Abortion: A Choice Forced By Fear

The pro-life vs. pro-choice debate has churned on and on for decades now. Just the phrase "Roe vs. Wade" makes people on both sides of the issue wrankle, or at best, feel a dark weight on their shoulders. I've heard just about every argument for and against. Here are the basic ones outlined below:

Pro-Choice Arguments	Pro-Life Arguments
A woman should have the right to choose what to do with her own body.	A pregnancy is not simply "part of the woman's body". It is a new life of a new individual and, therefore, the woman should not legally have life and death power over it.
No one can prove at what stage an embryo or fetus becomes a viable, human life.	Every human life should be protected, even in its earliest stages. At conception we have the inalienable rights that any other human being has. (In this country those are clearly defined as: life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.) Furthermore, a baby's heart starts beating at 18 days (when the mother is only four days late for her first menstrual period), and by 21 days it is pumping, through a closed circulatory system, blood whose type may be different from that of the mother. (Click HERE for more information about the developing unborn baby.)
In cases of incest and rape, a woman should be seen as the victim and should be given extra rights over any pregnancy that may have resulted.	While rape can be a horrible experience, so is abortion. A rape victim can find great healing through either providing a child to a couple who cannot have their own or by learning to love and raise the child herself. In this way, beauty can come from ashes. Abortion, on the other hand, will not solve the problems of a rape victim. It will be only one more traumatic experience for her to deal with. Most cases of incest—particularly those that result in pregnancy—are those where a father, older brother or uncle impregnates a young girl in his family. This is often a result of on-going sexual abuse. By allowing abortion in these cases, the victim of the crime is not being protected—only the criminal. An abortion will simply allow the abuse to continue. A pregnancy and delivery will force the truth into the open, force the laws of the country to take notice, punish the culprit and liberate the victim.
In cases where the mother's life might be threatened, she should have the right to choose between her life and the life of the baby/fetus.	As difficult as this situation is, one person should not have the legal right to choose his or her life over the life of another. (The laws about self-defense are specifically about cases where the attacker has an intent to inflict life-threatening harm. Of course, an unborn baby has no such intent.) Furthermore, medical science is advancing rapidly and what might seem like a hopeless situation one month, might be a solved the next. There have also been many cases where the perceived danger to the mother ended up being much less than originally diagnosed.
In cases where the baby/fetus is believed to be unhealthy, the woman should have the right to decide whether or not she wants to or is able to care for a possibly handicapped child.	The right to life of the individual does not diminish based on their health, either physical or mental. One person should not have the right to determine another's value. Such power is arbitrary and easily abused. (In China males are valued more than females and since they are only allowed one child by law, vast numbers of female babies are aborted every day.) We are each "created equal".
If abortions are legalized, there will be fewer illegal botched abortion attempts that will result in more deaths of women of childbearing age.	Since abortion has become legalized, many, many women have died on the doctor's table (often going unreported). Abortion is in no way a safe procedure for any woman. Moreover, at least one death occurs from every one performed—that of the child. Therefore, the actual fatality rate has skyrocketed since abortions have been legalized, not decreased. Furthermore, the cultural atmosphere has changed to such an extent crisis pregnancies are being handled much more lovingly and there are many, many resources available.
If abortions are made to be illegal, there will more people trying to raise children they don't want and don't love.	This idea cannot be proven. This idea is based in the fear that a woman might not be able to love her own child. There are some extreme cases where this might happen; however, most people naturally grow to love their unexpected children and this love quickly becomes fierce and protective. It simply takes a little time to get to know one another. Furthermore, for the woman who is certain she is unwilling or unable to raise a child, there are many good, kind people waiting to adopt.

My intent is not to get into a heated political debate. My intent is not to cause guilt or pain or anger. I simply want to ask you to do something: As you glance over those many arguments, which ones are based on love and which ones are based on fear? You see, it is my belief that it is fear that drives so many women to give up their babies—the fear that they aren't old enough, wise enough or wealthy enough to care for a child, the fear that others will disapprove of them and relationships will be strained or broken, the fear that they simply won't be a good mom, the fear that the experience of delivery will be too painful and, yes, frightening for them to face and the fear of going through this experience alone. Fear after fear arises—even in the best of situations for a new mom—but the unexpected pregnancy brings its own variety of hopelessness and desperation. I know what I'm talking about, my friends, as I have gone through a crisis pregnancy myself. It is absolutely terrifying.

The abortion industry and organizations like Planned Parenthood thrive on the fear of young women. They are not interested in your wellbeing or your mental health or, surprisingly, even your physical health. They are interested in your money, and that alone. Don't be fooled. They do not care about women one iota. It is a business. They are not in the business of protecting women; they are in the business of making money. So, when it comes to pro-choice, the fact is, they don't want you to have a real choice at all, despite all of their propaganda. They want you to feel as if your only choice is to have an abortion. They want you to believe that abortion is the safest, wisest and most logical route, and they don't want you to learn about the amazing development of the unborn child, or about the many resources that are available to you. They want you to feel trapped, isolated and frightened by the prospects of bringing a new life into the world. But most of all, they don't want you to come to love that little, precious life growing inside of you.

The Watchmaker

Watch this video: The Watchmaker.


Our world is far more complex and amazing than we can imagine. But evolutionists insist that all of these complexities have evolved simply by chance and random selection. Could the watch on your arm come into existence through natural selection? What about something even simpler, like a coke can or a coin or a comb? When we look at these simple objects, don't we know by common sense that they must have had a creator? And, yet, we look at the eye or the banana or the chimpanzee and see chance. Such thinking makes no sense at all.


Consider the banana--it has a natural flip top--an easy open section at the top. It fits neatly into our hands--even with five natural ridges so that our fingers can grip it just right. It has an appealing color, grows in large bunches and is the perfect size to fit in your mouth--like a pre-wrapped treat. The banana also tastes quite good--either fresh or cooked and can be added to many other foods to create something delicious to eat--such as cereals, creams, pastries, tarts, breads, milkshakes, etc. It not only tastes great, it is quite healthy for you. It is a valuable source of Vitamin C, Vitamin B6 and Potassium, and it is good for digestive health. Obviously, the banana was created to be just right for us--perfect in every way. And this is only one of many examples of how perfectly God has created the universe to fit our needs.

"Ever since the creation of the world, God’s invisible qualities—God’s eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, because they are understood through the things God has made. So humans are without excuse" (Romans 1:20).

Laminin: Jesus Holds Us Together

I once watched the YouTube video where Louie Giglio discusses the importance of laminin--a cell adhesion protein. To watch this clip, click here. Basically, laminin is the protein that holds all of our cells together. It keeps us functioning normally and protects us from degenerative diseases such as muscular dystrophy or progeria. Laminin is also made up of three parts--three in one, just like our triune God (the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.)

Amazing, isn't it? Laminin--called the "basement membrane" without which we would literally fall apart--is in the exact shape of the cross.

The Bible says: "For by him [Jesus] all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together." (Colossians 1:16-17)

How Has the Bible Survived?

If you have done much searching for ancient literature, you will quickly discover that there simply aren't many available that were written before 500 B.C. which still exist in their entirety--even less which have been preserved in the original form. Even the Epic of Gilgamesh--perhaps the best known ancient text, dating to 2150-2000 BC--exists in both the Sumerian and Akkadian versions and is missing sections. Much of this loss of our ancient literature is, naturally, due to the corrosion or destruction of the materials on which they were preserved--such as stone stella, clay tablets, ostraca, papyrus, copper sheets, etc... Another reason for their disappearance is the disastrous event of the destruction of the Library of Alexandria in Egypt when is it believed that approximately 40,000 ancient books and texts were either burned or lost within the first several centuries A.D., though there is disagreement as to the culpable party.

