GOD ON TRIAL : PART 1 ( The Voice of God )

How true is the bible in its current state? Is it still the word of God? How can I base my faith on something that is almost 2,000 years old?

These are some of the many questions that are asked by Christians and non-Christians in this day and age. The good news is that it is easy to prove. The bad news is that by proving ( and accepting the proof ) that the bible is indeed the authoritative word God would force us to challenge our current beliefs. People don’t like this, and so they will come up with opinions not based on facts, but opinions based on experiences on why the bible can’t be true.

So before I continue, let me just put it this way. Just because the bible doesn’t gel with your view of how things should be, doesn’t mean it isn’t true!

I will be looking at the New Testament, since if the New Testament is true, and Jesus accepted and quoted from the Old Testament without hesitation we can accept that the Old Testament is true.
(Because A is true, and B gives A support and A references back to B. ‘A’ can not be true, while B false.. if A is true, then so is B. Let A be NT, and B OT :p)

Note on Science
When approaching a historical book, we must look at the historical evidence. The modern scientific methods does not apply when researching the factuality of the events surrounding the bible. A scientific proof is based on repeating the event, in a controlled environment, where observations are made, data is drawn, and hypotheses empirically verified. When dealing with History, we deal with the historical evidence, and look at the facts given to us.

Some old facts
I’m going to list some facts about documents that were created at around the same time period as the bible.

Book 1 : Thucydides History
Date of Original Document : 460 -400 BC
Oldest surviving Copy : 90 AD (plus a few 1st Century Fragments)
Time between original and copy : 1,300 years
Number of ancient copies in existence today : 8

Book 2 : Caesar’s Gallic War
Date of Original Document : 58-50 BC
Oldest surviving Copy : 850 AD
Time between original and copy : 900 years
Number of ancient copies in existence today : 10

Book 3 : Tacitus History
Date of Original Document : 100 AD
Oldest surviving Copy : 800 AD
Time between original and copy : 700 years
Number of ancient copies in existence today : 2

Book 4 : The Four Gospels
Date of Original Document : 42 – 90 AD
Oldest surviving Copy : 130 AD (Mark) 350 AD (New Testament)
Time between original and copy : 200 years
Number of ancient copies in existence today : 5,000 Greek , 10, 000 Latin & 9,300 others

These figures themselves should start putting things into perspective. The gospels aren’t some book that were just randomly found lying around. If we accept the top 3 books as historically true (which we do)then just on these figures alone, I feel that the gospels, and ultimately the bible can be seen as historically correct, or at least be treated with the same measuring stick .

The NT documents are too early to be fake
We must remember that when these documents were originally written (Paul’s letters 15-25yrs after the event, and the Gospels written 40-60 years after) when the eye witness’s still existed. People could still be called upon when doubters didn’t agree. If heresy was published, it would not have survived, since those around at the time would not have allowed it too. Imagine writing a bibliography on Nelson Mandela or some other famous leader, but you decided to include things like “he brought people back to life”! You would have been shot down in an instance(or in those days probably hanged).

If you were going to write some kind of politically motivated literature, you would at least wait until all the eye-witness had died off and not have your writings circulating among the public where anyone with a bit of will power could easily just question a couple of witness’ and disprove it. (I’m sure amongst the Jewish Elders there were enough of these people trying to suppress these writings, but obviously did not succeed.)

A second point to note is how honest the writers were..

The NT documents are too honest to be fake
Look, I don’t know about you guys. If I was going to come up with some propaganda to push my political view, or too get more followers to come to my new establishment (church) I would definitely not include stories about a leader who
a) Was crucified
b) Was betrayed by one of his own understudies (Judas)
c) Spent time with prostitutes and tax collectors
I would not include stories like Peter who denies Christ 3 times, or how the disciples ran away in fear when Jesus was being crucified, and of course mention that Women were the first to witness Jesus resurrected! Woman weren’t even allowed to take the stand in court!

But if that isn’t enough to convince you on the point of honesty, did you know that when the apostles were struggling with the huge problem of Jews vs Gentiles and circumcision(in the book of Acts), the apostles didn’t put words into Jesus’ mouth and misquote him, or make up some story where Jesus “supposedly” said something on that topic. (Jesus in fact never even mentions circumcision)

But, not only were the NT documents too honest, they are extremely detailed on facts that you would only haven known if you had been there when it happened.

The NT documents are too detailed to be fake
The gospels were actually a type of biographical history that was radically different in style to the commonly found literature of the ancient world (Homer etc.) They include details with no relevance to the story except that they were things that actually happened.
Notable passages are :
John 8:6
“They said this to test him, so that they might have a charge against him. But Jesus bent down and began to write on the ground with his finger.”
No, they don’t mention what he wrote, and NO, you can not speculate, because for all we know Jesus was playing hangman with himself! But you wonder why they included this.

Mark 4:38
“But Jesus was in the back of the boat, asleep on a cushion. So they woke him up and asked him, “Teacher, don’t you care that we’re going to die?”
Here are a bunch of guys who are about to die because of a storm, then when Jesus calms the storm, they become more scared of Jesus, and yet through all of this Mark still remembers the fact that Jesus was sleeping on a cushion!! Makes you wonder why they added it. But they did, and the it is just another demonstration of facts being included that didn’t have too be, but were added because people remembered it.

John 21:11
“So Simon Peter went aboard and dragged the net ashore. It was full of large fish-153 of them. And although there were so many of them, the net was not torn.”
If genius world book of records was around, this would have definitely made it in!

