We've all heard someone say, "Everything is science," or, "Everything is music," or maybe, "Everything is language." I was sitting in my Music Appreciation class today, and my professor said, "Everything is math." And suddenly a light bulb went off in my head: If everything is math, music, language, science, history, art, and so on, everything is everything. That means everything is connected. If everything is connected, then there must be an original source of everything.
My mind is scrambling to sort my thoughts out into clear, understandable language, so I'll keep this short and simple. God is the original source of everything. God introduced science to humans. He introduced language to us, as well as history, music, math, art, etc. The very same God who gave us the breath of life, who gave us the ability to love, also gave us the ability to learn. And since we have the ability to learn, there must be something in the world for us to learn about. So God gave it to us. All of it. And all of it is contained in everything because God is in everything. Just as a composer leaves his stylistic mark in his music, God also leaves His mark on His creation. And that mark is Wisdom.
The Bible says in Proverbs 8:22-31 that Wisdom was the first creation, that Wisdom was with God when He formed the earth and that she (Wisdom) took part in the creation. All of the subjects mentioned above are a part of Wisdom. The Apostle Paul writes in Romans that we are all parts of the body of Christ (Romans 12:4-5). In the same way, all subjects make up Wisdom as a whole.
I'm still having trouble wording this the way I want to, but I think I've gotten my point across. If not, just leave a comment with any questions you might have. I'll try to make my answers more thorough than this blog entry.
Anyway, until next time, God bless!
Michael
—————————————————————
"I want men everywhere to lift up holy hands in prayer, without anger or disputing." ~ 1 Timothy 2:8
"I eagerly expect and hope that I will in no way be ashamed, but will have sufficient courage so that now as always Christ will be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death. For to live is Christ and to die is gain." ~ Philippians 1:20-21
Wednesday, August 18, 2010
Monday, August 9, 2010
And so it begins...
I'm headed off to college in the morning. Now begins the rest of my life. And I give it all to Christ my Savior.
"I eagerly expect and hope that I will in no way be ashamed, but will have sufficient courage so that now as always Christ will be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death. For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain." ~ Philippians 1:20-21
Friday, July 23, 2010
On Shirley Phelps Roper and the Westboro Baptist Church - Part 2
So... I still haven't received a response from Westboro Baptist Church, so I'm sending an angry letter demanding that they write back.
... Not really, but I am sending them another letter. So here it is.
———————————————————————
Hello, Mrs. Roper.
It's Michael again. It's been a while since I sent the letter I co-wrote with my cousin Eddie, and I was just wondering if you planned on replying to it, or if you already have and I just missed it. In case you don't know what letter I'm referring to, you can find it here on my blog.
Anyway, that is not the only reason I am writing to you today. I was reading the book of Luke last night when I came across verse 10 of chapter 8: "He said, 'The knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of God has been given to you, but to others I speak in parables, so that, "though seeing, they may not see; though hearing, they may not understand."'"
Here's something to think about: Why did Jesus come into the world as a man? Wasn't it to die on the cross as a Sacrifice for our sins? I'm sure you know that crucifixion was the worst punishment that could be given in the physical world in Jesus' time. And you know it was reserved for the lowest of the low, like the two men who hung beside our Lord. That is why Jesus had to speak to the Pharisees in parables: so that they would not believe that He was (and is) the Messiah and so that they would have Him killed, fulfilling the Messianic prophecies of the Old Testament. That is also why He came as the Son of a virgin and a poor carpenter rather than as the Son of a king.
Jesus hid His true identity from the Pharisees so that He would be killed at the proper time and thus be able to serve as the Ultimate Sacrifice for the sins of the world. He had a purpose for denying the Pharisees access to the Tree of Life. That is why it's written, "The Lord works out everything for His own ends—even the wicked for a day of disaster" (Proverbs 16:4), and, "In his heart a man plans his course, but the Lord determines his steps" (Proverbs 16:9). If He had revealed to the whole world that He was the Christ, then He would not have been sacrificed and we would not have redemption. The whole reason for the existence of the Pharisees and Sadducees was to have Jesus crucified, proving themselves to be sons of the devil and not of God, separating them from their Creator.
Stick with me here. Up until now, it has sounded like I'm agreeing with your stance in declaring mankind's sins in order to turn them off to the idea of following Christ to eternal life. Sorry to disappoint you, but that is not the case. Ecclesiastes 3, verses 3 and 8 say that there is "a time to kill and a time to heal, a time to tear down and a time to build" and "a time to love and a time to hate, a time for war and a time for peace." Jesus' time was a time of war. Spiritual war, that is. Being God, it was up to Jesus to harden the hearts of the Pharisees so that His purpose could be fulfilled. He knew the reason and the outcome of His obscure words and actions. But we are only human. Our time is a time of love, of peace, and of building others up. There is no way for us to know for sure if we are interacting with an open-minded individual or with one with a hardened heart. So we should assume that everyone we come in contact with is open-minded, so that, if the assumption is correct, they might turn their lives over to Christ and be saved.
