Christmas is coming and what a better time to share your faith with those around you. However, apologetics has never been my strong suit. I can share the Gospel but when I am confronted by someone who has a huge myth or pre-conception about the faith I am sometimes momentarily taken aback.
I have tried a few apologetic books but frankly I find most of them to be dry and uninteresting. Which brings me to this book, just in time for Christmas - Busted by Fred von Kamecke.
Fred Von Kamecke is assistant pastor at The Chapel in Graslake, Illinois and an adjunct professor at Bethel College. He has also served as an adjunct at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School (TEDS) where he also received his PhD in New Testament theology and exegesis. He teaches in the area of New Testament studies.Fred wrote an awesome book called Busted which researches misconceptions of the Christian faith. This is from the back cover:
Following a brief summary of a recurring myth or misconception about the Christian faith, Fred explains why the myth is false and provides biblical and historical evidence in his response. He masterfully weaves together serious discussion with a touch of humor in his responses, all the while keeping the focus on the Scriptures. He avoids making fun of the people who hold views which differ from his own, but the views themselves are fair game.Fred and Zondervan Publishing generously provided me with 20 copies to give away to Just A Thought readers which has now happened. Winners were contacted via email.
Please feel free to leave a comment with a question, myth or pre-conception someone has thrown at you when you share the faith or share a question about the Christian faith you’ve always wondered about.
104 comments:
OK, here's a favorite of Europeans:
"The Bible we have today is not accurate because many people changed the original texts along the way, especially the Catholics, so it would say what they wanted us to read, not the originals. So it is not really the inspired word of God."
Garth, in Prague
"God has a wonderful plan for your life" inferring that God has it all figured out down to the color socks you should wear and so once you become a Christian life will be a bed of roses as we walk in the will of God.
@Mark - I have heard that one more than I care to remember!
Jesus is just a copy of older pagan religions like Mithra, Horus, Heracles and Krishna.
Jesus never claimed to be God or the Son of God; he was simply a Judean peasant who got reinvented by Paul and voted to be Divine by the council of Nicaea.
(These are popular in the Dan Brown age of scholarship!)
JMS
gsdisciple.blogspot.com
I'm just here for the book giveaway :)
Jonathan T.
I don't believe in the Bible because it is not the only truth. It is one version of the truth. We must allow for everyone to have a truth relative to their life and experiences. We must accept all paths of truth. (If this is true then they must accept the Bible which would cast in doubt on their theory causing it collapse like a house of cards.)
Actually a question was asked me today by my best friend. He wondered how his son could go down such a wrong road when he was raised with Christian values and attended Christian schools. This father was beating himself up for the wrong choices his son has made and continues to make. I suspect this story is multiplied in dozens if not hundreds of 'Faith Families' around the world. My only lame comfort to him was something I had heard Dr. James Dobson say years ago while we were despairing for our daughters' journey. Dobson said that "God (the perfect Father) created 2 perfect kids (Adam and Eve) and placed them in a perfect environment (The Garden of Eden) and still they went wrong. You don't read of God blaming Himself or getting down on his parenting skills when The Fall happened. Rather, He proceeded with a plan for redemption that culminated with Jesus Christ paying the price to bring us back to favour with God. So I encouraged our brother to be like our Heavenly Father who sees each sparrow that falls and grieves with us when one of our children is falling into sin.
Stojan Ninkovic - You know my email.
@JMS - I heard that one quite a bit this year when sharing my faith with a group of atheists.
@Eric - Good try...
@Jonathan - If you really want to see people get agitated talk about absolute truth!
Several myths about heaven are perpetuated by Hollywood (not to mention your everyday joke-teller) on a regular basis. Here's a smattering: we'll all have wings, play a harp, give our defense to St. Peter, live in a Bill Gates-style mansion, be continually reclining on a cloud, etc. While some of these can lead to some funny images, they are harmful in that they contribute to the sense of the general public that we Christians are just fooling ourselves.
