  But! maybe not on our terms.
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Isn't this the crucial question? It's not whether God exists, since we may intellectual believe some kind of God exists, but care nothing about Him. When we don't know God, we may fear He may not have our best interests in mind. That fear may cause us to ignore or discount all evidence that points to Him. It doesn't matter if He's said to be our Creator, loves us, or gives us the breath we breath--we just don't know what to expect. We humans prefer our ways and don't want to stray from our comfort zone of what we think right for us. We wonder, will this God give me what I want?

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 Unlike superstitious pagans, Christians believed God created a rational knowable world for us to explore and enjoy which provided for experimental science. He provided us the foundation and authority for absolute truth, ultimate purpose, human dignity, ethics, justice, love, and life after death. All this gives us hope and makes life worthwhile. So He's a good and wise God who loves us.

Christians believe Jesus is the God-man who walked among us doing good (John 1:1-3, 14). He even died to pay for our sins, and arose again to give us abundant life (John 10:10; 2 Cor. 5:21). Before Jesus', time, pagans offered sacrifices to their fearful vengeful gods. So it was unthinkable of God to love us so much to die such excruciating pain nailed to a cross, be naked, cursed before glaring eyes, and laughed at, bearing the punishment for our sin. It didn't matter how ignorant, foolish, poor, hateful, selfish, ugly, misfit, rejected we might be, or might become--Jesus loves us to give His life so we can have eternal life.
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We have abundant evidence Jesus is the risen Son of God. It launched the Christian church that dates the calender (Acts 1:1-3; 2:22-24). Jesus underwent ridicule, torture, and death so we today can know Him as our Savior, Lord, and Guide. Paul mentioned 500 people saw Jesus after His resurrection many still alive when he wrote 25-30 years later (1 Cor. 15:1-8). Jesus is the world's only visual evidence we have life after death, and Heaven if we trust Him to save us.
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Friends, evolutionary science is based on naturalist assumptions: But no experiment shows a dog can change into a horse, monkey evolve into a man. Mindless molecules can't arrange themselves into men even in billions of years no more than red, white, and blue confetti thrown from a plane can form the American flag.. There's no one missing link, but chains of them between all the life forms. Artists pictures in science textbooks are no proof. Those who don't want a loving God in their life have to fall back on evolutionary assumptions. The naturalist claim there's no God, is arrogant and used to excuse life apart from the God who really loves us and wants us to know Him? 

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If the Beginning Universe Didn't Create Itself, Then What Did? All science is based upon a cause and effect relationship so that whatever has a beginning must have a cause. It's illogical to think a nonexistent universe could created itself. Then, the cause of the finite, material universe must be timeless, immaterial, intelligent, powerful, and personal. And its cause can't come into or go out of existence, but is eternal, self-existent, and prior to creation. These characteristics describe the Creator God of Genesis 1:1; the self-existent I Am of Exodus 3:14, eternal Word (Mind or Lord Jesus) of John 1:1-3, 14 and Christian's Redeemer of Phil. 2:5-11; Col. 1:14-18.  
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Doesn't Our Conscience tell us we're responsible to Moral Law and its Lawgiver? The philosopher Immanuel Kant thought it implied justice, immortality, and God. Excuses make no sense unless we break a moral law. We suffer guilt and shame to break one. We feel a sense of duty to save life even at the risk of our own. All cultures share laws for as against genocide and rape. We judge the human race for moral progress or regress. Moral laws are discovered, not invented. We may deny the moral law, but when someone cheats, steals, lies, or abuses us, we scream foul! So then, it's a moral world. We violate God's known moral standards and need His forgiveness and power to live better.

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Can't true events, if accurately recorded, be just as true millenniums later as when recorded? The Gospels tell us essentials of Jesus' life and each one adds its own details and perspective that is verified in secular history. We don't have to know everything to know something. Ancient people knew nobody can walk on water, raise the dead,  heal visible diseases unless God does it (John 3:2; 21:24, 25). For over three years, Jesus astonished His disciples, and hostile witnesses with hundreds of visible miracles that demonstrated His claims to be God were true. Talk about empirical tests!!

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Won't you say YES! to the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ? Christians don't live perfect lives. Nobody in the Bible did, but Jesus.  It's His righteousness upon which we depend. His victory over sin is why He can save us sinners. We have victory over the world's system of evil, over Satan and his demons, and over our own sinful tendency as we focus on our Lord, trusting in His forgiveness, His love for us, His goodness, and power. We become God's people and all things become new as we keep surrendering our self-centered lives into His Almighty loving arms. Whatever your need, won't you say: Lord, I trust You right now to save me the sinner, and to be my Lord and Guide throughout life. That's the best decision of your life.
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Now to grow in Christ get a Bible and really study it. I recommend for English readers, the "Life Application Study Bible". It's clear living translation and many helps are far superior to any other Bible I know. Read, link on to, & share these gospel articles on the www to win others to the Savior. Lord, help this brother or sister be faithful and abundantly fruitful. In Jesus name, amen. Praise God!
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