Tag Archives: study

Claims We as Christians are Called to Defend and Refute

11 May

I began a new journey in my walk this summer, 2009, one I have felt a long time calling to pursue but just never could figure out how and when.  That is probably because the how and when should have been left up to God, not me trying to figure it out but non-the-less, after many years, I have decided to start my academic pursuit of work in ministry, whatever that comes to mean in the future, in seminary.

For some reason, I decided to start off my 2009 class year at Liberty with Apologetics, probably because I knew so little about the subject.  As an introduction we were given seventeen claims we as Christians are called to defend and fifteen we are called to refute, all of which I have listed below.

It was interesting that I should start my seminary work with this class.  These point below are probably an overview of what is in the years ahead of me.  I see many things I know I believe are true, but many I can not begin to explain in logical terms.  Makes me look forward to the times ahead of me.

All of us as Christians are called to share and defend our faith.  We don’t have to be experts in all these areas below, but we should know, the rest of the world expects us to be, or at least expects us to be able to explain to them, in common terms, the points below.

Seventeen claims we are called upon to defend as Christians in our Time:

The following are in no particular order, but all are important and all are challenged by the modern secularist mindset.

  1. God exists
  2. The Lordship of Jesus Christ—He was fully God and fully man.
  3. Christ died for our sins
  4. Christ rose from the dead
  5. God is all knowing and all powerful
  6. God is all goodness, in spite of the fact of evil in the world
  7. The Bible is the inerrant Word of God
  8. Events recorded in the Bible really happened and tell us something significant about God, about life, and about morals
  9. God will judge the world on the basis of the moral behavior of mankind
  10. Jesus Christ is the only way to heaven, to peace with God
  11. Faith in Jesus Christ is necessary for one to be right with God
  12. The churches have the freedom and right to preach and teach God’s truth in God’s way.
  13. The teachings of God’s word exemplify a moral “high ground”
  14. A life lived so as to please God is better than a secular lifestyle
  15. The historic truths of the Christian faith are objectively true, in the same sense that scientific truths or other secular truths are true.
  16. We are responsible to God for our moral behavior.
  17. Mankind is a special creation of God, not the product of evolution or of impersonal forces in the universe

Fifteen worldly claims we are called upon to refute as Christians:

Some of these may appear to overlap, but each is a separate issue, and each has adherents in the world.  You will discover that there are people even in our churches who believe at least some of these, according to research done by George Barna.

  1. All Religions lead to the same god
  2. It doesn’t matter what your religion is as long as you are sincere—God understands
  3. Jesus is merely a great teacher or prophet
  4. God is too loving to ever send anyone to Hell
  5. A god who would send any of his “Children” to Hell is not a god worthy of our worship
  6. Morality is relative.  You have to decide for yourself what is right and what is wrong.
  7. We are the end product of evolution, the crowning achievement of the forces of nature.
  8. Man is the measure of all things.  What is good is what benefits the human race.
  9. The individual is all that matters—what’s good is what is good for you!
  10. Religion and Science are different realms—religious truths are different from scientific truths.
  11. “I know what’s best for me! I don’t need anyone else running my life!”
  12. Don’t worry about doctrine!  Religion is about what you feel!  If I have peace in my heart, then that’s all I need.
  13. The Bible is a human book, a product of the religious experiences of one people.
  14. The Bible is an old book—it was fine for back then but it has nothing to say to our time, to people today.
  15. Muslims worship one god too!  So it must all be the same God.

This post was originally created on May 11 2009 and updated in June 2010.

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The Truth Still Survives from 1895 to Today

4 Feb

The Book of Mark

Tonight we start the first part of a series of studies on how to study the Bible, called Journey Bible Class.  Yesterday I picked up a Bible at a local store specifically to start using tonight, but I have about 30-35 Bibles here in my office so I guess I could have used one of those but I was looking for one in particular.  One I have here in my office is this one Bible published in 1895 I picked up after someone threw it away back when we were in the book business. The Bible I picked up at the store yesterday was a relatively nice leather covered Bible but it made me think about this one I have that was published more than 100 years ago.

It is far from fragile and you can flip through the pages, look at the illustrations and everything you do with a Bible purchased today… but… in it’s time, this Bible must have cost a small fortune.  It took more than 100 photographers and a huge number of editors and all the other people to put this 1895 Bible together.  It weighs about 6-8 pounds, is a hard cover, has tons of illustrations, and is even referenced and includes commentary, wow.

You can read it very well on the photo, but if you look on the blank page it has, written in pencil,

Oct the 6 1896

Presented To.