One myth (or exegetical distortion, I suppose) is that Paul was gay and never actually preached against homosexuality.
@Richard - I hear that every time I try to share with someone who supports or practices homosexuality!
One myth from an Eastern European I met: "Christianity is only believed in here by those who are just about to die"
I suppose this is partly true but he was referring to those who are terminally ill or quite elderly.
I would love to get a copy of this book. My favorite argument goes something like this: God is inconsistent, In the Old Testament he is angry and self righteous, and unjust, killing people, jealous, and then in the N.T God is loving and kind. Two totally different Gods. How can we follow such a bipolar diety? Easy enough to answer,but that is just one of many comments I have gotten.
After I got saved and witnessed to some of my friends one of them said they would all be partying in hell and I would miss one great party. Some of these guys I grew up with and we used to drink and party together. Some of them have gotten saved and serve regulary in their church. Praise the Lord!
The belief that something/anything/everything is/was "God's will." This is especially tossed around at funerals of young children as if this (false) sentiment is supposed to comfort the grieving.
Probably the question I am asked most often relates to theodicy, i.e. "How can you have a good God in a bad world."
Great Comments everyone....keep them coming!
I often get the whole - "you have to take the Bible 100% literal or 100% metaphorical" where some people don't understand that such a massive book has so many different genres! We don't take the parables as literal historical events for a darn good reason!
However, I have been caught off guard with theodicy questions. Oh, if there was a one sentence answer to that which covered all bases without appearing to grasp at straws!
@Ari - The thing I notice as well is if you are taking the time to formulate an answer instead of answering off the cuff, people think you are panicking or not confident in your belief!
I find that the Trinity is often a stumbling block even for believers, and sometimes hear something along the lines, "God cannot both be three and one."
The question my non-Christian brother always asks me is how people would actually believe that they have to live their life according to a book(the bible) that was written ages ago, and may or may not be true.
Ah, the age of instant everything.
@Ari - Agreed. We want instant answers and instant proof.
It's already been mentioned, but my question would have to do with the problem of evil -- If God is so good, why is there such evil in the world? Does evil exist because God is either not loving enough or powerful enough to do anything about it? (I'm talking about this on Sunday... How quick can you bring those 20 copies this way?) ;) Stanley
I think one of the more common things I've experienced is the "That's fine if you want to believe that, but I don't understand why you think everyone needs to believe it too" - a rejection/dismissal of the universal claims of any belief, I suppose.
Thanks for the offer!
@ Garth, that question gets worse when you have people claiming to be able to pinpoint the 'corruption' of the text. I was reading a really bad book that I recently reviewed which seriously claimed the gospels were written at the end of the second century, and later changed by (1) Constantine, (2) Eusebius (who invented the term "Jesus Christ) and then (3) a 6th century Emperor. The author was oblivious to the fact that we have manuscripts from between these periods!
Some people make easy money turning out this rubbish!
One person actually told me: "If God had a message to me he would speak to me directly."
Never mind that He has testified through creation, His Word, and faithful witnesses.
I was on the bus reading my Bible and a gentlemen asked what I was reading. Stating the obvious was just a conversation starter I'm thinking. So I said I was reading the Bible and asked he he read too? He said no because it is the white man's Bible.
@Jerry - I hear what you are saying. However if someone is "prophesying" something over you that is way out in left field than this could apply!
@Paul - I hear that one a lot as well working with First Nations people in Canada.
One question i got recently in a conversation that turned to the bible by a self proclaimed skeptic was how one should explain the God of the OT with the one we have in NT, and the focus was on war.
Although question about trinity have now arose, i think some potent knowledge about this is needed.
I have a friend I've been trying to witness to for several years
and his deal is skepticism..questioning all things...questioning that God can do His thing
and Christ has done His work if you can't prove it scientifically
eg...can you prove faith scientifically... can you prove God at work quantitatively..etc
can you prove that prayer works and that God heals...etc
does God really help us with hurts and needs
we've had many discussions over it
Rob Miedema - You know me!