Besides these tiny bits of information being included, the NT is also very transparent.

The NT documents are too transparent to be fake
An incident like the one found at Luke 2:1-3
“Now in those days an order was published by Caesar Augustus that the whole world should be registered.
This was the first registration taken while Quirinius was governor of Syria. So all the people went to their hometowns to be registered.” Allows itself open to objective checks. (If you were going to fake something, you aren’t going to add historical information that people can actually check-up upon)

Like the story in Luke 23:26
“As they led Jesus away, they grabbed Simon, a man from Cyrene, as he was coming in from the country, and they put the cross on him and made him carry it behind Jesus.”
If they wanted to keep it vague they could have said “some guy”, or “a passer by”. But no, they give a name and country, which I am sure was enough evidence for people who wished too track him down.

Or how about Acts 2:32 “It was this very Jesus whom God raised, and of that we are all witnesses.” The readers would have been informed that there were definitely witness’s who could be questioned.

In 1 Cor 15:3-8 it mentions who Jesus appeared to after his resurrection. That is quite a list of people, not something you are going to add if you are trying to remain vague about certain events so that people would found it is all a lie!

Another interesting fact I have discovered is that via some Social Economic studies scholars have uncovered that the prices used in the New Testament to describe a days wages, or a sack of barley was correct for the time of Jesus, and not for the times when these books were written. How might be thinking, o wow, like that is going to convince me.
But let me put it this way : Can you tell me what the price of Coke was 25 years ago? 60years ago? What about a daily wages?
Or the price of petrol?

Just another small note showing how historically correct the bible is.

Like I have said before, I’m just putting the evidence out there. If you don’t like it, then I urge you to critically question your motives for not want to accept these truths.

I hope this article is of some help, and that if you didn’t believe that the bible is true, that this might set you on the right path.

I could also suggest Reading the following books :
1) The Bible (always important)
2) The Resurrection Factor (Josh McDowell )
3) Why believe the bible (John Blanchard )
and more..

A useful site that will be of some use to answering further questions  : http://www.challengingdavinci.com/thechurch.html

There are many factors I have not included in this article, and if you wish to discuss them I would be more than happy to try and answer them.

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Rocking out to raise funds for St James to build a house for Mandisa Ngwenze in Mfuleni 8-12 Sept during, Building on Faith 2008.

Get ready for some high octane worship featuring: Proxy Worship (Tableview AOG) & JoshGen (Joshua Generation, Tableview)

Also on the menu, The Single Track (Need we say more?) & The Opening Act. (St James)

Food & drinks will be on sale, New dvd release from JoshGen plus more merch !

!!!###!!!###!!!#!!!CD, DVD, T-SHIRT GIVEAWAYS #!!!###!!!###!!!

Tickets: R40

- available form St James Church office (weekdays
08h30-16h30) Tel: (021) 671 7070

This is an all ages, alcohol & drug free event.

Come rock out with us & help BUILD A HOUSE FOR A NEEDY PERSON !!!!

Facebook URL : http://www.new.facebook.com/event.php?eid=21565054094

As Christians sometimes we come across hard decisions we have to make, and start to look else where, rather than just user what God has given us (namely, a bible and a brain).
Or even more confusing could be that we receive “signs” or “dreams” from “God”, and don’t know what to make of them..

Well here is a simple explanation of what God wants for us.

God’s will for us is very simple indeed, and the Bible is quite clear on what it is.
Colosians 1:26-27
the mystery that has been kept hidden for ages and generations, but is now disclosed to the saints. To them God has chosen to make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.

Hebrews 1:1-2
In the past God spoke to our forefathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom he made the universe.

Ephesians 1:9-10
And he made known to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, which he purposed in Christ, to be put into effect when the times will have reached their fulfillment—to bring all things in heaven and on earth together under one head, even Christ. (even Christ == Christ is that head)

Basically (from the passages above) God’s will for us is to become Christians.
It is that simple.
Once we have become Christians, we must aim to become more “Christ like” in everything we do.

God’s will is as follows :
If you are not a Christian : become one (through his sovereign grace of course).
If you are a Christian :  Glorify God (What is the chief end of man? Man’s chief end is to glorify God, and to enjoy him for ever)
Or in Jesus’ own words :
Mark 8:34 :
Then he called the crowd to him along with his disciples and said: “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.

That is why we have the bible today.. That is why we must read and study it. If we don’t, how can we ever Glorify God, when we don’t know how to?
So then what about dreams/visions/the sense that God is telling me something?

Well, again.. Lets look at the Bible :
As we have already seen : God’s will is for us to bring glory and honour to his name by picking up our cross and following in Jesus’ footsteps (by the way, this doesn’t mean to become like Jesus. We can’t do that, we can only strive to live like him.)

Within the boundaries of “Living for Christ”  we are actually  free to do as we please. Obviously there will be choices one must make.
Like choosing between spending a year at home after school, or going to bible college for a year.  Obviously choosing the latter is better in terms of growing in Christ. But the first option is not necessarily wrong!

Or what about choosing a girl friend..What does the Bible say about this? Well God is very clear on this..
Can’t be related, must not be married, isn’t of the same sex and is a Christian (though is more advised than a rule.. But still strongly advised, and I would rather be safe and see it as a “rule” ).

Within these boundaries we are free to choose any female we want too..
The rest really comes down to personal taste.

