Blogs with a Christian related content
It’s bad enough that our Government doesn’t protect us from the ‘invasion’ of Islam, but would rather support it in the name of diversity ( = votes), we now have Islam emboldened by the Church of England to encroach on our church life, in the name of interfaith relationships and diversity.
Why does nobody understand that when Islam take over, and given time they will, diversity as you understand it will no longer exist.
Those that are alive will blame us.
I’m sure I have recently read that there are ‘true Christians’ who consider themselves immune from Covid-19. So I did a search and came up with this site, although I didn’t find any personal claims:
Charismatic Prophet (Another One) Claims Christians Are Immune to Coronavirus
I haven’t bothered researching this in any way, but it doesn’t surprise me that some Christians would hold this immunity view, whether it be with some scriptural support or through faith alone.
If you are one of these individuals, then I would urge you not to deliberately put yourself in harms way. For example, in a crowded situation where social distancing is not possible and face protection is not worn. To do so would amount to tempting God.
Consider Jesus’ example when being tempted by Satan as recorded in Matthew 4:5-6:
“Then the devil taketh him up into the holy city, and setteth him on a pinnacle of the temple,
And saith unto him, If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down: for it is written, He shall give his angels charge concerning thee: and in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone.”
The temptation here was to go against God’s word to prove a point. But Jesus’ response was “… It is written again, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God.”, quoting Deuteronomy 6:16.
If Jesus wouldn’t do it, then I suggest you shouldn’t.
You may have heard people say we are all created by God, or, someone who has a problem he or she can’t overcome say: God made me this way; He should accept the way I am.
A verse often used to support this is Jeremiah 1:5 –
“Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee.”
Here are three reasons why I have trouble accepting we are all individually created.
1. The flippant reason
I have a complaint. If God created me, why am I not perfect?
2. The emotional reason
Try telling the parents of a seriously handicapped child with a very short life expectancy that God created that child for them.
3. The factual reason
Genesis 5:3 says we aren’t –
“And Adam lived an hundred and thirty years, and begat a son in his own likeness, after his image; and called his name Seth:”
There is only one way to interpret this verse: God did not create Seth; he was the product of his parents, Adam and Eve. This is exactly how we understand the law of biogenesis today. This is an emphatic, unambiguous statement with no possibility of interpreting it any other way.
As there cannot be a contradiction in what God says, when we come across scripture that appears to disagree with Gen 5:3 we have to try and understand what it really means, or put it in that file named “I don’t know the answer yet”.
So, what about Jeremiah 1:5.
In this case, I believe it’s quite simple. God is speaking to Jeremiah, not us, and is telling Jeremiah He created him and raised him to be a prophet. The remainder of verse three supports that: “and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations.”
Psalm 139:13,14 is another commonly quoted scripture:
“For thou hast possessed my reins: thou hast covered me in my mother’s womb. I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvellous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well.”
It seems to me that the psalmist is simply praising God for the wonder of His design of procreation that creates a new life.
However, Psalm 119:73 is more problematic as the psalmist specifically said that God made him.
“Your hands have made me and formed me; give me understanding so that I may learn Your Commandments.”
Consequently, I’m having to put 119:73 in that file: “I don’t know the answer yet”.
Is anyone able to reconcile Genesis 5:3 with Psalm 119:73 ?
This question has been prompted by recent articles referring to the misuse of Jeremiah 29:11, now, apparently, a favourite verse.
In two articles I’ve read, the quote is from the NIV:
“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.”
However, the KJV says:
For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.
Other more literal translations are similar.
Dr Irene Lancaster, in her short article at christiantoday.com, says: ” … there is no word for ‘plan’ in the Hebrew Bible. The Hebrew word used means ‘thoughts’ – no more and no less. ‘Prosper’ is also a flight of fancy.”
@RevMarkWoods, also writing for christiannews.com, says:
“[Jeremiah 29:11 has] been described as one of the most misused verses in the Bible. Originally a promise to Israel of restoration after years in exile in Babylon, it’s now used as a feel-good affirmation that ‘God has a plan for our lives’ and that everything works out for the best in the best of all possible worlds. This is a long way from Jeremiah’s intention – and a long way from real biblical exegesis, which doesn’t support the idea that God has our futures mapped out for us.
“At its worst, Jeremiah’s verse helps people avoid responsibility for their own choices. It’s a comfort blanket, enabling people to feel that whatever they do – how hard they work, whether they study, whether they work at a marriage or a relationship or a church – doesn’t really matter, because it’s all part of God’s plan.