Mary Jane Williams.

By

G.E. Th Williams.

and on the inside it still has a cross stitched book mark that says “I love Thee With All My Heart”.  Of course if you flip through the pages you will see that the scriptures are the same in this book published in 1895 as in the book I purchased yesterday.  The history of this Bible is incredible to me.  I am holding in my hand something that is tangible evidence of a God’s word being passed on from person to person more than 113 years ago.

I took these photos today when I got to work.

Bible Published in 1895

Title page of bible from 1895

Title page of bible from 1895

1896 in History :: So what was going on in 1896?

January 4 Following Mormon abandonment of polygamy, Utah admitted as 45th state
January 5 German physicist Wilhelm Roentgen’s discovers x-rays
January 7 Fanny Farmer publishes her 1st cookbook
January 18 British troops occupy Kumasi, West Africa
January 29 Emile Grubbe is 1st dr to use radiation treatment for breast cancer
February 8 Western Conference forms of Midwestern U, later renamed Big 10 Conf
February 18 Cave of Winds at Niagara Falls goes almost dry for 1st time in 50 yrs
February 23 Tootsie Roll introduced by Leo Hirshfield
March 1 Battle of Adua: 80,000 Ethiopians destroy 20,000 Italians
March 8 Volunteers of America forms (New York City)
March 20 Marines land in Nicaragua to protect U.S. citizens
March 25 Modern Olympics began in Athens, Greece
April 4 Announcement of Gold in Yukon
April 6 1st modern Olympic games open in Athens Greece [3/25 OS] American, James Connolly, wins 1st Olympic gold medal in mod history
April 15 1st Olympic games close at Athens, Greece
May 4 1st edition of London Daily Mail ( penny)
May 6 22nd Kentucky Derby: Willie Simms aboard Ben Brush wins in 2:07.75
May 14 Lowest U.S. temperature in May recorded (-10 degrees F-Climax, Colo)
May 15 Tornado kills 78 in Texas
May 18 U.S. Supreme Court affirms race separation (Plessy vs. Ferguson)
May 27 Tornado hit St. Louis, killing 255 and leaving thousands homeless
June 6 George Samuelson leaves New York harbor to row across Atlantic
June 15 Tsunami strikes Shinto festival on beach at Sanriku Japan 27,000 are killed, 9,000 injured, with 13,000 houses destroyed
June 26 1st movie theater in U.S. opens, charging 10 cents for admission
July 8 William Jennings Bryan “cross of gold” speech at Dem convention
July 21 National Federation of Afro-American Women and Colored Women’s
July 28 City of Miami incorporated
August 16 Gold discovered in Klondike, found at Bonanza Creek, Ala
August 20 Dial telephone patented
October 1 Yosemite becomes a National Park
November 1 1st bare women breast (Zulu) to appear in National Geographic Mag
November 14 Power plant at Niagara Falls begins operation
December 8 Start of Sherlock Holmes “Adventure of Missing 3 Quarter”
December 25 “Stars and Stripes Forever” written by John Philip Sousa
December 30 Stanley Cup: Montreal Victorias beat Winnipeg Victorias, 6-5
December 31 25th auto built in US [thanks]

Don’t think my Bible is going to be around in 2133 but I guess it could be.  So if those items above are facts of history, how far back do we go before we don’t think these things actually took place.  We have buildings in this country that go back to the 1600-1700′s, China and Japanese history goes back a pretty good ways, and so does Israel and the history spoken about in this book.

Of course we as human beings selectively choose what we believe as truth. Perhaps today this poem I wrote below is what truth is.

What Do We Believe is the Truth

Truth is all relative.
Truth is what we make it to be.
Truth is fluid.
Truth is adjustable.
Truth is changing.
Truth is false.

Truth is love.
Truth is faith.
Truth is belief.
Truth is alive.
Truth is sacrifice.

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Royals Pitcher Scott Sullivan Asks What’s Your Story

3 Feb

This morning we had a special guest, Scott Sullivan, speak during our normal Tuesday morning meeting.  Sullivan was a pitcher (one of those great “submarine pitchers” I love to watch) for the Cincinnati Reds (1995-2003), Chicago White Sox (2003), and finished his career with the Kansas City Royals (2004).  As usually is the case with those who have been through the riggors of MLB, he had quite a story to tell, but he made the point that we all have stories to tell, good and bad.