What if we think God is trying to tell us something.. Well, go to the bible and see if it adds up.
Lets first look at the bible’s examples of dream and visions.

Look at Daniel, every time there was a dream. He interpreted it. (God supplied the dream, and the interpretation)
The same goes for Joseph. He had visions + dreams, and God would allow him to interpret it.
Both of these cases God gave them the “power” to interpret these dreams. It wasn’t by there own power but by God’s.
In both these cases God also used these dreams NOT for their own benefit, but for the benefit of Israel, his nation.

When God spoke to Moses at the burning bush.. God wasn’t telling him.. “Hey Moses.. tomorrow you have to wear a blue toga, and matching sandals.” No, God was telling him how he is going to save HIS people through Moses… and not how he was going to save Moses’.

From these examples we can see that when God did speak people, through dreams or through some other means he did it because he was looking after His nation.
This was because they did not yet know the mystery of God. Like Hebrews 1:1-2 says.
But, we now know the mystery of God, it is Christ.

I would say that the reason people now claim to receive messages from God (in tongues, dreams or otherwise) can be a couple of reasons.. (here are some)
1) The person no longer reads the Bible, doesn’t understand the purpose of God’s will. No longer gets spiritual milk that allows them to grow in Christ (attending Church etc),
and so start adding ideas about God, without backing it up with scripture.

2) A person is looking for answers, and when no answer is given (or the right answer is given but is ignored because they don’t want to hear it), they start looking for answers else    where. The subconscious can very easily create a “dream” supplying you with the “right” answer (though maybe not biblically right) because deep down, that is really the answer the person has been looking for. Again, the Bible is placed to one side, no cross checking takes place.

3) Demonic intervention, trying to take you away from God . (though this extreme, there is no reason why Satan can’t send you “signs” through others.) But again, because we don’t cross check with the Bible, we end up believing in these signs and dreams. Instead of just getting on with living our lives for Christ.

Basically, what I’m saying is this :
God wants you to be a Christian. If you are one, then he wants you to follow in his Son’s footsteps. To do this we need to CONSTANTLY read our Bible’s so that we can know how to do this. When we have to make a difficult decision, we can check the bible.. (in context of course) If the bible has no clear answer on the topic (say, maybe what career path to take).. We can choose what we want..

You can break down our daily choices to 3 sections :
Right/ Wrong (these are choices the bible is quite clear on.. No thinking required.. Just obey, and pray for strength)
Wise / Unwise (these are choices that require a bit of thinking, prayer, and further bible study. Also speak to others around you.)
Who cares : these are everyday choices we make that really don’t require any kind of biblical application (like breakfast :p )

Hey just a short news update on something interesting.. I’m busy working on something AWESOME, for this site, but it is a secret, so I’m not going to spoil the surprise. (by the way, it isn’t THE SECRET, just a secret. THE SECRET is a money making load of hogwash.. My secret however is not!)

According to scientists from Caltech they have found hints of a time before the Big Bang while studying the cosmic microwave background. Not only does the study hint at something pre-existing our universe, the researchers also postulate that everything we see was created as a bubble pinched off from a previously existing universe. This conjecture turns out to shed light on the mystery of the arrow of time.

Okay, so we know the “big bang”, didn’t really happen.. But I found the following quotation from the article quite fascinating :
“Their model suggests that new universes could be created spontaneously from apparently empty space.”

Wow, it is like they are almost saying that God can create something from nothing!! These atheist scientist are turning theistic without knowing it!

Just so that you hear it from someone else besides me :

Romans 1 : 18-20
The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness, since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. 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.

Shame, now these poor scientist really don’t have an excuse for not knowing God..

Okay.. Here we go… (puts on riot gear, picks up bible..)
Right, now that I’m prepared for the angry mob that is about to try destroy me,
let me just point out something about evolution from a Christian point of view.

I’m not going to argue molecular biology, or thermo dynamics.. Because as much as we all wish we knew what we were talking about, we don’t.

Have you ever looked at the alternative theories?? Maybe try www.answeringenesis.org?
Surely these Christian scientist have it right? They have the exact same facts, and all have there Phd’s and Masters in some degree, yet somehow they disagree and say evolution is but a theory with no scientific proof…

Right, now to the point.. I find it strange when Christians try to argue pro-evolution.. Let me just explain why..
Three simple reasons :
1) When God created the universe (i’m not here to debate age of earth) he created it perfectly. No SIN!! With no sin, there is no death (Romans 5:12, sin entered the world through one, and death through sin.) So before Adam and Eve sinned, and rebelled against God, there was no death. If there was no death, how could there ever have been an evolutionary process?

2) If evolution did take place.. That means that there was no initial sin.. I.e. God created the world with sin. If so, our awesome God is an imperfect God. How can we trust and imperfect God? He can’t even create the world properly.. Thus sending Jesus to die on the cross for us, was rather to cover up his own stupidness, rather than free us from the Slave master called sin.. (see how suddenly it isn’t about our imperfections anymore, but rather God’s in ability to plan ahead?)

3) The problem with allowing evolution to creep into theology is that you are basically saying “God, you did not create me, it was all by chance.” If this is the case, we undermine Gods authority over us, we undermine God’s authority over creation and we undermine the bible..

See the devil is very sneaky. He doesn’t just create out-right lies and then expect us to believe them.. No, what he does is create other truths that actually take us away from God’s word without us knowing it.