Keeping this in mind, I find it very interesting that we have retained so little of our extra-biblical recorded past--despite our decided efforts to preserve it. Even more amazing, is that the Bible, which dates from as early as 2,000 B.C. to about the first century A.D., exists not only in its entirety, but in a startlelingly well-preserved form, with its original language, format and wording, despite many decided efforts to destroy it.

Here are some very interesting facts about the miraculous survival of the Bible:

1. Late 7th Century B.C.--King Johioakim of Judah threw the scoll of Jeremiah's prophecy into the fire; however, God simply had his prophet write the same words again with additional material (Jeremiah 36:21-32).

2. 200 A.D.--During the persecution of the Jews under Antiochus Epiphanes, the Pentateuch was torn up and burned. "...anyone found possessing the book of the covenant was condemned to death by the decree of the King." (I Maccabees 1:56-57)

3. Early 4th century A.D.--Diocletian attempted to rid the Roman Empire of the Bible, only to have it reinstated by Constantine a few years later. (Reference.)

4. 19th century--The government of Korea outlawed and tried to keep the Bible out of the land... of course, that failed, as evidenced by the Church's presence there today.

5. The Soviet Union also tried to outlaw the Bible; now it is wide open to the Word and is flourishing.

6. Mid-20th century--A patient in an American hospital in Turkey was given a Bible. When dismissed from the hospital, he took the Bible back to his hometown in Turkey and proudly showed it to his friends. A muslim teacher* snatched it from him, tore out its pages and threw them into the street. The young man was afriad to pick them up. A passing grocer, however, did and took them and used them for wrapping paper. Before long, they were scattered all over the town. His costumers read the pages and returned to him for more. In a few days the entire Bible was distributed to interested readers. When a Bible salesman came to town, he was surprised to find a hundred people eager to purchase the Word of God! (Reference.)

7. The church itself, thinking it was doing the right thing, attempted to keep the Bible out of the hands of "ordinary people".

a. Jerome (405 A.D.) completed his translation of the Bible from Greek and Hebrew into Latin so the ordinary people could read it. He was condemned by the bishop and accused of tampering with God's word. Still, his Latin version became the Bible of Europe. (Reference.)

b. John Wycliffe (1320) sought to give the English people a Bible they could read, but the church fought him severely. The Archbishop described him as "that Pestilent wretch, John Wycliffe, the son of the old Serpent, forerunner of the anti-Christ who has completed his inequity by inventing a new translation of the scriptures." He was eventually hunted down and burned at the stake. Those who possessed copies of the Wycliffe Bible were also hunted down and burned at the stake with the scriptures hung about their necks.... but despite all of this, the English Bible spread like wildfire throughout Europe. (Reference.)

c. William Tyndale (1500), after the invention of the printing press, put the Bible in his common language. Priests and bishops burned thousands of copies of his translation as a "burnt offering most pleasing to the Almighty God". He too was burned at the stake. His last words were, "Lord, open the King of England's eyes!" Less than three years after that, King Henry VIII authorized the publication of the Great Bible. This version was a combination of the Tyndale Bible and that of Miles Coverdale. A copy was chained to every pulpit in England so that everyone could read it. (Reference.)

8. French humanist, Voltaire, (1700) boastfully proclaimed, "one hundred years from now the world will hear no more of the Bible." Yet, in the year of his boast, the British museum purchased a manuscript of the Greek New Testament for $500,000 while the first edition of Voltaire's new book sold for eight cents a copy! Furthermore, fifty years after the death of Voltaire, Bibles were being printed by the Geneva Bible Society in the very house where Voltaire lived and on his own printing press! (Reference.)

9. It was during the Council of Toulouse that the religious leaders made their decision to outlaw God’s word. "We prohibit laymen possessing copies of the Old and New Testament...We forbid them most severely to have the above books in the popular vernacular." "The lords of the districts shall carefully seek out the heretics in dwellings, hovels, and forests, and even their underground retreats shall be entirely wiped out." Concil Tolosanum, Pope Gregory IX, in the year 1229. (Reference.)

10. It was again reiterated at the Council of Tarragona that "No one may possess the books of the Old and New Testaments in the Romance language, and if anyone possesses them he must turn them over to the local bishop within eight days after the promulgation of this decree, so that they may be burned." Histoire de la Bible en France, D.D. Lortsch, 1910, p.14. (Reference.)

11. Even after the Reformation commenced and Bible societies were formed the Catholic Church classified them with Socialism and Communism. On December 8, 1866, Pope Pius IX made this amazing statement: "Socialism, Communism, clandestine societies, Bible societies....pests of this sort must be destroyed by all means." Encyclical Quanta Cura (Reference.)

Other interesting facts:

1. The Bible has been translated into over 1,400 languages. No other book even comes close.

2. As evidence to support the facts that early manuscripts tend to decay, or be lost or destroyed, consider these facts concerning the major existing manuscripts: We have only 10 records of "The Gallic Wars" by Julius Ceasar and there are 1000 years between that event to the first existing manuscript. We have only 7 records of Pliny the Younger's "History" and there are 750 years between the events he recorded and the first existing manuscript. We have only 8 early records of Thucydides "History" and there are 1300 years between those events and our first existing manuscripts. The same can be said for Herodotus's "History". Now, consider this--the second most prevalent ancient writing is Homer's "Illiad", with an impressive 643 early records with only 500 years between the events and the first existing manuscript. However, the New Testament (a collection of smaller texts) vastly surpasses them all, with 24,000+ early records and only a mere 25 years from the events of Christ's life and the early Church to those first existing manuscripts.

3. When the printing press was invented in 1450, the first book ever printed was the Bible. Since then the Bible has been printed more and read more than any other book in history.

4. "If just 10 people today were picked who were from the same place, born around the same time, spoke the same language, and made about the same amount of money, and were asked to write on just one controversial subject, they would have trouble agreeing with each other. But the Bible stands alone. It was written over a period of 1,600 years [at least, possibly much longer] by more than 40 writers from all walks of life. Some were fishermen; some were politicians. Others were generals or kings, shepherds or historians. They were from three different continents, and wrote in three different languages. They wrote on hundreds of controversial subjects yet they wrote with agreement and harmony. They wrote in dungeons, in temples, on beaches, and on hillsides, during peacetime and during war. Yet their words sound like they came from the same source. So even though 10 people today couldn’t write on one controversial subject and agree, God picked 40 different people to write the Bible—and it stands the test of time." Jordan and Justin Drake (Reference.)

5. "A thousand times over, the death knell of the Bible has been sounded, the funeral procession formed, the inscription cut on the tombstone, and committal read. But somehow the corpse never stays put. No other book has been so chopped, knifed, sifted, scrutinized, and vilified. What book on philosophy or religion or psychology or belles lettres of classical or modern times has been subject to such a mass attack as the Bible? With such venom and skepticism? With such thoroughness and erudition? Upon every chapter, line and tenet?
The Bible is still loved by millions, read by millions, and studied by millions." Dr. Bernard Ramm, Protestant Christian Evidences (Reference.)

6. The discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls in 1947 confirmed with fascinating clarity how reliable our biblical texts are, showing that the variations are less than 2% from the texts we have and not a single doctrine nor teaching has been changed. (Reference.) (25 Fascinating Facts About the Dead Sea Scrolls)

7. In 64 A.D. Emperor Nero not only tried to wipe out the Bible, but anyone who professed Christ. He blamed them for the burning of Rome (which, he did himself) and ordered their mass execution. There are about 7 million graves in 900 miles of caves beneathe the streets of Rome which speak of his attempt to rid Rome of Christians. (Reference.)

Obviously, there is something special about this Book. No other written document or collection of documents has even come close to surviving such trials or impacting our lives to such a degree. There is a very good reason for this--the Bible is indeed "God's Word". God extended His protection over the Scriptures so that His message to us would never be lost. Despite man's many efforts to wipe out God's words, He loves us enough to preserve them so that we might know Him and love Him. Remember, the Bible is God's love letter to you.