What many of these stories have in common is where each of them were in their life during their career and where and how God has taken them to the point where they are right now.  All of us are always a work in progress but through circumstances and situations in each of our own lives, we have made it to the point we are today.  The question is what are we going to do with the time we have left?  Sullivan suggested a book that has meant a lot to him, Stu Weber’s Tender Warrior, and left us with three questions to think about and discuss.  They are:

1. What is Your Story?

Each of us has a story if we are still living and breathing.  If you are a Believer, that story is called your testimony, and as a Believer, each does have a testimony.  Have you ever written down your testimony?  Some may scoff and write down a few brief sentences, but some of us took many years to come to our decision and our testimony is not just one event or thing that happened, it is years of work and living that got us to the point we are at today.

If you are not a Believer specifically, you still have your own story to tell.   What has shaped your life up to this point.  Is it people, friends, family, where you live, how much money you have or don’t have, what car you drive?  I would encourage each of us to put some thought into what exactly is our story.  What were the specifics that got us where we are today.

2. What Do You Want Your Legacy To Be?

Each of us will leave a legacy in one form or another.  We may not have a sphere of infulence like a major league ball player, politician, or holywood star, but each of us will leave behind the story of our life.  What do you want that to be?  Do you know?  If you do, how are you moving in that direction to fulfill that part of your life.

3. What is Your Plan to Finish Strong?

None of us are destined to stick around for very long.  Some longer than others but either way, we are not long for this world.  How can we finish our lives out strong.  Do we have a plan, or do we care?  I think it may be harder for those of us who are for the most part healthy, relatively young-ish (maybe at heart), and feel like we are full of life to really appreciate the time we have left and make a conscious decision to finish out strong.

I think about Richard Quick and what he is going through right now in his fight with a Malignant Brain Tumor, or my mother-in-law who did the same thing.  What is our plan to finish strong and live the rest of the life we have been given with conviction, purpose, and with a plan, to at some point hear what Jesus said in a parable in Matthew 25 where He said:

His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!’

Thanks Scott for making your way over to our side of the world (funny how these Tuscaloosa, Alabama people end up down here in Auburn, and we are thrilled) and thank you for giving us a few words of encouragement to think about.

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Eternal Purpose Found in the Mundane Activities

24 Jul

This morning as I was going through my email I came across an email Sandy from Toomer’s Coffee sent to me with a devotional message that he found relevant to his day and thought I would like it as well. Most of the time it is just something that is forwarded to me that pretty much gets treated as spam but today, it was a message that really spoke to me and I wanted to share it on The Damascus Blog.

But I said, ”I have labored to no purpose; I have spent my strength in vain and for nothing. Yet what is due me is in the Lord’s hand, and my reward is with my God.” ~ Isaiah 49:4

While I have read the book of Isaiah it is always refreshing to read what struggles the prophet Isaiah went through in his life. I am not sure if this was a result of comical relief from reading my resume on my other blog or not, but this pretty much hit the nail on the head for me.

Mundane Activities for Eternal Purposes

Have you ever felt like you’re spending your life using your talent for nothing? Life is often spent doing mundane activities that seem to have little eternal purpose. The great prophet Isaiah was struggling with his own purpose. He knew he was chosen to be a voice for God, yet life became purposeless for Isaiah. We all go through periods when our purpose seems to be clouded with the mundane. We see little meaning in life. On the other hand, Isaiah didn’t stay in this place. We read in this passage that he knew the truth of his existence.

He could look past his present circumstance and know that his real reward and purpose would be revealed in eternity. He knew that God was just and fair, so he placed his faith on this truth. When life appears to lack meaning and purpose, remember that if you devote your life to the purposes He has for you, the fruits of your labor will be manifested in due time.

The one who calls you is faithful and He will do it (1 Thess. 5:24)

Welcome To Wherever You Are

That about sums up my “very specific” chosen career path, expressed from a very early age, of wondering and hunting for what in the world God would have me do. Over the years I have come to a realization that it isn’t what we do that is important, it is how we do it.

God has put each of us where we are. While some of us are quite well defined in what we do, like a race car driver, doctor or lawyer, others, like myself, are career freelance workers (which is about as defined as a “consultant”), but the eternal purposes of what we do are still not defined by us, but by God.

It reminds me of the lyrics to Welcome To Wherever You Are by Bon Jovi that go like this:

Maybe we’re all different
But we’re still the same
We all got the blood of Eden running through our veins
I know sometimes it’s hard for you to see
You’re caught between just who you are and who you wanna be

Welcome to wherever you are
This is your life; you made it this far
Welcome, you gotta believe
That right here, right now you’re exactly where you’re supposed to be
Welcome to wherever you are

A great way for me to start off the day today, thanks Sandy.

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