There's the upcoming myth that Jesus never even existed.
Actually I want to post a question of my own. I've never understood the purpose of the flood. I don't understand what the point is of destroying all of humanity because of extreme sin, only to have the world repopulated after the flood full of the same type of extremely sinful people. Why God didn't just start his covenant with Noah I don't know.
Teluog
My friend was suffering from a heart disease. His parents were trying to do the best. He has cerebral palsy for 20+ years. Last month his kidney gave up. His parents are in doubt if they should listen to the doctors: to kill him while sleeping, or to leave him suffer in terrible pain. The last time the father said to me: In Genesis God gave authority to man to do whatever they want and think is right. In this case I think this is right: I don't want my son to suffer. My wife and I are pretty much sure that we both want this; we want our son to fall asleep.
He said, "If the God that you are talking about Loves us he gave us the authority to do whatever we want, then why he screw up my son's life?... I just couldn't debate anymore... The doors were shut for me. It pains me to see my friend is dying and I can't help. What will you do in my case?
@G.K. - That is a tough one. First of all, I am sorry for all that you and your friends are going through. I will pray for this situation. Pain and suffering are hard things and it makes many question and doubt God and His love and compassion. G.K if you read this again shoot me a private email at: rsapperson at citywest.ca
This is one I just encountered recently while having conversations with a gentleman. He said "All the churches, pastors, TBN, God Tube and Michael W. Smith are all part of the Illuminati." Of course he also said he saw UFOs...
one of my friends uses the pigskin argument- like we shouldn't play football cause we're not supposed to touch pigskin... [Leviticus 11:6-8] like how stupid is that? the bible rules are silly, therefore all the bible is silly.
I think this is all a coverup for her having chosen a sexually promiscuous lifestyle that would have to submit to the Word of God. She likes her sin so much that any strawman argument will do to keep from facing her own bad behaviour.
Jesus never intended for His followers to start the "Church", He was just showing people how to live and exist together...
Jason Bradshaw
Golden Eagle Tattoo
407 State St
Santa Barbara, CA 93101
@BJ - I find many of the arguments used to "debunk" Christianity are coverup for poor choices and a losing effort to make one feel less guilty in regards to sinful choices.
@JMS, I love those assertations. Those are easily dealt with regards to Jesus "not claiming to be God". Several times Jesus claimed to be God, although sometimes we in miss it in our English context. Two come to mind (there are many more of course).
When Jesus is before the Jewish Sanhedrin, they ask him if he is the Christ, the Messiah, and Jesus admits this, however he adds the following statement Mark 14:60ff
62 "I am," said Jesus. "And you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Mighty One and coming on the clouds of heaven." This is an admission of deity, For the Jewish leaders at the time, they saw this as Jesus claiming to be God (which is the reason for torn robes, and cries of "blasphemy")
The second instance that comes to mind is in the Gospel of John 8. Where Jesus says the following:
58"I tell you the truth," Jesus answered, "before Abraham was born, I am!" 59At this, they picked up stones to stone him, but Jesus hid himself, slipping away from the temple grounds.
Again Jesus affirms his diety (a) he comes from long ago, his days are ancient, (b)He was before Abraham, and he uses God's personal name, I AM. Again the picking up of stones represent blasmphemy, where the priests and teachers of the law, recognized what Jesus was affirming, his diet, his lordship.
Anyway I hope that helps
The myth that God is unloving. One that I hear often and have a hard time trying to answer is when people say, "If God is love why does he let people get hurt, raped, abused etc?"
One of my favorite is "many scientifical evidences are clearly in contradiction with the biblical teachings. Therefore, the Bible is not reliable, and its teachings cannot be trusted."
I should add the funniest I heard while talking to students just out of their philo class:
"Jesus never intended to change water into wine, it's a mistranslation. He meant change water in vain (wine and vain sound the same in french). Christian zealots forced miracles in the Bible to make Jesus more than he was, i.e. a good man".