Jesus said, "I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished." (Matthew 5:18)

* unable to verify

The Nature of Faith

Do you remember when Indiana Jones was searching for the Holy Grail? He came upon a test, called the leap of faith. In order to reach the Holy Grail, he had to cross a huge gorge--which he knew was much too wide for any man to jump. And, as always with Indiana Jones, time was running out. He had to either trust in the notes left to him by those who went before and step into what appeared to be mid-air, or face death at the hands of his enemies and allow them to capture the artifact (which, supposedly, possessed the power to grant immortality). So, at the last moment, Indiana took the leap--he stepped into mid-air, fearing in his gut that he would plummet to an ugly death upon the rocks hundreds of meters below. But, to his great surprise, he didn't fall. He was standing on an invisible bridge--an optical illusion--a plank painted to resemble the opposite canyon wall. I often think of this scene when the subject of faith comes up, but I have to admit, I don't think of faith in this way. Faith was never intended to be a leap into the unknown. But before we discuss what faith is, here are some things faith is not:

• The effort to convince ourselves to believe in something we kind-of know isn't true. Why deceive myself? Why put on an act? If there is a God and if that God is all-powerful, loving and interested in me, wouldn't He also be able to communicate with me and reveal Himself to me? So, if I want to have a relationship with this God, why should I try to believe in Him before I know Who He is? Shouldn't I first ask Him to make Himself known to me? Shouldn't I humble myself to recognizing that He is more than a belief, but a Being and may have His own way to touch my heart? Shouldn't I seek out what He says about Himself in the Bible rather than follow rumors?


• A hope that when we die we'll be on the winning side. I can't imagine anything more frightening than going to my grave, hoping somehow I'd done enough good deeds to outweigh my bad deeds. If God really loves me, He would have provided a way for me to be absolutely sure about the condition of my soul--otherwise I'm simply living in fear.


• A strong desire for something to be true. No matter how you slice it, I simply can't convince myself to believe that my desires have any effect on reality. I can sit here for hours, concentrating on believing that a large bar of dark chocolate will magically appear, but, sadly, it never works. I'm certainly not willing to stake my soul's eternal condition on that kind of foolishness.


• The decision to follow a certain set of beliefs in exchange for some physical or spiritual pay-off. Some people follow a religion, including Christianity, to escape Hell, make it to Heaven, get blessings from God in this life, etc. However, genuine love for God is about desiring God Himself. God's desire is for us. He wants to be intimately involved in a love relationship with us. And while we should desire the good things this relationship brings, like peace, love, joy, forgiveness, etc., it's a fallacy to assume that knowing God is going to make our lives easier, wealthier, healthier, or free from suffering.


• The decision to follow a certain set of beliefs until they prove themselves false or useless and then to implement plan B. This is not faith; this is a trial run. There is nothing real about this kind of belief system. It's like a marriage that can only take place if there is a signed, iron-clad prenuptial agreement in place, surrounded by a team of beady-eyed lawyers. Not for me, thanks. I want something real.


• Aligning ourselves with a belief system in order to please someone else. As much as I love my mother or my husband or the people in my community, I'm not willing to stake my eternal soul on what they expect from me. I doubt that when I stand before God on the day of my death any of them will be there to put in a good word for me. No. If the truth really is out there, it's up to me to find it for myself. Once I'm dead, it will be too late, and relying on anyone else in the meantime is one risk I'm not willing to take.

Looking back over that list, I see that these ideas of the nature of faith are nothing more than self-deception, fear and foolishness.

So, what is faith?

"Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see." (Hebrews 11:1)

Faith is "being sure"? Faith is being "certain"? How can that be? You know, I've searched over 20 different translations of the Bible and didn't find the phrase "leap of faith" in any of them. In fact, I'm not even sure where that phrase originated or how it ever got applied to Christianity. Faith is not a leap! Faith is taking the hand of the Savior, Jesus Christ.

When I married my husband, that was not a leap of faith. It was the decision to continue and deepen the love relationship we had already begun. I didn't marry him for his money (which wasn't much). I didn't marry him so I would have security or a nice home or a father for my children. I married him for him. I wanted to be with him, to experience his love for me, and to express my love in return. I wanted to know him more deeply. I wanted us to share our dreams, our desires, and our lives. So, when I walked down the aisle, I was walking toward someone--not toward a belief or a cognitive process or a pay-off, though all of those were involved. I was walking toward him.

How does one describe falling in love? How does one calculate its value or plot the mysteries of love on a graph? How does one define the steps one must take to falling in love? We cannot. It is a mystery. And yet, I knew I was in love and I knew he was in love with me. My faith in him and in his love was not a leap, it was a secure knowledge and certainty. My faith in my husband was based in my intimate relationship with him--in knowing him. In fact, anything less would be rather barbaric. What would you say if I married my husband because I believed it would make me rich someday? What would you say if I married my husband because I sort-of hoped it would work out, but really believed it wouldn't. What would you say if I married my husband because my sister had assured me he was the right one for me? Obviously, none of these reasons is good enough to enter into that kind of binding relationship.

Yet, marriage is much less binding than death, is it not? What kind of relationship would it take to carry me through my final journey? It would take a deeply committed relationship to and with the only One Who has power over the grave--Jesus Christ.

So, how does one obtain this kind of faith? If it is falling in love, how does one go about falling in love with Jesus? Well, that's not something that can be defined exactly; however, if you were to hear of a wonderful person who you knew was deeply interested in knowing you, too, wouldn't you go out of your way to meet him or her? Wouldn't you read the letters they send you? Wouldn't you answer their emails and send them messages of your own?

God has given you all you need to learn about Him in nature, in the Bible, in the counsel of wise people--but He's willing to do more. He's willing to meet you exactly where you are, if you are willing to humble yourself enough to make yourself available. He's willing to speak to you and answer your questions, if you are willing to listen for His voice. He's willing to touch your heart, if you are willing to open yourself to His love.

Why Humility is Absolutely Essential for Salvation

"I've tried everything," he said. "I said the prayer, I went to church, I believed, but nothing ever made a difference. Finally, I decided religion doesn't work."

Have you ever heard statements like this one or, perhaps, made them yourself? When I hear this kind of thing, it breaks my heart--every time. I deeply sympathize with the first statements and would even go so far as to agree with the last one. Religion doesn't work.

I have had discussions with people and have heard these sentiments voiced. I have tried to explain how faith in Christ is not a religion, but a relationship. It is not a formula; it is falling in love. And, through all of these conversations, I have tried to figure out what exactly happens to make such a thing possible. How much do we do? How much does God do? What role do we play in that process of our own salvation? Surely, if we indeed have free will, we must do something. So, in thinking of this over the last year and in searching my Bible, I've made a few discoveries that I would like to share with you:

God has given us free will--a choice between life and death--and He greatly desires that we choose life through Him:
"This day I call heaven and earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that you and your children may live and that you may love the Lord your God, listen to his voice, and hold fast to him...." (Dueteronomy 30:19)

We cannot understand nor accept Christ's sacrifice unless He reveals Himself to us through His Holy Spirit:
"The man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned." (I Corinthians 2:14)

God is trying to reveal Himself to all of us:
"For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse." (Romans 1:20)

God's gift of salvation is available to all of us:
“Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God—children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.” (John 1:12-13)

Faith Comes from God:
"Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfector of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God." (Hebrews 12:2)

In fact, the rest of this stuff (and more) comes from God:

Salvation: Psalm 61:2 & Acts 4:12
Love: I John 4:7-8
Wisdom: James 1:5
Hope: Psalm 62:5
Joy: Psalm 16:11
Competence: 2 Corinthians 3:5
Righteousness: Romans 10:3
Peace: Psalm 29:11
Strength: Exodus 15:2
Perseverance: 2 Thessalonians 3:5

But there is something vital that we must do--We must humble ourselves:
"...if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land." (2 Chronicles 7:14)

Why is that such an important first step? Why is humility so essential? Why is it that a person can seemingly go through all the steps, say the right prayers and attend church for a lifetime but never really experience a personal relationship with God? I think it is because in order to have a relationship with God, we must allow ourselves (or force ourselves) to recognize Who He is. If we do not humble ourselves, we will never admit that God is above us and is soveriegn over us. We will never submit ourselves to His will. We will never truly exalt His name over our own. We will never recognize His Truth, His Person, His majesty, His glory, His holiness or His power. In fact, we will never move from the concept that we are following a "belief system" into the concept that we are following a Being.