“And that’s not really how it works. The Bible is clear that the world is a place of moral effort, of responsibility. We aren’t to tempt God by leaving everything to him: he’s given us choices. Yes, we can rely on his guidance and his care for us, but he still expects us to choose well.”
The misuse comes from lifting a more liberal translation of the verse out of context; common, I would suggest, for prosperity and feel-good preachers.
So, does that make the NIV a bad translation? I wouldn’t rubbish the NIV; I used it extensively when involved in a local Bible study group. However, it does show the need for having more than one Bible version available (which I did), with at least one of them being a more literal translation.
This question is asked every year.
I have just read a post on Twitter concerning this question and thought it worthwhile repeating here. The referenced article can be read here:
The linked file is a PDF version of ‘Islam 101’ that can be found in a few places as internet pages. The title page describes it’s purpose:
“Islam 101 is meant to help people become better educated about the fundamentals of Islam and to help the more knowledgeable better convey the facts to others.”
It is, in my view, essential reading to understand what is behind the threat of Islam that faces the West.
‘Islam 101’ can be read here:
Please read and share.
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The church should be teaching what the Bible says, not what cultural trends want to hear.
God is referred to as ‘Father’ because that’s how He wants us to view Him. It is not for us to ignore God and change that.
I would suggest that supporters of having more female bishops will not be helped by this unbiblical view.
I saw this verse from the Quran in a Facebook post this morning …
Quran 4:74 “Let those (believers) who sell the life of this world for the Hereafter fight in the Cause of Allah, and whoso fights in the Cause of Allah, and is killed or gets victory, We shall bestow on him a great reward.”
It reminded me of this verse from the Bible …
Mat 5:44 “But I say to you, Love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who despitefully use you and persecute you”
I recently commented on a Facebook post concerning evolution of the eye, which encouraged me to share the following with you.
This link is a clip from Revelation TV of Howard Conder interviewing Richard Dawkins about the eye. The eye is a favourite challenge to evolutionists by Christians who say it is too complex to have evolved. The producer of this video, as he explains, mixes a much earlier explanation by Dawkins with the more recent Revelation TV clip.
In brief, Dawkins says a primitive animal randomly acquired a light-sensitive cell enabling it to distinguish between light and dark. This improved in time, allowing the animal to sense direction of light and then, gradually, begin to recognise shapes, and so on.
This explanation falls at the first hurdle.
If the animal randomly acquired a light-sensitive cell, it would have had no means of processing that information and the cell would have therefore been of absolutely no advantage. There would have been no connection between this new, randomly formed cell and anything – a brain? – that would enable that processing. How would the light-sensitive cell have known it needed a brain to process its information; how would a brain have known it needed to go looking for a light-sensitive cell?
To believe that a connection could have evolved and somehow found its way, either from the cell to the processor or in the other direction, is pure fantasy.
It is still considered by many that the three major monotheistic religions, Judaism, Christianity and Islam, share the same belief in the one God: Jehovah God, or, Allah. The increasing activity of terrorists over more recent years – mainly Muslims with their war cry of ‘Allahu Akbar’ – has led many to question the truth of a common god.
There are numerous biblical texts that affirm Jehovah God was the creator of all things: Genesis 1:1-25; Nehemiah 9:6; Ephesians 3:9; Colossian 1:16; Revelation 4:11 etc.
The Quran also has a number of texts that affirm Allah was the creator of all things: Surah 6:1, 102; 13:6; 35:1-3; 39:46 etc.
Since there can only be one creator of everything, the logical conclusion is that Jehovah God and Allah is one and the same; the God of the Jews, Christians and Muslims.
However …..
The Bible tells us that Jesus is God’s son, was crucified, and resurrected on the third day. This is central to Christianity. Without a resurrected Christ, there is no Christianity: In 1Corinthians 15:14 Paul says “And if Christ be not risen, then is our preaching vain, and your faith is also vain”. (‘vain’ in the Bible means empty; worthless; having no substance, value or importance).
Contrary to the Bible, the Quran tells us that Jesus did not die on the cross [4:157], that He is not the Son of God [9:30], but simply a prophet [4:171].
So, who is God lying to, Jews and Christians or Muslims?
Both Judeo Christian and Muslim believers will tell you their ‘god’ cannot lie.
For Jews and Christians this is stated in the Bible in a number of verses: Numbers 23:19; 1 Samuel 15:29; Malachi 3:6; Hebrews 6:18 etc.
However, there are no such verses in the Quran; that Allah cannot lie is simply a belief. Understandably, to Muslims, this would be perfectly natural and there is no need for the Quran to make supporting statements.
What is the point of believing in a god that can lie!
Back to the question: “who is god lying to?” If God cannot lie, then one of these religions must be false.
Am I wrong?