Some like to say that there is no absolute truth. It's a fun mental exercise, but nobody - absolutely nobody - lives that way. How can I be sure? Try a little experiment...
This quote from noted theologian C.S. Lewis highlights a major problem for modern atheists: they borrow heavily from a worldview they reject. When thinking about the process of thinking, atheists assume that their brains can be relied upon to give good answers.
One of the hottest topics at GodWords is whether one needs to be baptized to become a Christian. This post is actually a comment...I replied to a commenter, and thought it would be useful to post it here as well.
To be a disciple of Jesus Christ is not only to embrace the One who is Truth, but to love - infinitely, as He loves - those who despise the Truth as well.
This is a topic that generates a LOT of heat. With strong opinions on all sides, my goal is to avoid replying with the traditions of men (and women), and to stick to Scripture. I'm proud of GodWords readers, because - when you disagree - you generally disagree with class.
Anonymous GodWords Reader asked: "Does the Bible refer to Peter's wife being martyred?"
Anonymous GodWords Reader asked: "Why couldn't [God] have created mankind with free will that also chose to love him and were righteous from the get-go?" An interesting question, to be sure. The answer is in the question itself: free will.
One simple reason is that we tend to think that God loves us for what we do. If God loves us because we're nice, it becomes easy to look down on mean people. If God loves us because we're generous, we have no trouble being critical of stingy people.
Is the Bible basically about you and me, and what we must do to have a right relationship with God? In Luke and Acts we see that Jesus, after His resurrection, spent even more time with His disciples. What was He doing? What did He say to them? The answer will change the way you see the Scriptures.
In response to a picture of Jesus I once posted, a GodWords reader said: "Brother, you said to contact you if we had any concerns. I really don't like the image at all based on the Second Commandment. I think the heart of the image is right, but I think it is important we worship God as He has told us to."
That's a complex question. Islam, Judaism, and Christianity come from the faith of Abraham. They're not the same, as much has been added to Abraham's faith for all three. From a historical point of view, Islam and Christianity and Judaism worship the same God. How they understand God, and how they live that faith, is a very different story.
Lent is about prayer, penance, repentance, almsgiving, and self-denial. Certainly those are good things. The question is whether it's appropriate for Christians to set aside 40 days of the year to do these things in preparation for Easter.