Humbling Ourselves is Very Difficult:
The kind of "humbling" we experience on earth is incredibly debilitating and hurtful. Most of us can recall a time we were embarrased--perhaps in school--when our friends pointed out our faults and laughed. Naturally, we will want to run from anything that seems to threaten such an experience. But this is not humility. This is humiliation and is completely different from what God wants from us.

So, what kind of humilty does God desire?
"Has not my hand made all these things, and so they came into being?" declares the Lord. "This is the one I esteem: he who is humble and contrite in spirit, and trembles at my word." (Isaiah 66:2)

In fact, Jesus Himself, modeled for us the kind of humility we should have:
"Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls." Matthew 11:29

Furthermore, God promises,
"Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up." (James 4:10)

When you humble yourself before God, He does not set your sins and faults up before you so He can accuse you and to mock you with them!
"For God did not appoint us to suffer wrath but to receive salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ." (I Thessalonians 5:9)


"For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him." (John 3:17)

When you humble yourself before God, recognize His offer of salvation and accept His payment through Christ for your shortcomings, God brings you into His loving arms of forgiveness! And, let me tell you, there is nowhere else a sinner like me would rather be!

How Do I Accept Jesus?

So, you've discovered Jesus's offer of forgiveness! You've realized He is the most amazing person who ever lived! You believe He was Who He said He was (God), died in your place, and came back to life, and now you're ready to ask Him to extend that payment over your life and take the lead!

How do you go about that? You tell Him that you commit your heart, your life, and your trust to Him. Basically, you do this the same way you would enter a marriage. You fall in love, you declare your love, and you commit yourself and your future to the One you love--in this case, Jesus.

The Bible says, "...if you confess with your mouth, 'Jesus is Lord,' and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved." (Romans 10:9)

Remember, you can talk to God at any time and in any way. He, being all-knowing, can hear your most secret thoughts. You don't have to say anything aloud or stand on your roof and shout. He hears you. In fact, He can read your heart even when you can't come up with the words. In this case, however, it's important that you make a conscious decision and tell Him that you are accepting Him into your heart and your life. Remember, this isn't a magical formula. Your conversation and relationship with God is a private, intimate communication between the two of you, and if you really want Him to be your Savior, Lord, and Friend, you're not going to botch it by saying the wrong thing. If, however, you aren't sure how to start or what to say, I have written a prayer below:

Dearest Lord Jesus,

Thank you so much for loving me and coming to die on the cross for my sins. I know I have sinned and that my sin has separated me from having an intimate relationship with You. I no longer want to face my future alone. Please come into my heart and into my life. I accept Your sacrifice and Your forgiveness from this moment forward. Please teach me to know You, love You, trust You, and follow You. Draw me into a close love relationship with You. I love you, Jesus, and I thank you.

Amen

Welcome to God's family! If you entered into a relationship with Jesus today, I would certainly LOVE to hear from you! I would love to celebrate with you and encourage you and answer any questions you might have.

In the meantime, here are some verses to encourage you in your new life in Christ Jesus:

John 3:16-17 "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him." (See Context.)

John 1:12-13 “Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God—children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.” (See Context.)

Ephesians 1:13-14 “And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession—to the praise of his glory.”

Proverbs 3:5-6 “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.”

Psalm 118:6 “The Lord is with me; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?”

James 1:5 “If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him.”

Jeremiah 31:3 "I have loved you with an everlasting love; I have drawn you with loving-kindness."

Psalm 55:22 "Cast your cares on the Lord and he will sustain you; he will never let the righteous fall."

Isaiah 43:1b "Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine."

The Nature of Sin

The word "sin" in the Hebrew Bible is: "chatta'ah", which is an archery term. When the archer took aim and missed the bull's eye, the instructor would yell, "Sin!" I have also heard that each ring on the target, as seen below, represented one "sin". So, the further away from the bull's eye your arrow landed, the higher the number of "sins" acrued. In this competition, like in golf, the lower the final score, the better off you are. Now, let's say you're an archer, and your arrow falls short of the bull's eye. What do you do? Do you throw your bow to the ground and give up? No. You take aim and try again. Taking this analogy a little further, would a good archer ever try to hit something other than the target during practice, like, say a tree, a rock, or one of the other students? No. He or she does his/her best to aim at the bull's eye and only the bull's eye.

Sinning against God is also missing the mark. It is falling short, making a mistake, and revealing our imperfections. The Bible says, "...For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God..." (Romans 3:23), and: "All of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags; we all shrivel up like a leaf, and like the wind our sins sweep us away." (Isaiah 64:6)

Most people I know wouldn't disagree with the above verses--at least in that everyone has made mistakes. We may disagree about how or why that happened and we may disagree as to the degree of our "lostness" or about what should be done about it, but most people agree that we are a broken people. There is something missing--a hole that needs to be filled. In fact, the inability or the refusal to admit guilt of any kind is indicative of a severe personality disorder. To be able to admit our own sinfulness is a vital part of our character, but hardly an extraordinary one. More importantly, we must decide what should be done about it... and here begins a journey.

Let me ask: Who sets the standard for good behavior? While each of us will adopt a code of behavior we endeavor to follow, none of us actually came up with it. Why is it wrong to steal or lie or gossip? Why is it wrong to commit murder or have an affair or manipulate others for our own self-interests? And, these questions naturally lead to others, such as: Why are these actions considered "wrong?" Why do I have to abide by these rules or any rules? Where did the concept of morality originate? Why is one person's concept of morality any better than another's?

Obviously, the concept of morality came from somewhere. I believe it came from a perfect and holy God. And, herein lies the problem. If there is a God who is holy and perfect and if we are flawed and imperfect, how can there be any communion between us?

Most religions of the world say something like the following: "If God (or, divine force) loves me and sees I am trying my best, He'll understand and let me into Heaven." This is the "weights and balance" argument at work. In other words, if my good deeds outweigh my bad deeds, I'll get into Heaven (or to the next life.) There are several problems with this belief system:

1. There is no commitment required from us. I don't even have to believe in a supernatural being at all. I can live my life, just doing my best, and let this be my fall-back hope for those times I start to fear death. This is why there are so many people who claim a religion but in the same breath say they are "non-practicing."

2. There is no relationship available. If I am trying hard to be good enough, all the attention is on me. A holy God? Why would He want to have anything to do with me? And why would I bother trying to have a genuine relationship with Him? I would fear He would just reject me, or make my life harder than it already is. Besides, I already know I just have to be good. It's better just to focus on that and hope for the best.

3. This is a system that promotes fear. I'm not a gambling person. I don't have the nerves for it, but I'd much rather gamble with my money or my car or my home than with my soul. When I die I want to KNOW where I'm going. I refuse to live my life in the constant fear of what is to come.

4. We make ourselves vulnerable to human manipulation. If I am afraid of death because I think I might not be good enough for whatever awaits, what do I do? I try to be as good as I can be while I can. And, if someone with clout in the religious community offers to show me how to do this more effectively, I would be inclined to follow them. This is how we end up with hyper-legalistic, religious societies that force women into submission, pressure men to perform at a ridiculous level, and ignore or abuse children. This kind of thing has gone on for a millennia and continues today, and there is nothing these people would like better than to add you and I to their number.

