Rejoice on this day!

[Oleg Bach]

Resurrection is the very foundation of all Christianity.

It is the proof, the power and the promise.

Thanks be to God.

No it's not...nor is virgin birth which is impossible unless you are an ancient Roman pagan that needs bizarre miracles in order to believe...It is what Christ said and taught that are devine and helpful..the promise of resurrectioin might just be a bribe created by mankind. It is not likely that God would go out of his way and say ----if you do this I will give you that.Christ was a brilliant man - and his divine nature could only have come from above..that I agree with...but all the smoke and mirror miracle stuff to entice humans to believe seems like a cheap shot and I do not believe for a minute that the All Mighty has to resort to such antics.

PROOF ................what proof do we need? Just have a look at the miracle we live in - and bide in the instruction that our Jesus the King provided to attain a heavely existance on earth....ON earth as it is in heaven....yet we ignore where we are...and look forward to another dimensional existance else where and later...This is the great lie perpetrated by orgainized religion - that we can not attain what is wonderful while alive....Like I said before - this twisting of Christian doctrine creates slavery and wealth for a few jerks.

[Oleg Bach]

Every breath you take is a prayer. One must be logical and pragmatic about the idea of God. The reason so many people detest the idea of God is because so many liars over the centuries created useless and meaningless myths. Most of these people insisted that God talked to them and instructed them - firstly _ God is not human and does not need a voice to communicate - secondly IF you hear voices you had better see a doctor. Last but not least - faith should provide fearlessness - with fear gone you can not be manipulated by those who seek to impose their will on you.

As for faith - I named my first born Faith...when she was young she developed a brain tumor - in operable on her brain stem...a great doctor did his best at sick kids to keep her alive - she is a great adult and contributes to the betterment of society....BUT - I really did not know what Faith was...during her first surgery --- I went to a private area and appealed to God..."If you take her from me - I will except that with grace...if you leave her here with me I will also except that with grace" _ That was the moment of surrender - of trust - of faith...then I understood what the name meant. This young woman goes though live not knowing if she will be dead in the morning _ yet she plods along - and not once did I see her shed a tear for herself....she is a blessing to the world. She is fearless! She is FAITH.

[betsy]

--- I went to a private area and appealed to God..."If you take her from me - I will except that with grace...if you leave her here with me I will also except that with grace" _ That was the moment of surrender - of trust - of faith...then I understood what the name meant.

It was also a moment of humility, placing your life in God's hands, acknowledging our helplessness and accepting the power of God over us.

Edited June 13, 2011 by betsy

[betsy]

The message given by Christ in the New Testament is clear. We have to accept the entirety of the Bible. There is no picking-and-choosing allowed, nor are we supposed to change anything from it to suit our own agenda.

As to knowing what should be taken literally or figuratively.....it is through reading, contemplating on and understanding the Bible. Understanding comes through the help of the Holy Spirit. That's why we're urged to call and pray for that help.

Jesus Christ had laid the terms down. Clearly.

If we're to be genuine Christians, we have no choice but to believe, accept and follow everything that Christ had said.

There's no going around that....otherwise, we're just fooling ourselves.

Edited June 13, 2011 by betsy

[Michael Hardner]

The message given by Christ in the New Testament is clear. We have to accept the entirety of the Bible. There is no picking-and-choosing allowed, nor are we supposed to change anything from it to suit our own agenda.

And yet, we have to prioritize some parts over others because of the contradictions.

[betsy]

And yet, we have to prioritize some parts over others because of the contradictions.

What may seem to be "contradictions" may not be contradictions at all. It may just be lost in translations, or needed indepth study by scholars....or perhaps technology will make them clear. Imagine how it must've been for Moses and others when they re-read what they just wrote. They must've been scratching their heads wondering what was all that about!

Never imagining that some of those will make sense thousands of years into the future!

One example of perceived contradiction is the account of Jesus' lineage, His grandparents. One Book speaks of Heli, while another speaks of Jacob. Then it turned out Heli comes from His maternal lineage, whereas Jacob from His paternal.

For some reasons known only to God, some information in the Bible comes out like riddles. Perhaps it's been "designed" that way that we have to work at it to gain knowledge.

It is also clear in the Bible that He has His own "calendar" or time-table which He followed - breaking it only once, for Mary (as far as I understand), when He turned water into wine at a wedding. Perhaps we'll know at the designated time when and what He want us to know.

Edited June 13, 2011 by betsy

[betsy]

WILLIAM LANE CRAIG

William Lane Craig is Research Professor of Philosophy at Talbot School of Theology in La Mirada, California and is arguably the foremost Christian apologist in the world today. As well as being author or editor of over thirty books, and author of nearly 200 peer-reviewed academic articles in professional journals of theology and philosophy, he is well known for his many public debates with atheists, agnostics and sceptics.

Craig's areas of speciality are the philosophy of religion and natural theology. He has made significant contributions to the Kalam cosmological argument and his work embraces the philosophical and theological implications of modern physics, especially the Big Bang, quantum physics and the philosophy of time. The Kalam cosmological argument argues from the reality of the Big Bang to the need for an intelligent Creator.

Craig has previously debated two of the so-called Four Horsemen of New Atheism (Sam Harris and Christopher Hitchens) and engaged with a third (Daniel Dennett) in a one to one exchange. Sam Harris, neuroscientist, philosopher, and bestselling author, is the most recent of the New Atheist 'horsemen' to have debated with Dr Craig, on 7th April 2011, and in his opening address Harris stated that Craig was the one Christian apologist who seems to have put the fear of God into many of my fellow atheists. After that debate, atheist John Loftus blogged: Bill (Craig) has once again showed himself as the best debater of this generation.

http://www.bethinking.org/what-is-apologetics/who-is-william-lane-craig.htm

William Lane Craigs testimony how he came to his faith.

http://www.bethinking.org/stories-illustrations/introductory/william-lane-craigs-testimony.htm

Craig was born in Peoria, Illinois and became a Christian at the age of sixteen.

Craig is a Molinist who embraces a Reformed epistemology and in regard to biological origins is inclined towards progressive creationism,[11] although he concedes the possibility of theistic evolution.

He has published on the historicity of the resurrection accounts of Jesus and the philosophy of time for which he advocates a tensed or A-theory of time and a Neo-Lorentzian interpretation of the theory of relativity.[12] He argues for a finely tuned theistic universe,[13] a personal cause of the universe and a theistic objective morality. His work in Christian apologetics includes advocacy of intelligent design,[14][15][16][17] and critiques of "New Atheism,"[18] liberal theology,[19] metaphysical naturalism, logical positivism and scientism, postmodernism,[20] anti-realism, moral relativism and subjectivism, Mormonism,[21][22][23] Islam,[24] and the methodology and conclusions of the Jesus Seminar.[citation needed] Craig maintains an Atlanta-based ministry called Reasonable Faith, with twenty-five local chapters.[25] Its website offers resources in the field of Christian apologetics, including articles, newsletters and transcripts of his debates.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Lane_Craig

http://www.reasonablefaith.org/site/PageServer

Edited August 21, 2011 by betsy