For me, the hardest questions are about the Bible itself. Like:
How do we satisfactorily resolve the internal difficulties (God asking Abraham to perform human sacrifice, polygamy, NT use of the OT, harmonizing the Gospels, faith vs. works in Paul and James, expectations for the return of Jesus, etc.)?
How do we account for the development of the canon, particularly with respect to the less uniformly recognized books like Hebrews, James, 2 Peter (important especially because of its use to establish the canonicity of Paul's letters), and Revelation?
What do we do with Jude's references to Enoch or Hebrews's apparent use of Jewish tradition regarding Melchizedek?
How should we understand the primeval history (Gen. 1-11), which seems so strange and at odds with modern science?
None of these is necessarily insuperable, but they're not easy either.
@Lyndsay
The way to answer this one is that God is loving, so loving that he gives us free choice. God doesn't want for his people to be "robots" forced to love him, and forced to do what He wants them to do. Instead God allows them to "choose" their direction, to love and honor Him with their actions or to do otherwise.
With this choice (given in love) many actions have taken place that pierce the heart of God. Rape, Abuse, molestation, murder, etc. these actions don't mean God is unloving, it means that man is in general unloving.
The consequence of the fall is that the world is not the way that God intended it to be. Sin affects all, not just the person making the choice. Can God intervene in these situations? Yes, but does He? Not always. There are consequences for sin, and sometimes innocent victims are hurt and debilitated, however this is where God's love shines brightest. God's care and concern does fall on those who cry to Him in their pain and difficulty (see the Psalms) and allows them to walk through the greatest valleys of death. Hopefully that helps.
In my experience, one of the greatest issues is the exclusivity of Christianity, i.e., "You're telling me that you're the only one who is right? Everybody else is wrong?" It is one thing to make a truth claim; it is another thing to make an EXCLUSIVE truth claim.
A favorite argument is something like the pigskin argument mentioned above.
"Well if you want to follow God and obey, then do you wear polyester clothing? Do you go to the bathroom outside and bury it? Do you stone children who disobey?
The myth I get most frustrated by is often that which comes from Christians who say that Christianity is the biggest religion in the world. Then they go on to support it with all of their voluminous statistics. Yet, this doesn't seem to resound with Jesus' words, "Narrow is the gate...narrow is the path..many will seek it, but few find it..."
I think this is the biggest killer for Christianity, as I was talking to a Muslim who thinks that all Americans are Christians (theres another myth), and in conveying Christianity the way some do it just seems to convey a cavalier approach to Christian discipleship and in doing so diminishes the peculiarity that should mark the few who walk on the narrow path.
The myth I get most frustrated by is often that which comes from Christians who say that Christianity is the biggest religion in the world. Then they go on to support it with all of their voluminous statistics. Yet, this doesn't seem to resound with Jesus' words, "Narrow is the gate...narrow is the path..many will seek it, but few find it..."
I think this is the biggest killer for Christianity, as I was talking to a Muslim who thinks that all Americans are Christians (theres another myth), and in conveying Christianity the way some do it just seems to convey a cavalier approach to Christian discipleship and in doing so diminishes the peculiarity that should mark the few who walk on the narrow path.
@Luke - I heard that one just this week....
@Justin - Well I agree. To many people in America have the same mindset as the Muslim you were talking to. I go to church or my Daddy is a preacher so I'm good. I hear I'm a Christian thrown around by people who reflect everything but Christianity!
Paul ceased being a Jew, and became a Christian.
Here's one I hear all the time: "What about all the atrocities committed by Christians?"
"I'm not a Christian, I'm a Catholic."
Thanks everyone for your comments...some of you do not have links back to an email or anything. Msisson for example....no contact info is provided...I need that in order to notify you if you win!
"God helps those who help themselves"
@Scripture Zealot - Ah the famous God helps those statement...not to be confused with Cleanliness is next to Godliness...