5. There is no assurance of salvation. No matter how hard I work, how many old ladies I escort safely through traffic, how much money I give to starving children around the world, and how many hours I donate at the local soup kitchen, I will never, never, never know for sure if it was enough.

6. It is a cosmically flawed game of comparisons. If I am worried about whether or not I'm good enough, I always have one fall-back--to find someone who I think is worse than I am. "Well," I comfort myself, "I know I'm not perfect, but I'm not nearly as bad as that guy!" We can always find someone who appears worse than we are. But is that what God is going to be doing? No. When He makes the comparisons, He's going to be comparing us with Himself--with absolute perfection. Now where do we stand?

Sin is not something we can undo. We are linear and no matter how much we would like to, we can't go back and fix our mistakes. We can pay for the thing we stole, ask forgiveness for the lie we told, and make amends the best we can for the friend we betrayed, but the past remains unaltered. The man who cheats on his wife may say, "I'm sorry," but is that enough to make it all go away? No. Our guilt is eternal and unchanging. More depressing still, no matter how hard we try to be good, we fail. Even our best efforts aren't good enough to make us worthy to enter the presence of a holy God.

Does God love me? Yes.
Does His love mean He's going to let me in? No.

Regardless of His great love for us, God still remains holy. God cannot change His character. He cannot be less than He is. He cannot align Himself with imperfection. Some people think this means God isn't good or isn't as powerful as some claim. They reason, "Well, if He is Who He says He is and if He wanted to let me in, He could." No. Why? Because of what would happen to us anyway. The Bible describes what happens when anything or anyone who isn't perfectly holy comes anywhere close to God's presence. They die. His glory would destroy us unless we are made perfectly clean and righteous first.

Sin is a very divisive thing. You've seen its destructive power in your life and in the lives of everyone around you. It humiliates, separates and destroys. Sin is catching. It is taught and it is learned. Parents pass ugly behaviors and attitudes on to their children and grandparents to their grandchildren. And sin touches the innocent. It's devastating effects spread from the one who commits the act to the victims until we shake our fists at heaven and cry out, "WHY HAVE YOU LET THIS HAPPEN TO ME?!"

The Bible has this to say:

"When tempted, no one should say, "God is tempting me." For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone; but each one is tempted when, by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed. Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death." (James 1:13-15)

Sin is an incredibly dangerous disease and, unfortunately, none of us are immune to it. We have all been infected and our deaths are imminent. But that is not the end of the story. Jesus said, "I tell you the truth, everyone who sins is a slave to sin. Now a slave has no permanent place in the family, but a son belongs to it forever. So if the Son [Jesus] sets you free, you will be free indeed." (John 8:34-36) (See Context.)

Is There Life After Death?

A too-brief flame
Grzegorz Wojcik (Wojnicz, Poland)
Photographed March 2006, Wojnicz, Poland


I found that picture at the Smithsonian website. They were having a contest and I really liked this one. It made me realize again how much we don't know about what lies beyond our deaths. Even as a Christian and having the Bible to shed some light on the hearafter, it is still a great mystery. Yet, many people don't believe in life after death, and I can see why. To my knowledge there is absolutely no physical or scientific evidence for such a thing. The only "evidences" (to use the term loosely) we have are deathbed accounts of what is being seen or felt or heard--just before the light goes out of their eyes and they leave this world. I find it interesting that these deathbed murmurings tend to be bright and joyful when Christians die and full of fear and sorrow when non-Christians die. Overall, though, these stories are much less frequent these days since most are doped up on pain-killers during those final moments (for humanitarian reasons, of course.)

Of course, I don't think we really need evidence for life after death to believe in it, since we have so much other evidence to believe in Jesus. Since He said so, I believe it because I believe in Him.

It is frightening, though, to recognize our own mortality--the fragility of our existence on this earth--especially if we believe that our existence will come to an abrupt and bitter end when that last breath escapes our lips. I think this thought is what atheists try most to avoid. It's an ugly, hopeless end, to be sure. No wonder so many of us try so hard to make a name for ourselves on this earth--desperately hoping that maybe, and at least, we won't be forgotten.

Of course, there is the possibility that some things may be very real but invisible and undetectable to us. The fact remains we can only know what exists, not what doesn't exist. Confused? Let me explain: If I wanted to know if there was gold in China, made a search and found some, I would know gold existed in China. If, however, I spent a great deal of time searching and didn't find any gold in China, would that mean it didn't exist there? No. I would literally have to search every single molecule in China, including those that come into the country every second. Only then, would I be able to definitively prove that there was no gold in China. So, in order to know for certain that there is no God and no spiritual presence, I would have to search the world, the galaxy and the cosmos. I would have to know everything. It's just not possible, so if we truly want to be open to truth we must leave that door open. (This is why there are so many more agnostics than atheists. They have wisely recognized this truth.)

So, what if? What if we do have a spirit? What if there is a God? What if, after death, we must make an account to that Being of our existence on earth? Is being a good person enough? And, if it is, how much good do I have to do to outweigh the bad? Are we trapped in some cosmic guessing game? And, what if, after doing my very best my whole life, I come face to face with the Creator only to realize it wasn't enough? I fell short. I am forever lost because although I tried my hardest, there was still sin in my life and perfect holiness cannot coexist with sinfulness. What if, though that Being loved me and offered me a way out, I passed up His plan for salvation in favor of my own minuscule and jaded efforts?

What if?

What if you're right? What do you get? You get to close your eyes and let every thought and memory and desire completely cease to exist. You get a cold grave. You get to decompose until nothing is left.

But, what if you're wrong? You can spend your whole life hoping that the grave will be your final resting place. You can bank your eternal soul on the hope there is no afterlife, for to be sure, if there is and you're not ready... well... who knows what could happen? As ugly as the grave sounds, a cessation of existence would be vastly preferable to what might await a corrupt, unforgiven soul. Isn't it, at least, worth another look? For, if you find Truth, you know it's there. If you don't find Truth, it could very well be out there waiting for you. What do you have to lose if you were to keep searching and keep yourself open to finding Truth?

Here's a great song by Nicole Nordeman called, "What If?"

(To be honest, I don't usually like this argument--the "what if you're wrong" argument, not because it isn't true or worth serious thought, but because it often ignores the basic truth of God's deep love and sacrifice for us. My reason for accepting Jesus's offer of forgiveness and payment for my sin had nothing to do with trying to escape hell, and everything to do with falling in love with Him and desiring to be in an intimate relationship with my Creator, Father, Savior and Friend. "Becoming a Christian" isn't spiritual fire insurance. Repeating a prayer on the back of a Christian pamphlet won't get you into Heaven. Spending time warming a bench in church or giving 10% of your income to charity won't do it, either. This is something that happens in your heart and only you can govern whether or not you will open your heart to falling head over heals in love with Him and make the decision to trust Him with your life.)

Don't let the flame of your life be snuffed out in the face of uncertainty.

When Prayer Doesn't Work

I've heard phrases like this often: "I tried praying, but it didn't work." Mostly, I hear this from atheists, agnostics and those who once claimed some other faith, but also from struggling Christians. I wonder, have you ever felt that way? Have you "cast your burdens on God" only to be met with silence? Have you cried out into the night sky but heard only the echo of your own voice? Have you plead with Someone to hear you only to experience lonesomeness, smallness, and feelings of rejection?

Sometimes we experience struggles that cause us to question even our earliest beliefs. When those struggles come we reach out for help. But if God is silent, what then? I've spoken to former Christians (now atheist or agnostic) who cite this as one of the reasons for their ultimate rejection of Christ. "Prayer never worked," they tell me--and I can't help but wonder: How were you expecting prayer to "work"?