See, evolution does the following :
* It removes initial sin, and thus actually destroys Gods credibility, and the Jesus’ purpose.
* It removes God’s authority over us. (For he who did not create us can’t judge us.)
* It removes Gods word , places the bible in doubt, and allows doubt and fallacies to creep in to our understand of God.

You see, at the heart of evolution, what it is actually saying is this “God you are not our creator”, and if that is true, then Jesus died in vain.

For if he is not the creator or sustainer of the universe. How could he ever save us?

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Update::: I have decided to update this post to be more biblical.. I apologize for the lack of scripture before hand.(more 2 come)
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Excluding genesis (of course.. purely to not state the obvious) the bible has quite a lot to say about how the world came into being..

Well in
In John 1 : 1-5 we have the following :

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning.

Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood[a] it.

Then in Colossians 1 : 15 -18 it says
He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For by him 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.

Now clearly the bible’s point of view is that Jesus created the world..
Okay, now I know that some of you might argue that it is all just metaphors.
If that is the case… Prove it.. You can’t just claim it, with out proof.
I would say this is fair.. And you can’t say something like “It isn’t true because science says so..” No.. Science just says it isn’t probable because science doesn’t include God..

And why did God allow creation to take place the way he did?? (according to the bible)

Romans 1 :19 – 20
The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness, since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. 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

So that men would be without excuse, and say.. “We didn’t not know that God existed..” That is why God created the world in the way he did.. To help us come to know him better.. What an awesome God we have..

I hope that you all read this post, and meditate not on the things of man, but the things of God..

Or as Paul would say in Galatians 1 :18-20
Am I now trying to win the approval of men, or of God? Or am I trying to please men? If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a servant of Christ.

I’m doing a little Series on how Christian’s should behave if we were following other Christians instead of the Word of God.

All the topics can be found here (How thou shalt livist as a christian!)

Homosexuality, pre-marital sexual activity, substance abuse and double lives are an optional extras to the Christian life. (These extra add-ons can be bought at a price of eternal damnation, but at least you get to keep the name tag, right?)

Okay, so if I was going by order of topic you might be asking yourself where is topic 3 & 4??
No, I haven’t forgotten about it, and NO, I’m not trying to avoid the topic.
The reason why I am tackling this current topic is because of a newspaper article I found in the Mail and Gardian.
The massive heading reads “Marry your like, says the Bible”. (link here)

Now before I start commenting on the article itself, I would like to just lay down some basic biblical truths. (I will quote as much as possible. The less from me the better.)
Firstly, let me tell you what I believe about the Bible.
2 Timothy 3:16-17
“All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness,
that the man of God may be competent, equipped for every good work.”

So if we take this as a descriptive , non-poetic/non-apocalyptic wysiwyg (google it) text, It clearly says that everything is in the bible because God wanted it there, to help us live godly lives.

What about the nature of God?
Well we can clearly see from Genesis 1:1 and John 1:1-2 that God has always been, and will always be. (That kind of puts God in control I’d say.)
Basically, God is the supreme being of the universe. He is the creator of all things (Isaiah 44:24). He alone is God (Isaiah 45:21,22; 46:9; 47:8). There have never been any Gods before Him nor will there be any after Him (Isaiah 43:10). God is God from all eternity (Psalm 90:2). In Exodus 3:14, God revealed His name to His people.
God is a Trinity, knows all things (1 John 3:20), can do all things (Jer. 32:17,27 – except those things against His nature like lie, break His word, cheat, steal, etc.), and is everywhere all the time (Psalm 119:7-12).

God is also constant, if God says something, he doesn’t go back on his word or change his mind, to change is to err in the first place. God can not err, for he is perfect and just. When God says something, he means it. He doesn’t change with the times, nor does he marry the spirit of the age so that somehow he can brainwash that generation into doing his bidding. NEWS FLASH PEOPLE! GOD DOES NOT NEED US! Yes, he loves us, and cares for us. But he definately does NOT need us. So when you start sinning and changing God’s word, and then stating that it’s fine, God will be cool with it. NEWS FLASH!! HE WON’T!

As Galatians 6:7-8 so plainly states
“Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. The one who sows to please his sinful nature, from that nature will reap destruction; the one who sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life.”
Please note the following 4 words “God cannot be mocked”, it might change your life.

Enough about the awesome and perfectness of God. Let us take a quick look at what the bible says about us, the awesome human.

If we are trying to please God, a good question would be “how” ? Well I’d say the answer to that is when we pass the same judgment upon ourselves as that which the Word of God passes. But due to our sinful nature ‘There is no one righteous’ (Romans 3:10); ‘there is no one who does good.’ (Ecclesiastes 7:20; Psalm 14:1, Psalm 53:1) ‘Every imagination of the heart of a man is only evil all the time’ (Genesis 6:5), and ‘every inclination of his heart is evil from childhood.’(Genesis 8:21) Now if we think of ourselves in that light, and think of God in the way I have described above, tell me this: How can we ever even think of playing God? How can we say what his word does not mean? If God’s word says one thing let us not think we can change it, and make it suit ourselves. For God will NOT be mocked.

