I have a great new baking community
Sunday, November 26, 2023
Sunday, September 10, 2023
New Jerusalem
I just finished a study of the book of Revelation. I’ve always been confused by the size of the New Jerusalem as described in Revelation 21. I get that it is huge. I can understand how wide and long it is, but when it says it is also says it is 1400 miles high (see verse 16), I think it is impossible! Maybe it is figurative, like most of the symbols in this book. But now I have a different thought. This is my own thinking, not someone else’s idea:
The New Jerusalem arrives on the scene AFTER Satan and all of God’s enemies are destroyed by a huge fire. In fact, heaven and earth are also destroyed in the fire. Then God creates a new heaven and a new earth.
I always imagined this taking place on this earth. A huge New Jerusalem could fit on a new earth that has different dimensions than this earth. We aren’t told the size of the new earth. We don’t know much about it at all. It has no sun or moon. It may not be constrained by the things that we have now. Gravity? Does it even spin? There is no day/night cycle. I’m seeing whole new possibilities that have never crossed my mind before.
Sunday, July 25, 2021
Questions
I have a daily Bible reading plan. Every year I read a different translation or version of the Bible to get a different perspective on what I’m learning. I try to answer all the questions when I read a passage.
Who? Who is the passage talking to or about?
What? What is the message the passage is trying to convey to the original audience ? What does it mean for my life today?
When? When was this written and what was going on at that time? Am I going through something similar? Can this apply to our current time/environment?
Where? Where did this take place? Is it relevant to my city, family, or church?
Why? Why was this message important? What can I learn from it?
How? How do I apply this to my life?
I also ask, “how do I know this is true?” None of this even matters if God is not real or if the Bible is not truly his inspired word. I know so many people who claim to believe in God, but they think the Bible is just a man-made book of basically nothing more than fables. “If so,” I ask them, “how do you know what is true about God?” I usually get comments about how God speaks to them. Well, even my schizophrenic patients seem to think”God” speaks to them.
We need a reliable, unchanging source of truth by which to measure all other “truths” or we could just believe anything we want.
I praise God that he has not left us floundering in the dark. We do have his trusted Word, The Bible, and there is so much evidence that it is true! (Please read my other posts for some of this evidence)
Thursday, March 11, 2021
Saturday, October 3, 2020
Saturday, June 13, 2020
More apologetics resources
If you have enjoyed these lessons, please see some of the following sites for more in-depth study:
Morality: Is there a difference Between right and wrong?
How do you decide if something is right or wrong?
Are there moral absolutes? As a Christian, I believe there are.
Can you think of some things that are always right or wrong? For one, everyone believes murder is wrong. Even in the prolife/pro choice de bate, everyone agrees that it is wrong to kill babies. The argument is over the definition of when the fetus becomes a baby. What about lying or stealing? Everyone believes it is wrong when it is done to them!
Do culture or upbringing have an impact on morality? Do they completely explain it?
If there are moral absolutes, where do they come from?
What do you say to the person that says:
“I don’t need anyone to tell me what to do. I’ll decide for myself what is right and wrong?” If we all decide for ourselves, without any independent standard that we collectively agree on, we have anarchy.
Here we have two opposing world views:
Christianity says God created me. I have value. God says what is right and wrong according to his standard written down for us in the Bible.
Evolution says everything was a result of random chance and mutation. We have no value beyond existing. No law but survival of the fittest.
Who is better, Mother Theresa or Osama Bin Laden?
“The moment you say that one set of moral ideas can be better than another, you are, in fact, measuring them both by a standard, saying that one of them conforms to that standard more nearly than the other.” C.S. Lewis, (1969), “The Case for Christianity”
So what standard is used?
Secular Humanism, based on Darwinism, Says our purpose is only to enjoy life, to reach our own potential, and do what is best for our own game. This Idea is popular right now.
“Survival of the fittest” is a way to explain away selfish ambition and avoid accountability for stepping on others on your way to the top. Whoever dies with the most toys wins!
What do you say to the person that says:
“I believe in God, but not religion. Religion is responsible for all the wars and suffering in the world.”
I have heard that line dozens of times. It simply isn’t true. In its extreme, Darwinism has encouraged people like Hitler, Mao Tse Tung, and other terrorists to push their own brand of racism and extremism, killing millions in the process. Tens of millions have been tortured and killed by atheistic or communist regimes, just in the last century:
Communist China: 77 million
The Nazis: 21 million (non battle-related)
Communist Soviet Union: 62 million
The Khmer Rouge killing fields in Cambodia: 2 million
Religious wars have happened, but killing people and suppressing human rights is not basically a religious practice. It is fallen, corrupted humanity acting out selfishness and greed.
What about racism?
The Bible, the Old Testament says we are all related. First from Adam and Eve, then Noah. We were separated at the Tower of Babel. In the New Testament, all believers are children of Abraham and joint heirs with Christ.
Racism is not consistent with Christianity, and Christians should not tolerate it.
https://gleanernow.com/news/2020/06/call-for-change?utm_source=Northwest+Adventists&utm_campaign=f15669b433-NWAdventists_20200604&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_8f9cae1547-f15669b433-68373894&mc_cid=f15669b433&mc_eid=dcbcd0d0eb
On the other hand, Darwin clearly believed, wrote about, and taught that some races were inferior to others, because of genetic evolution.