Disappointment--and, in this case, acute disillusionment--is the result of one's expectations or wishes going unfulfilled. We have certain ideas about what God will do or say when we ask something of Him. Then, when those things don't happen, our hopes are dashed, our fears are realized and our faith falters or even fails altogether. We feel cast aside, unimportant or foolish for believing at all. "My prayers aren't working," we reason, and, in a sense, that may be true. But the next supposition, "God must not care about me" or "God must not exist," is a large and unfounded leap. Perhaps our prayers aren't supposed to "work" at all--at least, not in the way we are expecting or wishing. Perhaps our entire concept of prayer is wrong--or, at best, confused.

"Do not be quick with your mouth, do not be hasty in your heart to utter anything before God. God is in heaven and you are on earth, so let your words be few." (Ecclesiastes 5:2)

This above verse sounds nothing like how prayer has been taught to me. I mean, if we're supposed to keep silent, how is God going to know how I feel and what I want? But if we consider God's character and what prayer is designed to be, doesn't this make perfect sense? How am I--a created being--supposed to approach my Creator? Should I pepper Him with requests, supplications, and demands? Should I start right off whining about what rotten luck I've had and demanding He take notice, step in and fix everything, like some genie in a bottle? Or, maybe, the real point of prayer isn't to have an ear for my complaints or to get stuff, but to get to know Who God is--His character.

Let's say I made a date to go out with a friend for lunch. The point of the outing is to get to know each other better, but I end up talking non-stop for the entire two hours. My buddy can hardly get a word in edgewise. Then, when it's time to go home, I find myself feeling strangely unfulfilled. I was hoping to get a lot off my chest, and I did... sort of... but now that I think about it, I'm not even sure I was heard because my friend made hardly a sound at all. Did he even understand? Was he listening? Did he care? I don't know because I never gave him the chance to respond. Now, I bet if this happened to you or me in real life, we would recognize our error and decide to be a better listener next time. After all, we've had many relationships in our lives and we know that it's just as important to listen as it is to share our thoughts. So, why, when it comes to our relationship with God, do we treat Him like a slot machine--putting in request after request, hoping He'll eventually pay off and being disappointed when He remains silent? We don't treat our fallible human friends that way; it would be terribly rude. But God? Well, maybe we do that because we tend to think of Him as a belief, but rather as a Being.

God is not a belief. God is real! He has real emotions, real desires and a real personality. He's also all-powerful, perfectly holy, and exceedingly loving.

Job (despite the fact he was perhaps the most godly man in all Scripture) said, "Teach me, and I will be quiet; show me where I have been wrong." (Job 6:24) This is the correct attitude we must have when we approach God. It is an attitude of humility.

God said, "...if my people humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and forgive their sin and will heal their land." (2 Chronicles 7:14) We want God to hear us and forgive us and heal us... we just don't want to comply with the first part--the part that begins, "if my people humble themselves".

When we think about how to pray, most of us think of The Lord's Prayer Jesus taught in Matthew 6:9-13. It reads:

"...Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one."

You may notice that the first half of that short prayer is the humbling of the speaker before God. Most of us like to skip that first part and dive directly into the "give us" parts, and while it's perfectly okay to ask God for things, it's absolutely necessary that we humble ourselves first. We must recognize that God is not obligated to do anything we ask. God has a set of plans that may or may not include what we have in mind. In Isaiah 55:8, He said, "For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways."

God's purposes are not only greater than ours, but His wisdom, foresight and knowledge far exceed our own. Finally, if we want to have a relationship with God and have a part in His kingdom and in His work, we must be aligned with Him, not the other way around. The only way to do this, of course, is for Him to do it for us. He must align us--but He won't do it unless we ask ...and we must be humble enough to ask.

So, if our prayers aren't "working," maybe it's because we have forgotten that prayer isn't a means to get God to do something--it is a way for us to get to know Him. And if we have refused to be silent, to open our ears and hearts to listen to His voice and recognize Him not as a slot-machine god or a genie in a bottle, but as a Person, a Being, a Personality, then our prayers will always seem to fall on deaf ears. You see, that's because, although God is still listening, you are not.

The Problem With Works-Based Religion

Every religious belief system, other than Christianity, is a works-based religion by design, and Christianity can easily become one if we aren't careful. Here is why that is bad:

Works-based, monotheistic religions (the belief in only one God) teach: I must do something to make myself good enough for God to accept me. Most of these religions teach that God is perfectly good. Now, if God is good and I, quite obviously, am not, how could I ever hope to make myself good enough to be with Him? Evil, as we all know, contaminates good. The two cannot co-exist without the evil eventually overtaking the good--hence the need for me to make myself good enough... except that this is impossible. I've already sinned, and since I don't have the power to reverse time and undo what I've already done, I'm pretty much doomed before I even start thinking about such things. Then, once I do start thinking about them, I still struggle with impurity. Even my thoughts would have to be completely holy at all times for me to measure up. --Whoops! There they go again! Now what? So, the result of all this is work, work, work--trying to please a god who will never accept me anyway--and die still wondering if I was good enough to tip the scale that has perfection on one end and me on the other.

Works-based, polytheistic religions (the belief in multiple gods) teach: I must do something to please the gods in order that they will bless me instead of curse me. This belief system exists almost entirely on fear. (Actually, so do the others, now that I think of it.) There is absolutely no eternal security. The most I can hope for is to please as many of the gods as possible and not tick off too many of them so I have a good life on earth. Then, if I am really, really good, I might actually become a god later to stalk around instilling fear in everyone left on earth. Of course, it's far more likely I will tick off a god or two (there being so many of them and none of them completely good nor very understanding), and I might be cursed to a miserable life on earth and maybe even be forced to come back as a flea or a slug. Another problem with this belief system is that it is appealing mainly because so many people follow it. Try to find some hard, factual evidence to support it.

Works-based, pantheistic religions (the belief that god is abstract and/or present in everything) teach: I must make myself as enlightened as possible, melding myself with the "god" or "goddess" in everything. Ah! If only we could all be gods someday! Hey, maybe we are already! --That is pretty much where this kind of belief system leads. Evil becomes very relative when no one god defines what "good" is. I could be a murdering child molester, but--hey!--if I'm a god, who's to say I'm doing anything wrong? And, if god is in everything, isn't god also in me? Of course, if you're a little more grounded, as most people are, there is the fear of what happens after you die. In this system there is little chance that your psyche--your spirit, what makes you "you"--continues to exist once you're gone. You either get reincarnated and forget everything--until some guru charms you into remembering bits and pieces as if it was some dream of long ago (how many Pocahontases could there have been, anyway?)--or, you join the mass consciousness of all the other spirits who have gone before you, becoming just a single, indistinguishable drop in the sea. Again, try to find some hard evidence for any this.

Other: I am likely leaving out several other sub-categories by this generalized approach. However, before dropping me a note to complain, do me the favor of thinking it through first. You may be surprised at how cleverly disguised some of these belief systems can be.

Why Christianity is Different:
You may recall that I said even Christianity can become a works-based religion. It certainly can; however, it is not designed as such. When Jesus died on the cross as a payment for our sin, He made a bridge for us to cross over into God's presence. By accepting this payment on our behalf, we take on Jesus's righteousness as our own. It was something God chose to do because we could never have paid that price. (Well, that's not true. We could pay that price, only the penalty is death and separation from God. Not exactly an option I want to take.) What do we have to do? Nothing. Only believe and accept His payment on our behalf. That is not something you do. It's something you become--a new creation, created originally by God and re-made by Him.

The Bible tells us: "For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith--and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God--not by works, so that no one can boast." Ephesians 2:9 (NIV)

How are we saved? By grace.
What is required? Faith. (Which is also given by God, by the way.)
What is it? A gift of God.
Who does it? God.
Who doesn't do it? Us.
What doesn't work? Works. (Doing stuff to please God, make ourselves good enough for Him or make Him love us more.)
Why not? So that no one cannot boast.