This one kills me "If heaven is the way that the church proclaims it to be, then how is it that Satan was able to get so many people to follow him when he left?"
I've come across this recently: "Organized religion always leads to corruption. Just look at history. So many treacherous acts were done in the name of God. Why would God let awful things happen in his name?"
Some of you have blocked google profiles and/or no contact info....email me o I can contact you if you win:
rsapperson@citywest.ca
We have a friend in our career group who read a book that convinced him that Jesus Christ and Julius Caesar are the same person. He realises that no one else seems convinced when he explains it to them but he insists the theory has validity.
What I get from Jehovah's Witnesses and Mormons about "you are gods" ...
"The Jews picked up stones again to stone him.
Jesus answered them, “I have shown you many good works from the Father; for which of them are you going to stone me?”
The Jews answered him, “It is not for a good work that we are going to stone you but for blasphemy, because you, being a man, make yourself God.”
Jesus answered them, “Is it not written in your Law, ‘I said, you are gods’? If he called them gods to whom the word of God came—and Scripture cannot be broken— do you say of him whom the Father consecrated and sent into the world, ‘You are blaspheming,’ because I said, ‘I am the Son of God’? If I am not doing the works of my Father, then do not believe me; but if I do them, even though you do not believe me, believe the works, that you may know and understand that the Father is in me and I am in the Father.”
Again they sought to arrest him, but he escaped from their hands." - John 10.31-39 (ESV)
When I've responded with Ps. 82:6 that it meant that they are "rulers" there, I've been asked, "if Jesus meant He is God in this passage then why is He referring to a passage that means "rulers?""
So is Jesus saying in Jn. 10 that He is God or that He is a ruler?
Tamara Slack
NoneAreGood@gmail.com
One of the strongest misconceptions I hear is that the Bible is so open to interpretation that it's not really much of a guide. That to me is just a justification for disregarding it. Obeying God is challenging, yes, and often Scripture offers principles more than specific guidance in specific situations. But with prayer, study and a reasoned approach, the guidance is often clear. Not easy, but clear.
Frequently I hear folk demonstrate great doubt in light of God's command for utter destruction of enemies in the OT.
My favorite (least favorite??) myth is the attempt to convince someone that a tragedy in his or her life is the will of God--that God is trying to teach them something that could only be learned by losing a child or contracting cancer.
I was talking with a friend about the bible recently, and he commented to me that, "Didn't Jesus tell Judas to betray him so that he would be crucified?" Obviously, these types questions have been popping up a lot more since the discovery of the "gospel of Judas" came to light, but it's nice to be able to give an answer for that, as well as the underlying assumptions that go into questions such as those.
You might be interested in this blog - the writer describes his attempts at street witnessing. Lots of interesting encounters directed by the Holy Spirit.
http://rjperalta.wordpress.com/
Count me in on Fred's book. Can't be too prepared for the arguments against the faith that come our way!
I hate the comment often heard when someone dies unexpectedly, "It was just his/her time." A lady told me once that I couldn't really protect my children or even teach them to be safe because when it was "their time" they would die. I asked her if she believed that then when it was a pilot's time to die did God put all the people whose "time" had come on the plane with him. Incredibly she said, "Yes". Then I said, "Well, so if the FAA determines the crash was due to pilot error, then no one can sue the airline because it was just 'their' time, right?" She said, "Oh, I didn't say that."
Professor: "You're basing your argument on the Bible, but the problem with the Bible is that it's based on translation on top of translation on top of translation... We don't really have a clue what it originally said"
Me: "Actually, all the translations today are translated directly from the Greek and Hebrew"
Professor: "Oh"
From one of the students in my group at church -
God doesn't care about my questions.
"The only thing that counts is to love other people."
I was speaking to the parents of our daughter's friend when I heard this one. I expressed my concern about them letting our daughters go on long walks in a more or less secluded area because of the scary possibility of abduction or molestation. The reply: "God doesn't allow that to happen to his children."