Now that we have sorted out who is in charge, and who is not. Let us take a closer look at this little article we have found in the mail and guardian. O wait, just one last little passage before I do so. It’s from Galatians 1:6-10 ” For am I now seeking the approval of man, or of God? Or am I trying to please man? If I were still trying to please man, I would not be a servant of Christ. ”

Paul clearly knew the difference between serving and trying to please man, and serving and trying to please God. We can not do both, for our sinful nature is everything God is not, and so if a preacher is saying something that is appealing to your sinful nature. Chances are he is trying to please man, and not God.

Finally, the article.. When I first read this article I thought I should just go for the jugular. Attack it straight on, smite this abomination with a single slash! WHAM! But, since then I have realized that it won’t be as easy as this, purely because this article does not only question the biblical portrait of marriage, but it also attacks and undermines the bible itself. I was shocked to see how this author (that calls himself a pastor) was attacking the bible, and trying to point out flaws, saying God’s word is incomplete or not relevant for todays standards.. Well may I just point out that if the problem is with our standards of living, I can assure you.. The problem does not lie with the bible.. But with yourself! okay, okay.. To the article I go!

I must agree that the bible doesn’t say “THOU SHALT NOT MARRY SAME SEX”. But this is because of obvious reasons..
1) The bible teaches that marriage is designed by God for one man and one women. Yes, I know that Mr Muller tries to deny this.. But let me just show you how blind he truly is.. Firstly, in the creation account BEFORE THE FALL OF MAN.. ie.. IT WAS PERFECT.. Everything was as God had intended it, he noticed that Adam was alone ( Genesis 2: 18-25 ) and created for him a wife.
God created man and women to be united, and to be fruitful and increase in number;(Genesis 1:28)
So at the beginning of creation God designed man and women to be together. It’s that simple.. Sure he argues this could as well have been a story of two men, or two women.. ( Sorry Mr Muller.. No, it could not have been. Because then none of us would be here now.. And they would never be able to fulfill God’s commandment:to be fruitful), But besides that, the bible thankfully doesn’t end at Genesis, in fact, it actually goes on, and it tackles the sins of homosexuality (sexual immorality) many times.
Mr Muller (the author) argues that the kind of homosexuality in the bible is not the same as what two men or women might experience today.. I disagree, a brief look into the Roman culture of the day would clearly point out that homosexuality and “love” among the same sex was bad, if not worse than it is today. In fact, if I’m not mistaken. Homosexuality was seen as a form of superiority over straight couples. So, yes when Paul refers to the sinful nature in Galatians 5:19-21 “sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these” It definately applies to todays standards.. Please note that sexual immorality includes any kind of sex outside the bounds of a married couple (one man, one women).

Remember how I said in the beginning of this article God is just, and unchanging. Well, it is true! Through out the old and new testament the Bible preaches against Homosexuality, and any other kind of sexual sin. In the New testament it even says that even if we LUST after such things we are sinning.

Just a note on the article.. Please note how Mr Muller attacks the bible on the point of slavery (saying see.. the bible is old school it condones slavery), because it condones slavery, and we don’t do slavery anymore the bible must be old fashioned.. He then goes on to build his argument, saying that the bibles idea of marriage has change since creation and because of all of this, we can no longer rely upon the bible as a reliable source of wisdom. Can I just quickly point out how far from the truth this really is (I think that once I’m done with this we can safely put Mr Muller’s article to the sword, because in the end, if his argument about the bible not being reliable for today is not true, the rest of his argument is based on false premise, and from what I’ve learned about logic is that if the premise if false, the conclusion can not be used).

So the slavery item: The bible never condones slavery. Sure the bible mentions how slaves should treat their masters, and how masters should treat their slaves, but let us take a closer look at one of these so called “slavery” verses :
Ephesians 6:5 “Slaves, obey your earthly masters with fear and trembling, with a sincere heart, as you would Christ,”
What is that?? You should obey your masters (or in todays standards our bosses..)? O, like you would Christ? Really? So in other words we should not lie, cheat or steal? We should respect and obey, and through all this the goodness of Christ will shine through us so that others might see and come to believe in Him.. O I see, so this isn’t a passage on slavery.. It is a passage about respecting those God has put in authority over you.. Ah, I see now.. Thank you bible..

This is a perfect example of timeless principles, with timely application. The principle is “Obey those in authority”, the application then was “Slaves -> Masters”, “Child-> parent” and so on. Today, the application can be applied to the work place.
(If someone can actually find a passage in the bible where it says “Take anyone you want to work for you, and treat them as you please, for God approves of it” I will remove this article.. But the fact is, the bible does not condone slavery, it just teaches us how to obey, serve and submit.

So now that Mr Muller’s argument about the bible being old fashioned is tossed out the window, lets address the bible’s view of marriage according to Mr Muller.. See he starts to say that the bible first says monogamy is good, then it says, polygamy is good (no idea where he found that [just because it is in the bible, doesn't mean it is biblical]), then he starts talking about customs of the day, as if that somehow discredits the bible.. Yip, thats right. Because the bible records the customs of the day, it clearly means the bible approves of it. >< Really now.. I’d expect more from Mr Muller. Just on the note of Levirate marriage.. This law was put in place so that the name of that family can continue, and that the women may be looked after and cared for.. This a safety plan for the women, not some bonus deal for the brother.

The bible is clear about marriage, Old and New testament.. 1 Man, 1 Women. No sexual relations outside the bounds of marriage. Also, that nothing may come between a marriage. (I.e, divorce)
When ever the bible refers to marriage or the union of Christ and his church, it refers to a husband and wife, bride and bridegroom. Like I said beforehand : God is unchanging.. He sets marriage as an act between one man, one women and God. Then 4000 yrs later when Jesus comes along it is no shock to us that he preaches the exact same thing.
And believe it or not Paul goes on to write about it.(inspired by the spirit).