And, finally, why is it so important that we cannot boast? Because God went to all the trouble to love us despite our ugliness and filth, come to earth, die a horrible death for us and, thereby, make the way for us to be with Him. And, if we keep trying to earn what is given as a gift, we are not only spinning our wheels, we are slapping Him in the face and saying, "No, God. I think I would do a better job than You when it comes to making myself good enough for You--even though I am starting off from a sinful place, am not nearly so intelligent or wise as You, have no clue what the future brings, and don't even know myself as well as You do, since I didn't create myself."

When I reject God's grace and try to work my way into Heaven, I take the focus off of Him and put it on myself. I suddenly become my own god. And that is not only the most arrogant thing I could do, but also the most foolish.

Evidence For the Resurrection of Jesus Christ

How important is the resurrection of Christ to the Christian faith?

I Corinthians 15:14 states, "And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith."

It would seem, from the passage above, that the doctrine of Christ's resurrection is the pinnacle on which the rest of the Christian faith rests. Interesting.... So, theoretically, if you can disprove the resurrection of Christ, you can disprove Christianity as a whole. Even we Christians would have no room to debate such a thing, seeing as how the Bible itself states how very important the resurrection is to the core of our belief.

Reading this passage, don't you think that many would try desperately to do just that? Finally! Once and for all to disprove that Christ rose from the dead! Once and for all to get all those Christians out there to shut up, for once! Once and for all to have the last word on a matter that has divided people across centuries!

Well, the truth is, many have tried. The problem with trying to disprove the resurrection is that the evidence in favor of it is incredibly overwhelming. There is better evidence for the resurrection of Jesus than there is for the existence of George Washington or Abraham Lincoln. In fact, many who have set out pumped to finally get Jesus out of the picture, have instead ended up falling in love with Him. How's that for irony?

I will outline for you a few of the evidences for the resurrection:

* The earliest manuscripts in our possession today that record these events were written and circulated before those who had witnessed the execution and been impressed by the resurrection had died. In other words, the event itself and the surrounding events were still in the memories of those living in Israel at that time. If such wild accounts had been false or easily disproven by someone just saying, "Nope. I remember it all and it didn't happen that way," the movement would have met a swift end. (Matthew--within 20 years, Mark--within 30 years, Luke--within 30 or 40 years, John--within 20-30 years.)

* Jesus was medically proven to have actually, physically died. (In other words, he wasn't just in a coma or something like that.) John 19:32-37 states, "The soldiers therefore came and broke the legs of the first man who had been crucified with Jesus, and then those of the other. But when they came to Jesus and foudn that he was already dead, they did not break his legs. Instead, one of the soldiers pierced Jesus' side with a spear, bringing a sudden flow of blood and water. The man who saw it has given testimony, and his testimony is true. He knows that he tells the truth, and he testifies so that you also may believe. These things happened so that the scripture would be fulfilled: 'Not one of his bones will be broken,' and, as another scripture says, 'They will look on the one they have pierced.'" (See Context.)

* Jesus's body wasn't stolen by His followers. The religious and political leaders made sure of that by rolling a huge rock in front of Jesus's tomb, placing Pilate's seal on it and placing armed guards in front of it. (We're not sure how many guards were there. Estimates suggest between 20-100.) Matthew 27:57-66 has the full account of this. Some key verses are: "Joseph took the body, wraped it in a clean linen cloth, and placed it in his own new tomb that he had cut out of the rock. He rolled a big stone in front of the entrance to the tomb.... The next day, the one after Preparation Day, the chief priests and the Pharisees went to Pilate. 'Sir,' they said, 'we remember that while he was still alive that deceiver said, 'After three days I will rise again.' So give the order for the tomb to be made secure until the third day. Otherwise, his disciples may come and steal the body and tell the people that he has been raised from the dead. This last deception will be worse than the first.' 'Take a guard,' Pilate answered. 'Go, make the tomb as secure as you know how.' So they went and made the tomb secure by putting a seal on teh stone and posting the guard."

* There was a massive coverup--not by the disciples, but by the religious and political leaders who really goofed by "allowing" Jesus to, indeed, come back to life. Matthew 28:11-15 states, "...some of the guards went into the city and reported to the chief priests everything that had happened. When the chief priests had met with the elders and devised a plan, they gave the soldiers a large sum of money, telling them, 'You are to say, 'His disciples came during the night and stole him away while we were asleep.' If this report gets to the governor, we will satisfy him and keep you out of trouble.' So the soldiers took the money and did as they were instructed...." The trouble they spoke of was the death of any Roman soldier caught sleeping at his post. The Romans weren't exactly known for their forgiving spirit. So... if the disciples stole the body away while the soldiers slept, how did the soldiers know who had done it? Weren't they asleep? And, if they were really asleep, how did 20 or more trained guards sleep through all the noise the rolling away of that massive stone must have caused?

* Jesus's followers seemed to give up right after His death. They reacted as any one would if they believed that the one they had believed to be the Savior of the world, had suddenly met a very brutal end at the hands of the enemy. They went into hiding and with good reason, too. Now that the leader of thier revolt was dead, their lives were in danger from the relgious leaders who could kill them for being blasphemers--the same reason they used to crucify Jesus. Obviously, they weren't actively trying to fake anything or start a new religion. But then, suddenly,--upon seeing Jesus alive again and realizing that His triumph was over not only physical death, but the spiritual death of all mankind--they were so excited and zealous and outspoken that nobody could shut them up. John 20:19 states, "On the evening of that first day of the week, when the disciples were together, with the doors locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, 'Peace be with you!' After he had said this, he showed them his hands and side. The disciples were overjoyed when they saw the Lord." (See Context.)

* Most of the disciples of Jesus and many of His followers who came later were martyred. They died still confessing that Jesus was God, the Messiah, the Savior of mankind, and that He had, indeed, conquered death by coming back to life on the third day as He had predicted. Obviously, they believed. Here's a list:

Stephen, Protomartyr, was stoned and some 2,000 other Christians suffered at the time of Stephen's persecution, c. 35 A.D.
James the Great (Son of Zebedee) was beheaded in 44 A.D.
Philip the Apostle was crucified in 54 A.D.
Matthew killed by a halberd in 60 A.D.
James the Just, beaten to death by a club after being crucified and stoned.
Matthias was stoned and beheaded.
Andrew, St. Peter's brother, was crucified.
Mark was beaten to death.
Peter, crucified upside-down.
Apostle Paul, beheaded in Rome.
Jude was crucified.
Bartholomew was crucified.
Thomas the Apostle was killed by a spear.
Luke the Evangelist was hanged.
Simon the Zealot was crucified in 74 A.D.
(Note: John the Evangelist according to legend was cooked in boiling hot oil but survived. He was the only one of the original twelve Apostles who was not martyred).

For information on later Christian martyrs, see: http://www.innvista.com/culture/religion/earlmart.htm

* There were over 500 eye witnesses who saw Jesus alive after He had died on the cross. I Corinthians 15:6 states, "After that, he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers at the same time, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep." Again, if these people were still alive and if this was a lie, wouldn't somebody have said something?

* If Jesus hadn't risen from the dead and if the disciples had no chance at all to steal the body, why didn't the religious and political leaders simply produce the body? They had control over the tomb. They certainly had sufficient reason to want Jesus's followers squelched and producing a Jesus's body would have quickly disproved that He'd come back to life. Why not? Because there was no body to be found. It was gone. They didn't have it.

Well, these are only a few of the evidences, as I said. There are many more; these are just the ones I remembered off the top of my head. Still, all in all, it's very unlikely the resurrection will ever be disproven. "Well, that's okay," some say, "I don't believe in Jesus or God anyway." Well, my response to that would be this: It's very easy to say something or someone "doesn't exist". It takes absolutely no work at all. You just have to sit there and turn your mind off. Easy. The work comes in when you try to discover the truth. What does the evidence tell you? And, if the character, Jesus, did, indeed, come back to life, how and why did that happen? Who was He, anyway?