@Becky - People who tel a hurting person such nonsense should shut up instead of offering opinions that besmirch the name and character of God. Saying God is giving you a disease to help you grow is moronic.
@tjw1970 - I believe God loves questions...especially ones that drive us to Him!
1. Baptism is needed to get into heaven
2. communion is an event that takes place among people who live in a commune or similar type of setting (honest, that's what I thought in university before I accepted Christ)
3. Old Testament does not need to be read because Jesus is the New Covenant(pretty amazing to see where I am now based on all of my previous myths)
4. animals can't talk(Baalam's donkey- luv it)
5. Jesus was murdered, he didn't know it was going to happen
interesting - He went to offer himself as a sacrifice, the sacrifice
From Andrew Hillaby...I will email you my address!
Practical Myth: Our sins don't hurt anyone but ourselves.
Historical Myth: that the Crusades were about religion.
Humorous Myth: the Holy Roman Empire...."neither holy, nor Roman, nor an empire."
tbowditch@mbbc.edu
Mine is very simple - all religions are the same and Christians shouldn't be proclaiming truth over other 'religions'. I've had this problem at the school where I teach scripture in country Australia.
I am reading a book by a Jewish scholar whose other books I have read and whom I have had great respect. In this 2009 book he states, among other thing, that Paul was the son on converted Gentiles, that he had no true or deep foundation in either Palestinian cult Judaism, the nascent Rabbinic Judaism, or the Disapora synagogue Judaism; that he could not have studied with Rabban Gamaliel; that he knew no Hebrew, but indeed had a pathological hatred of the language. Need I go on? (I'll tell you the name of this book privately,)
People will say "That's just your interpretation", meaning that if someone else disagrees then you are the one who is always wrong.
"Christianity was invented by the apostle Paul."
I do not believe this statement to be true but it has been suggested by someone who is an orthodox Jew.
crt010304@gmail.com
Chris Terry
How bout the myth that the world is really 240,000 years old because science has proven this to be true. I probably deal with more Christians on this point than anyone else - it seems that the church has a problem with an "All powerful God" who created the heavens and the earth in a literal six days...
On the above I left some zero's out...should read 240,000,000.
In the cultural mix of "evangelism," why is it that much of Christianity has been about SHARING the Good News rather than BEING the Good News?
It seems, as we look at many of the statements of Jesus, the idea of "being" and "existence" (salt, light, witnesses) are not verbs or activities, but nouns and identities.
www.vialogue.wordpress.com
I want to thank all of you for posting your comments. I couldn’t possibly address them all in a response, but it is worth noting that most of them are addressed in the book. There are many objections raised against Christianity. Unfortunately, many of them based on urban legends passed on by word of mouth, rather than actual fact: the Bible’s been translated too many times to know what it originally said; Paul invented Christianity; Jesus was just a nice man from the hills and his followers went WAY overboard, etc. Some of them are a confusion of categories, like saying there's no scientific proof for the resurrection or that Jesus even ever existed. That's true, but what has been gained? There's no “scientific” proof that the Founding Fathers signed the Declaration of Independence or that Napoleon met his Waterloo at, well, Waterloo. These are “historical” questions, settled by examining historical evidence. Ancient writers and historians verify the broad outlines of the story of Jesus (his baptism by John, the gathering of disciples, the claims of miracles, his execution under Pilate, the disciples’ claim that he didn't stay dead). The New Testament is one such piece of evidence. When we clear away all the undergrowth, putting aside for the moment all the issues of theology and doctrine, we are left with a collection first-century documents about what a group of Jews (and maybe one Gentile) said about a carpenter from Nazareth. They really believed it, and most died horribly at the hands of Rome for their refusal to change their minds. Forget all the theories of writing this for personal power and wealth. The Church had none of the above. All she had was an unshakeable trust in Jesus as God's Son, the Messiah, brutally executed by Rome at the insistence of the Jewish leadership, risen from the dead. They saw him die; they ate with him three days later. This is bound to make an impression.