It is quite amazing how much the bible has to say about marriage between One man, and one women.. It is like God almost wants us to keep it that way. So like, maybe forever?

O, and on the note of polygamy “In after-times a plurality of wives became more common among the Hebrews, and the Scriptures afford numerous illustrations of its evil results, Ge 16:16 Jud 8:30 2Sa 3:3-5 1Ki 11:18 2Ch 11:18-21 13:21. In the time of Christ there is no mention of polygamy as prevalent among the Jews.”

Okay, I’m done now.. I will be coming back to this article and revise what I’ve written. But for now I’m done.
One last thing.. When people say that Jesus is all about love, and he will forgive you for anything, and don’t stress. The bible has a couple of things to say about that.. But here are just two of them :
1) God will not be mocked! (Galatians 6:7-8 )
2) “She gave birth to a male child, one who is to rule all the nations with a rod of iron, ” This, is in revelations talking about Jesus . Please note the words “rule all the nations with a rod of iron”.. Be not fooled.. God will not be mocked.. Proverbs 9:10 The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight.

The question is, do you mock God? Do you fear him?

I’m doing a little Series on how Christian’s should behave if we were following other Christians instead of the Word of God.

All the topics can be found here (How thou shalt livist as a christian!)

1)Thou shalt, and MUST join every facebook group that has anything remotely to do with Christianity (as we all know, the more Christian facebook groups you are part of, the holier thou art).

Firstly, can I just point out how frustrated and irritated I get when I keep getting invites to join all these Christian facebook groups. Just to name a few:
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Not Christian By Default, But By Grace ?
Can you give me ONE LOGICAL reason to believe God exists? ?
Christian Guys are hotter because… ?
I’M A CHRISTIAN..AND I’M PROUD TO SAY IT!!
I’m a Christian, and I want all my freinds to be Christians too (>< poor spelling)
Addicted to Jesus
Jesus Love’s You
Largest Christian Facebook Group Ever
Proud To Be Christian
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It seems that people have this urge/need to join Christian facebook groups, because they are scared that other Christians might see them as a lesser Christian if they don’t join. Like as if somehow we will grow in Christian stature if we join these groups.

Secondly, it all just seems so fake to me. All these “Christians” joining all these groups, yet if you look at their facebook pages it is covered with applications like “Would You Do Me?” I mean seriously now, just because facebook is your alter-ego, it doesn’t give you the right to post and do as you please. God judges sin, intellectual and physical, facebook or RL(real-life) sin. To God it is all the same.

See, the crux of the matter is as follows : The problem doesn’t lie in the amount of Christian groups you join (though it does start looking like a blunt sword and lose its impact) , but rather: does the rest of your life, and the rest of your facebook reflect this belief that you are confessing to.

1 John 1: 6-8 Clearly teaches us against such practice
“If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth.
But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin. If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.”

Quite simple really. Stop pretending to be a Christian and start picking up your cross and start suffering for Christ.

So well put in “The Pilgrims Progress” by John Bunyan (my new favourite reference book) :
The Evangelist says to Pilgrim and Faithful “My Sons, you’ve heard in the words of the truth of the Gospel that you must enter into the Kingdom of Heaven through many hardships (Acts 14:22), and again that prison and hardships face you in every city. (Acts 20:23) You can’t expect, therefore , to travel far on your Pilgrimage without them in some form or other. … ”

2)If a fellow Christian joins/adds a dodge group/application on facebook thou salt tell everyone else, and thou salt definately not confront the perpetrator (that shalt be done via the facebook grapevine).

Arg!! How this irritates me. If a fellow brother has got applications on their facebook profile which clearly screams “Look at me, I’m the fruits of the sinful nature”. Do not go to every other Christian you know and start gossiping about a fellow brother. No, stand up, and biblically rebuke your fellow brother. It is really that simple.. This bickering on facebook & RL is not only destroying Christian communities, but it is clearly against the word of God. God commands us to love those around us, to suffer with them when they are sinning (and by love I mean Christian love.. ie : not turn a blind eye but to rebuking them gently and with patience).

1 Corinthians 13:4-7
“Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.”

In today’s world people are so quick to label themselves as “Christian” yet they do not even fully understand the fundamental basics of Christianity (the gospel).

See, a lot of today’s Christians believe that if you claim to be Christian, join a Christian facebook group and wear a cross around your neck then you are automatically saved. It is a one way ticket to heaven, no suffering or life change required. How much further from the truth can this be . No wonder so many Christians start to question God and their faith as soon as trials and tribulation’s come down upon them. This school of thought needs to stop!

Okay, that is enough for 1 week. I will tackle point 3 & 4 in the next 2 weeks.

For now I’m just going to end with a quick summery of the phrase”The Gospel”.

The Gospel
1 Corinthians 15:1-4
“Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand, and by which you are being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you–unless you believed in vain.
For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures,
that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures,..”

Galatians 1: 3-5
“Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, who gave himself for our sins to rescue us from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father,to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.”

Romans 10: 8-11
“The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart” (that is, the word of faith that we proclaim); because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.
For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved.
For the Scripture says, “Everyone who believes in him will not be put to shame.”

God bless.