A couple of verses later in the same book, the Bible has something else to say, which we should all consider:I Corinthians 15:17 states, "And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins."

That would certainly be a shame, would it not? To still be stuck in our sins while our lives are ebbing away?

The Origin of the Universe

Perhaps I jumped the gun a little when I started discussing the fossil record. Perhaps I should have started at the very beginning with the origin of the universe. This may even be a good place to find some common ground with our atheist friends. Let's see:

Question #1: How did the universe come into being?

The first possibility:
The universe had no beginning. It has always existed and will always exist into the future.

The second possibility:
The universe had a beginning. It had a beginning and is, therefore, finite. This idea also implies that the universe will eventually end.

Based on scientific discoveries of the motion of the galaxies, we have learned that the universe is expanding from one central location. (i.e. the Big Bang). Everything is moving slower now than it was millions of years ago. This suggests that we are not simply in a steady-state holding pattern.

Also, consider the laws of Thermodynamics. The first law of thermodynamics states that the amount of energy in the universe remains constant. The second law of thermodynamics states that, though the total amount of energy remains constant, the amount of usable energy is steadily decreasing. It's running out. Everything is turning to disorder. Therefore, if we're running out of usable energy, it was never an infinite amount. The universe was never designed to exist forever.

Question #2: So, if the universe had a beginning, was this beginning caused or uncaused?

The Universe is Uncaused:
Some scientists once subscribed to the steady-state theory--the theory that the universe was brought about by natural causes. This theory is a bit out-dated, though, since it calls for the universe to be constantly generating hydrogen atoms from nothing. We now know, of course, that this does not happen. This stance also violates the law of casuality, which states that nothing happens without a cause.

The Universe was Caused:
If the universe was caused, what caused the explosion--the Big Bang--that hurled everything into existence? Some believe that the Big Bang was just a series of explosions, but that still leaves us asking, What caused the first explosion?

"Logically, if we are looking for a cause which existed before the entirety of nature (the universe) existed, we are looking for a supernatural cause. Even Jastrow [Robert Jastrow, founder and former director of NASA's Goddard Institute for Space Studies], a confirmed agnostic, has said as much: 'That there are what I or anyone would call supernatural forces at work is now, I think, a scientifically proven fact.'" 

Norman Geisler & Ron Brooks, When Skeptics Ask

Just How Much Do You Know About the Fossil Record?

During a discussion with an atheist, I made an off-handed remark that the theory of evolution was full of holes. They asked me to prove it and, unfortunately, it had been some time since I had actually studied it, so they challenged me to do some research into evolution. I agreed, and here's what I discovered during my search: Science has not failed us, but the scientific community has.

Let me ask you, how much you really know about the fossil record? Are you basing your faith in evolution as the origin of the species on this evidence? Here's the site I visited:

29+Evidences

The evidences I saw were quite impressive at first glance. Then I started asking questions--questions like:
So, does the collected evidence support the conclusions being drawn by whoever put this site together?
How might someone like me determine that the experiments were performed correctly or by qualified people?
What evidences are still missing that would be necessary to draw the conclusions the scientific community is pushing?
Has the scientific evidence been taken for what it is or pushed into a preconceived mold?

Frankly, the answers to these questions cast a very dim light on these "evidences". The scientific data that has been gathered was so full of holes, it was laughable. They are drawing very distinct conclusions based on the teeniest shreds of data. In fact, none of it answers any questions--it just brings up new ones. Well, I take that back--It did answer one question for me. It showed me that to believe that all of the universe, our world, our plants, our animals and humanity sprung out of nothing--or even out of random energy patterns--is just as much of a faith system as it is to believe that an intelligent God made it all. The scientific community touts, "We don't have all the answers yet, but one day we will." Do you believe them? Or, could it be possible that God is still saying, "I AM the answer."

So, what are the holes, you ask? Here’s a closer look:

Again, at first glance it is quite impressive. “Wow!”, one might think. “We really did evolve from monkeys, after all!” But, since we’re adults now and able to do some digging for ourselves, let’s do. What we are looking at is a collection of skulls that are purported to be examples of transitional forms linking chimpanzee to humans (i.e. evidence that humans evolved from a chimpanzee-like creature). Based only on what this site said, here are a few of the holes I discovered. (The quotes were taken directly from the site mentioned.):

Skull A: A normal chimpanzee as we know them today.

Skulls B & C:

"In all, A. africanus is an enigma to paleoanthropology. Researchers are still
unsure about where A. africanus came from and which species, if any, it led to."

Skull D:

"The ER 1813 fossil is somewhat skewed on its left side, a result of the
pressures the skull experienced during the fossilization process…"

Skull E:

"The cranium was found crushed flat (hence the nickname) and cemented together
with a coating of limestone. Little value was placed on the find originally, but
after much effort, the skull was reconstructed. Despite this effort, there still
is a good deal of distortion from the fossilization process."

Skull F:

"The fossil was shown to Louis only several days before his death. But Richard
Leakey, leader of the expedition which uncovered the skull, refused to firmly
place ER 1470 into a species, listing it only as "Homo sp." or "genus Homo, but
species indeterminate." "

Skull G: Unfortunately, I didn’t have access to this item. Apparently, I had to pay $10 for a 24 hour pass to even look at it. Why? Isn’t this supposed to be public info?

Skull H:

"…ER 3733 represents a mature female of the early human species…"

My comment:
Apparently, this is the only thing available from the entire skeleton (as may be true for all of these skulls), and this is considered human. Whoa! Quite a big jump, wouldn’t you say? We’re going from “I don’t have a clue what this species is or even if it led to anything else,” to “this is an early human.” How can they possibly be sure?

Skull I:

"The braincase profile is low and slopes back from a large supraorbital torus
reminiscent of earlier H. erectus specimens."

My question: If these skulls are supposed to be showing signs of evolving—getting further away from the chimpanzee—why does this one seem to be more like the earlier skulls? Sounds like backwards evolution to me. &

"The cranium shows evidence of disease and wounds that occurred in the lifetime
of this individual. Ten of the upper teeth have cavities, and dental abscesses
of the upper jaw are clearly visible in the upper photograph (above the right
incisor/canine) and the middle photograph (above the first molar). Additionally,
a partially healed wound is visible in the bottom two photographs, above and
anterior of the hole for the ear."

Skulls J , K & L:
(A large gap in the fossil record admitted:)

"Neanderthals are known from Europe and western Asia from about 200,000 years to about 30,000 years ago, when they disappeared from the fossil record and were
replaced in Europe by anatomically modern forms."

&

"However, Neanderthals and modern humans (Homo sapiens) are very similar
anatomically -- so similar, in fact, that in 1964, it was proposed that
Neanderthals are not even a separate species from modern humans, but that the
two forms represent two subspecies: Homo sapiens neanderthalensis and Homo
sapiens sapiens."

My comment: …Or maybe they’re actually both regular humans, and this one is just an example of a person who had an abnormally shaped skull. I wonder, if we were to examine the skulls of everyone in existence today, don’t you think we’d come up with at least a few oddly shaped craniums? Also, isn’t it interesting that they’ve found four skulls that fit into this same category when (according to the theory) there must be literally thousands of other missing links in between for which they have found nothing? Could it be possible that this abnormally shaped skull isn’t so abnormal among regular humans as one might think?

Skull L:

"The origin of modern Homo sapiens is not yet resolved."

My comment: The jawbone seems to be missing entirely. From all appearances, it looks just like a fairly normal human skull—what’s left of it, that is.

Skull M: A regular human being just like you or me.

Obviously, there are many gaps and unknowns here. What, at first glance, looks like solid evidence, isn’t solid at all. It’s full of holes (just like many of the skulls). These skulls don’t answer a single question. In fact, they only bring up more. All in all, my point here is to show that belief in evolutionary theory (as the means by which humanity was created) is just as much of a faith system as Christianity. In fact, I think it requires a great deal more faith.