Lets Talk About God...
Well, looks like you are a bit curious... Thanks for considering and coming to check things out a little further!
Lets clear the air... Many people have been burned by "Christians" and I agree. Yes, bad things have been done in the name of Christianity, but that does not mean it is representative of Christianity. Christians have let me down, they are hypocrites, judgemental... again, I agree. As a Christian I have no doubt that I have at some point let people down... I am an imperfect human. Sometimes we see or hear about Christians doing horrible things, however, Christians doing good things never seem to make the news. My point is just because someone claims to be a Christian, does not necessarily mean that they are. And on the other-hand, Christians are imperfect and make mistakes, just like non-Christians. So, to avoid confusion why not start with the source... God, Jesus and the Bible. What do they have to say about it all.
Start with these questions:
Lets clear the air... Many people have been burned by "Christians" and I agree. Yes, bad things have been done in the name of Christianity, but that does not mean it is representative of Christianity. Christians have let me down, they are hypocrites, judgemental... again, I agree. As a Christian I have no doubt that I have at some point let people down... I am an imperfect human. Sometimes we see or hear about Christians doing horrible things, however, Christians doing good things never seem to make the news. My point is just because someone claims to be a Christian, does not necessarily mean that they are. And on the other-hand, Christians are imperfect and make mistakes, just like non-Christians. So, to avoid confusion why not start with the source... God, Jesus and the Bible. What do they have to say about it all.
Start with these questions:
- If God is real, how can I know?
- Spoiler alert - Atheists will say "you cannot 100% prove to me that God exists", and those that do believe in God, typically Christians, will counter with "you cannot 100% prove to me that He doesn't exist!" I personally think that is just a childish game to avoid discussing the harder more complicated questions and viewpoints from each other's side. To those that believe in God, if an atheist is convinced that there is no God, they must have a reason so why not just hear them out? And if you are someone who does not believe in God, but are genuinely interested in trying to learn and understand more, it all begins with an open and objective mind that can hear and weigh what evidence there might be. At some point, however, it will still come down to faith.
- Is/was Jesus a real person?
- It does not take much investigation to discover that there is strong evidence suggesting Jesus was a real person, who claimed to be God, King of the Jews, and was crucified. Notice I said "claimed" not that He was. The historical Jesus is someone that even atheists and non-religious scholars agree existed. With that in mind, we can approach the real unanswered questions... was/is He really God, and did his death and resurrection really affect our lives?
- Is the Bible reliable?
- Here are some things you may or may not know about the Bible. It is a collection of 66 books comprising the old and new testaments, written by several authors and over a span of about 1500 years. Whether or not it is true, when you study its contents you will find that there are many stories that stay connected and consistent throughout the ages. Imagine you are living in one place and time writing a story, and somebody else hundreds of years later, perhaps another place and language, picks up where you left off? As for the historicity, there are many accounts within the books of the Bible that are undisputed. When you weigh the Bible as a piece of ancient literature against all the tests used on other antiquities that we derive our understanding of history from, the books of the Bible far exceed the comparative litmus test. Finally, one needs to keep in mind that the Bible is not some scientific journal meant to explain the details of how we are created, but a narrative explaining why we were created... which according to the Bible is to have a fulfilled relationship with God. Contrary to what many would have us to believe, science and the Bible actually complement one another, not contradict. One explains how you are made, the other explains why you were made.
- The Big Question: Ask yourself this...What is the purpose of Death?
- Do you know what Science, Anthropology, Philosophy, History, Religion and many other disciplines all have in common? They all are asking who we are, where did we come from, and where are we going. Sounds like a Cotton-Eyed Joe song! We can spend our entire lives trying to answer what the purpose of life is, but if we can first understand what the purpose of death means, it could spell out how we should live the rest of our lives. If when we die, there is nothing else, then we had better make the most of this life. Live it up. In fact, why obey the rules? On the other hand, if there is the possibility of life after death, wouldn't we want to try and know for sure? Here is what I ask myself... if heaven and eternity are real, then whatever hardship I may face during this phase of life will shrink to insignificance in the context of eternity. If that is a real thing, I want to know more, or at least enough to say I at least checked it out.
- Sin, dos and don'ts, judgement, blah blah blah...
- There is a ton that gets taken out of context in the Bible, but the long and short of it is this. When you start to hear about sins, and judgement, and all the seemingly negative uncomfortable stuff, realize this... God is not trying to beat us up and blast us with how wrong we have been, He is simply showing us every possible example in the hopes that we will discover how much we need Him and how much He wants us. That is why he uses people in the Bible who are broken and sometimes severely messed up... these are people that many of us can relate to. Also, and this is very important... nowhere in the Bible does God call on us to "cast judgement" on another human being. We have no right. He calls on us to be loving, forgiving and compassionate. If you encounter a Christian that is being judgemental, just know that that is wrong and misguided. Use caution though, as there is a difference between being judgemental and Christian rebuke and discipline. Devout followers submit to this spiritual rebuke and discipline, not as a "punishment" but as a means to help guide one another when straying off course.
- There is a ton that gets taken out of context in the Bible, but the long and short of it is this. When you start to hear about sins, and judgement, and all the seemingly negative uncomfortable stuff, realize this... God is not trying to beat us up and blast us with how wrong we have been, He is simply showing us every possible example in the hopes that we will discover how much we need Him and how much He wants us. That is why he uses people in the Bible who are broken and sometimes severely messed up... these are people that many of us can relate to. Also, and this is very important... nowhere in the Bible does God call on us to "cast judgement" on another human being. We have no right. He calls on us to be loving, forgiving and compassionate. If you encounter a Christian that is being judgemental, just know that that is wrong and misguided. Use caution though, as there is a difference between being judgemental and Christian rebuke and discipline. Devout followers submit to this spiritual rebuke and discipline, not as a "punishment" but as a means to help guide one another when straying off course.