In today’s troubled world, filled with wonderful words like ‘freedom of speech’, ‘religious freedom’ and let us not forget my favourite one ‘my-right-not-to-have-to-listen-to-anything-you-have-to-say’, how should a Christian act and behave?

If I was to take a few pointers from Christians around me, I would come to the following conclusion :

1) Thou shalt, and MUST join every facebook group that has anything remotely to do with Christianity (as we all know, the more Christian facebook groups you are part of, the holier thou art).
2) If a fellow Christian joins/adds a dodge group/application on facebook thou salt tell everyone else, and thou shalt definately not confront the perpetrator (that shalt be done via the facebook grapevine).
3) If a fellow Christian does try to rebuke/correct you, thou shalt throw a tantrum, and thou shalt definately NOT consult the bible to come to a correct and biblical conclusion. (p.s. consulting the bible might cause strange side effects and distortion of worldly views. Not for the hard hearted or spiritually blind. Side effects my include change of religion.)
4) Thou shalt always correct thine friends via sarcasm and in groups of 2 or 3.
5) Homosexuality, pre-marital sexual activity, substance abuse and double lives are an optional extras to the Christian life. (These extra add-ons can be bought at a price of eternal damnation, but at least you get to keep the name tag, right?)
6) Thou shalt get confirmed, because then you go to heaven.

(Please note: The points with link of them I have already touched on.)

Hey all you stressed out parents/teenagers looking for advice..

Our youth pastor sent me the following mail (which he had in fact emailed off to a concerned parent just the other week).

I thought that this was really great biblical advice, and if you are looking for biblical answers, I’m sure you would find then here.

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Is it wrong for Christians to get body piercing or tattoos?

The Issue

As youth leaders or parents we might feel awkward with this type of question. Let’s face it, you don’t want your kids to come home looking like circus freaks. While wisdom may scream ‘No!’ (and in many cases should be heeded) I think you would be hard pushed to argue that piercing and tattoos are unchristian. You have also got to watch the ‘slippery slope’ in answering this question. Those who say it is wrong usually don’t mind girls having one piercing in each ear. Where do you draw the line? How many piercing makes it ‘wrong’? And we need to make sure that we handle the OT in a way that takes the new covenant and the death of Jesus into account (i.e.: you are giving an answer to NT Christians, not to OT Jews).

Verses to Consider:

Leviticus 19:28 – The principle for not marking your body is so that Israel will not conform to the practices of the pagan tribes around them.

I Cor 9:19-23 – Paul’s announcement that “I have become all things to all men so that by all possible means I might save some . . .”

An Answer to Consider

There is a verse in the OT that says tattoos are not appropriate for the Israelites. But the trick is to ask what is the NT application for that OT verse? Lev 19:28 is part of the holiness code for Israel as they embark on life as a nation chosen by God. The immediate context of 19:28 seems to forbid Israelites from imitating the practices of pagan cults and religion that used body cutting and tattoos as part of their idol worship. Which is why the verse finishes with the reminder ‘I am the Lord’. Holiness for Israel meant to be set apart from the nations and kept undefiled by their pagan ways. They were to do this by keeping these various laws regarding their bodies, food, even farming etc.

However Jesus comes and fulfills the law, bringing it to its proper conclusion (Matt Ch 5). For instance, he announces that all foods are now clean for the believer to eat (Mark 7:14-19). This would be one example of how the gospel will interpret and apply the OT law for the Christian today. Although Jesus doesn’t refer specifically to Lev 19:28, it is correct to say that holiness now finds its home in the person and work of Jesus Christ, not in various laws of the OT. To be holy now, as God’s people, is to be found ‘in Christ’, and the old divisions of race, gender and status no longer apply (Col 3:11) In fact it seems that much of the ‘old’ is made a non issue as it is fulfilled in Christ. (Check Colossians Ch 2:16-17)

So while it is good to remember that you don’t get to heaven or belong to God’s family here on earth because you look a certain way, it is also important to keep in mind that we do still need to honor and obey your parents, and that we don’t do anything illegal. If these things check out, then wisdom kicks in!

Consider the following:

• Christians are called to be counter culture. In your community will having piercing or tattoos associate you with gang members, criminals, or as someone who hates authority? (which was the principle behind the command in Lev 19:28) If so, don’t bring shame on the gospel for the sake of looking cool.

• Remember, tattoos are permanent! If you get a tattoo of your favorite Dragon Ball Z character on your arm, how cool do you think this will be when you are 45?

• There are health considerations. Dirty needles, infections and, in the case of tattoos, an increased risk of skin cancer might be good reasons to think twice.

• Even if your parents are OK with it, your school probably won’t be. If they make you take it out or cover it up it will end up being a wasted effort.

• Don’t do it for shock value or to become the center of attention. That is a cry for help, not a fashion statement.

• Don’t do it because you either hate your body or because you love your body in a self-obsessive kind of way. Your self-confidence comes from knowing Jesus loves you, not because you have a tongue stud.

• Even if you are over 18 but still live at home and benefit from your parents support – you need to ask yourself, while I am not a child any more, to what extent am I an adult independent of my parents? It would seem to me that to honor your parents in this situation may still mean submitting to some of their rules as you are a dependant member of the household. Is it worth asserting your authority (and thus moving out, paying your own way, doing your own laundry and suffering the damaged relationship with mum and dad) for the sake of a tattoo? Even if you are convinced that there is nothing unchristian about the decision, you may decide to put your own interests aside for the sake of others (the Bible considers this a mature and Christ like attitude to take).