I hope those of you who know Jesus will be encouraged that there are indeed answers to objections. May your walk be strengthened. I also hope (and pray) that the seekers among you will ponder the evidence and give the Scriptures a fair hearing. God isn’t freaked out by your doubts, and, contrary to the bad rap given by Hollywood and our culture, he is incredibly loving and approachable.
God bless,
Fred von Kamecke
Here is a myth I hear from people. The gifts of the Holy Spirit ended. Actually the demonstrative gifts of the Holy Spirit ended but the others are still working.
I still think one of the biggest challenges, frequently recurring, is from people who believe they already Christ-followers because of stuff they do.
They aren't pretending; they do in fact do good things. And on that basis, they consider themselves "in."
Myth--Jesus was simply borrowing his teaching from others--particularly Zorasthra.
Bill Coe
billcoe1@cox.net
By far the most common myth I encounter among family and friends and conversationalists - even among "committed Christians" - is that we must earn our ticket to heaven. My dad talked about this when I was a teen, saying it was like many people believe they are born with an empty cup in which God puts a teaspoon of honey every time they do something good, and from which he takes honey when they do something bad. So they just cross their fingers and hope their cup is sufficiently full of honey when they die to open the pearly gates. God's Word busts this myth, revealing the price Jesus paid on the cross for ALL our sins. We simply cannot be good enough to earn our way to heaven, nor bad enough to have that free gift of grace taken from us. Alleluia!!
+ Cathy
CathyKnoll@gmail.com
The myth I hear a lot is that Christians used the crusades to conquer the middle east to gain more "colonial" ground and that Islam was not the instigator.
williamdicks at gmail dot com.
@Pastor Matt,
Thanks for your answer to my comment. I have tried to use part of that answer before. I think some people are just very hurt and hardened which makes them closed off to hearing it.
I met a girl recently who talked about her dad and how he was abusive to her and her mom. She has been through a lot of other stuff as well. It was only when she accepted the forgiveness and love of Jesus Christ that she was able to forgive her dad.
I think this testimony might also help in the future when I am asked the question of "If God is loving why does he let people get abuse, raped, etc." If this young girl ( I think she is 15 or 16) was able to be set free from the injustice caused by her earthly father hopefully it will show men and women who have not gone through that that God does love us so much and gives those that have been hurt the grace to love and forgive their enemies and mal- doers as well.
lind_sayj@hotmail.com
I was told that the Bible is not true.
Oops! Sorry, I didn't mean to post that three times. I thought it wasn't working so I kept clicking PUBLISH. :S :)
@ Lindsay - I'll fix it!
One objection I come against is 'Christianity and science contradict each other. Science is proving the Bible to be false.'
Ian
ian_mcdonough@hotmail.com
The classic question is, "If God is so loving and gracious then why does he send people to Hell"? Along the same line, "Why did God command Israel to destroy every man, woman, and child when entering the Promised Land"?
Faith in Jesus first come from the heart, then when your heart is full of love to Jesus, your mind eaisily accept that faith and love.
Dubravka
Thanks to everyone for participating! Winners will be contacted Wed morning!
We found Jesus tomb!
@Chris Terry If you are interested, N.T. Wright in his relatively short (and well priced) book, What Saint Paul Really Said deals with the claim that Paul was the true founder of Christianity.
Inevitably, when I have conversations with individuals about the uniqueness of Jesus and the Christian claim of redemption ONLY is Christ I am confronted by an incredulity followed quickly by accusations of exclusivity and Christian arrogance.
How does one successfully define and defend the unique of Jesus and thus of salvation exclusively by his atoning sacrifice?
when witnessing I ofter hear attacks on the Bible, especially that "it is just another book written by men"
I've heard that one as well!
I was selected as a winner, and I have recieved my book. Thank you very much.
[Please let Zondervan know that for promos like this it would be better to send single book packs via mail rather than courier.]
Glad you got it.
I was also chosen as a winner. I wanted to say thank you and may the Lord bless you.
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