Darwin’s most famous book is actually titled, “On the Origin of Species or the Preservation of Favoured Races in the Struggle for Life”
This foundational racist belief system was endorsed by Hitler and others who used this teaching to practice genocide. It was used to support euthanasia, to decrease the burden of an ill person on society. In 1940’s Germany, 200,000 mentally ill and disabled people were involuntary euthanized, citing Darwinism and survival of the fittest to justify murder!
What about some other special human attributes? Humans can think, plan, feel, and imagine! We are self aware. Accidents of nature, being simple containers of chemical reactions, would not be self aware.
How could evolution explain hopes, dreams, creativity, the ability to appreciate art and music, the ability to love?
What about our ability to to work together and build a society?
Societies based on Judeo-Christian values are more prosperous than other societies and are more supportive of human rights and offer higher quality of life to all citizens, not just those who agree with those in charge. American founding fathers knew that freedom is best afforded by putting God in the center of our decision making. This is from the Jefferson Memorial in Washington DC:
.
Finally, suicide is the leading cause of death for young people in most parts of the world, and the rate is increasing.
If you believe you are a random occurrence held up by survival of the fittest, what purpose do you find?
If you see yourself as a son or daughter of the King of the Universe, created by the God that loves you enough to die for you, can you help stop this trend?
“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future” Jeremiah 29:11
Are there moral absolutes? As a Christian, I believe there are.
Can you think of some things that are always right or wrong? For one, everyone believes murder is wrong. Even in the prolife/pro choice de bate, everyone agrees that it is wrong to kill babies. The argument is over the definition of when the fetus becomes a baby. What about lying or stealing? Everyone believes it is wrong when it is done to them!
Do culture or upbringing have an impact on morality? Do they completely explain it?
If there are moral absolutes, where do they come from?
What do you say to the person that says:
“I don’t need anyone to tell me what to do. I’ll decide for myself what is right and wrong?” If we all decide for ourselves, without any independent standard that we collectively agree on, we have anarchy.
Here we have two opposing world views:
Christianity says God created me. I have value. God says what is right and wrong according to his standard written down for us in the Bible.
Evolution says everything was a result of random chance and mutation. We have no value beyond existing. No law but survival of the fittest.
Who is better, Mother Theresa or Osama Bin Laden?
“The moment you say that one set of moral ideas can be better than another, you are, in fact, measuring them both by a standard, saying that one of them conforms to that standard more nearly than the other.” C.S. Lewis, (1969), “The Case for Christianity”
So what standard is used?
Secular Humanism, based on Darwinism, Says our purpose is only to enjoy life, to reach our own potential, and do what is best for our own game. This Idea is popular right now.
“Survival of the fittest” is a way to explain away selfish ambition and avoid accountability for stepping on others on your way to the top. Whoever dies with the most toys wins!
What do you say to the person that says:
“I believe in God, but not religion. Religion is responsible for all the wars and suffering in the world.”
I have heard that line dozens of times. It simply isn’t true. In its extreme, Darwinism has encouraged people like Hitler, Mao Tse Tung, and other terrorists to push their own brand of racism and extremism, killing millions in the process. Tens of millions have been tortured and killed by atheistic or communist regimes, just in the last century:
Communist China: 77 million
The Nazis: 21 million (non battle-related)
Communist Soviet Union: 62 million
The Khmer Rouge killing fields in Cambodia: 2 million
Religious wars have happened, but killing people and suppressing human rights is not basically a religious practice. It is fallen, corrupted humanity acting out selfishness and greed.
The Bible, the Old Testament says we are all related. First from Adam and Eve, then Noah. We were separated at the Tower of Babel. In the New Testament, all believers are children of Abraham and joint heirs with Christ.
Racism is not consistent with Christianity, and Christians should not tolerate it.
https://gleanernow.com/news/2020/06/call-for-change?utm_source=Northwest+Adventists&utm_campaign=f15669b433-NWAdventists_20200604&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_8f9cae1547-f15669b433-68373894&mc_cid=f15669b433&mc_eid=dcbcd0d0eb
On the other hand, Darwin clearly believed, wrote about, and taught that some races were inferior to others, because of genetic evolution.
Darwin’s most famous book is actually titled, “On the Origin of Species or the Preservation of Favoured Races in the Struggle for Life”
This foundational racist belief system was endorsed by Hitler and others who used this teaching to practice genocide. It was used to support euthanasia, to decrease the burden of an ill person on society. In 1940’s Germany, 200,000 mentally ill and disabled people were involuntary euthanized, citing Darwinism and survival of the fittest to justify murder!
What about some other special human attributes? Humans can think, plan, feel, and imagine! We are self aware. Accidents of nature, being simple containers of chemical reactions, would not be self aware.
How could evolution explain hopes, dreams, creativity, the ability to appreciate art and music, the ability to love?
What about our ability to to work together and build a society?
Societies based on Judeo-Christian values are more prosperous than other societies and are more supportive of human rights and offer higher quality of life to all citizens, not just those who agree with those in charge. American founding fathers knew that freedom is best afforded by putting God in the center of our decision making. This is from the Jefferson Memorial in Washington DC:
Finally, suicide is the leading cause of death for young people in most parts of the world, and the rate is increasing.
If you believe you are a random occurrence held up by survival of the fittest, what purpose do you find?
If you see yourself as a son or daughter of the King of the Universe, created by the God that loves you enough to die for you, can you help stop this trend?
“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future” Jeremiah 29:11
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