You can visit his blog @ www.accordingtoscott.blogspot.com
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There, I hope you enjoyed that as much as I did..

Peace out and God bless.

If someone had asked me 3 weeks ago “Can Christians get tattoo’s”, I would have said “Sure, why not, I don’t see the harm in it”.

Then I wrote the following article on Christians and tattoo’s :
Christians and Tattoo’s! Is it Taboo? Leviticus 19:28

Since then I’ve had time to sit down and just think about what I actually wrote and the implications of what it should have on my day
to day living as a Christian.

After long internal debates and bible study and prayer, I’ve come to the a conclusion. Now if a Christian had to ask me today if they should get a tattoo, I would say “No..”

Now before the liberals start jumping on my back, and saying how I stunt the growth of converts because of my backward views. I would just like to explain myself.

Please note that I’m not saying that people with tattoo’s are less godly, or more sinful than the rest of us, and I’m definately not saying that if you have/get a tattoo you will goto HELL!!

No, what I am saying is that if a Christian was to ask me if he should get one.. I would reply with a polite “No”, and then explain why. ( which is what I am about to do here. )

In my previous post (Christians and Tattoo’s! Is it Taboo? Leviticus 19:28) I stated that at the end of the day, it has everything to do about motives, and nothing to do about the tattoo itself. I still stand firmly by this view, and would just like to add that this post is rather an add on, rather than a reply/change-of-mind to my previous post.

See, our Christian actions should always revolve around our motives(in accordance with the bible), and not around what the world will think. But let us see what the bible says :

1 Corinthians 10:23-24
“Everything is permissible”—but not everything is beneficial. “Everything is permissible”—but not everything is constructive. Nobody should seek his own good, but the good of others.”

1 Corinthians 10:31-33
” So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God. Do not cause anyone to stumble, whether Jews, Greeks or the church of God— even as I try to please everybody in every way. For I am not seeking my own good but the good of many, so that they may be saved.”

Romans 12:1-2
“Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.”

From the following passages I think it is safe to say that God expects our priorities in life to be as follows :
1) God
2) Others
3) Ourselves

Now some might argue that getting a cross on your back, or a verse running up your leg is some how going to glorify God, or produce an evangelical opportunity. But I ask you : Is it beneficial? Is it constructive? Does it seek the good of others or does it seek the wellbeing of our own sinful desires?

See it all just sounds like an excuse to get the tattoo in the first place..
We Christians are very good at this..
If we find something that we want, but the bible is against or not really clear on, then we just do it in the name of God, as if that some how justifies it.

Romans 3 teaches that evil done in God’s name is still evil.. It just makes God look bad.

Romans 3:5-8
“But if our unrighteousness brings out God’s righteousness more clearly, what shall we say? That God is unjust in bringing his wrath on us? (I am using a human argument.) Certainly not! If that were so, how could God judge the world? Someone might argue, “If my falsehood enhances God’s truthfulness and so increases his glory, why am I still condemned as a sinner?” Why not say—as we are being slanderously reported as saying and as some claim that we say—”Let us do evil that good may result”? Their condemnation is deserved.”

Does it not also say that our very life should be as a witness to those around us? Why would we ever need a tattoo? Or are our lives like a lamp under a bowl, instead of on a stand giving light to the whole house? (Matthew 5:14-16)

An important Scriptural principle on issues that the Bible does not specifically address is that if there is room for doubt as to whether it pleases God, then it is best to not engage in that activity. “For whatsoever is not of faith is sin” (Romans 14:23). We need to remember that our bodies, as well as our souls, have been redeemed and belong to God. Although 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 does not directly apply to tattoos, it does give us a principle, “Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies.” This great truth should have a real bearing on what we do and where we go with our bodies. If our bodies belong to God, we should make sure we have His clear “permission” before we “mark it up” with tattoos.

I’ve read many pro-tattoo websites that somehow try to discredit Leviticus 19:28 by quoting Leviticus 19:27 “Do not cut the hair at the sides of your head or clip off the edges of your beard.”
Saying, see… These OT rules and regulations are stupid, you cut your hair, so how can you tell me not to get a tattoo. Sadly people misunderstand 19:27.

See 19:27 referred to custom of the Arabs described by Herodotus. They used to show honor to their deity Orotal by cutting the hair away from the temples in a circular form.

See Leviticus 19:26-28 is not about the instructions of the law, but rather about its purpose.
God was saying “Hey, Israel. You are mine, stop acting like all those idiots over there. I am your God, and you shall have no other gods before me. So stop acting as if you do.”

God still expects this from us today. Do not marry the spirit of the age, and do what everyone else is doing.
Think about it, if you had never seen a tattoo in your life before, would you suddenly take a knife and carve a verse into your arm? No, of course not. But we see how appealing it looks on others, then we suddenly have this need to get one, and then justify it by calling it Godly.

See, as Christians we have no real reason to get a tattoo.. It is not a requirement of the law (tho some might argue it is damned by it). No, I would guess that the real reason Christians get tattoo’s is because deep down inside they just really want one(materialism ?? I think so.).. That is all.. All the excuses about getting a cross, and witnessing is just a cover up. A cover up to hide their real motives: to just rebel and fit in. I mean, lets face it. All we ever try and do is keep one foot on earth, and the other one in heaven.

Never ready to fully reject the world, knowing that the world will fully reject us..