The Bible says that there will be 144,000 sealed Jews in heaven. It only specifies the number of sealed Jews. It does not state the number of Gentiles who will reach heaven. Only God knows that number. There are some things the Father withholds from the Son. Our goal should be to surprise the Son with one more believer than He is expecting. (Not that that is really possible.) Our job is to set the bar high; believe that God has prepared room for such a multitude of believers that the earth could not contain them all, even if they were to stand nose-to-spine, shoulder-to-shoulder, one on top of the other. Imagine that, if the believers stood on each other's shoulders, starting at the earth's core, several layers of them would be suffocating outside of the earth's atmosphere. We exist to add to the current number until we fill heaven to the capacity God has designed it for.
I'd like to know something: If you believe that the only way to redemption is to repent, why do you celebrate when pornography gains support, when states and countries legalize gay marriage, when murder runs rampant all over the world? Shouldn't you be out protesting those things rather than celebrating them and protesting funerals? Speaking of which, if your message is for the living, why do you protest funerals? It's not going to do that dead guy much good. Don't you know the proverbs, "He who mocks the poor shows contempt for their Maker; whoever gloats over disaster will not go unpunished" (Proverbs 17:5), and, "Do not gloat when your enemy falls; when he stumbles, do not let your heart rejoice, for the Lord will see and disapprove and turn His wrath away from him" (Proverbs 24:17-18)? These people need to be reached in a gentle, loving way. I'm sorry, but I'm pretty sure protesting the funeral of a loved one would only anger people. It's a very rare case when someone actually turns because of such a bold action.
I beg you to reevaluate your actions and the message of the Gospel. You have such a God-given opportunity to share the Good News with the world. Use your publicity to share God's love with the spiritually needy. Such a radical change could shake the media world-wide. In fact, I believe that such a change would be more effective in expanding the kingdom of heaven than any of us could ever imagine.
I'm sure you've heard about the apostle Paul, but allow me to reacquaint you with his story, because it still amazes me every time I hear it. Saul of Tarsus was a devout Jew, a Pharisee. For a time, his purpose in life was to decimate the cult of the Christ-followers. Then, one day Jesus revealed Himself to Saul from heaven. Saul was blinded until Ananias, a servant of the Lord, healed him. Filled with the Holy Spirit, Saul became Paul and turned his life around. He went from being the fiercest persecutor of Christians to being the strongest advocate of the faith. That is nothing short of a miracle.
While giving his testimony to King Agrippa after being arrested yet again, Paul repeats what Jesus Himself said to him on the road to Damascus: "I am sending you to them to open their eyes and turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, so that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in Me" (Acts 26:17-18). "To open their eyes"—not to blind them. To make them see what we see: God's love and mercy, His grace, and an opportunity to spend eternity with Him. "So that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in Me"—you have to admit that this passage explains itself. If God sent the apostle Paul to open the eyes of the spiritually blind, then that should be our calling as well because we are Christ's ambassadors (2 Corinthians 5:20), just like Paul.
In the same chapter of 2 Corinthians, Paul writes, "All this is from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to Himself in Christ, not counting men's sins against them. And He has committed to us the message of reconciliation." "[He] gave us the ministry of reconciliation"—our message is one of redemption. We are to tell the world that by taking up the cross and following Christ, they can be saved. Of course, we shouldn't forget what we are being saved from, but the focus of the message is salvation, redemption, reconciliation. In marriage, when you have a fight with your spouse, you later go back and apologize and leave the whole thing behind. In a good marriage, you won't constantly remind your spouse why you got in that fight in the first place. You let your spouse remember on his or her own so that he or she will learn from the mistake. God doesn't throw our sins back in our faces after He has forgiven us. He forgives and forgets, never to bring up the sin again unless we do it ourselves. And He gives forgiveness freely to anyone who asks for it. James says that He gives wisdom to those who ask for it (James 1:5), and the same goes for forgiveness.
Thank you again for taking the time to read my rambling. Again, I ask that you show me the same respect that I showed you in my letter. Nothing more, nothing less.
Thanks for reading, and God bless!
Michael
---"So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal." ~ 2 Corinthians 4:18---
... Not really, but I am sending them another letter. So here it is.
———————————————————————
Hello, Mrs. Roper.
It's Michael again. It's been a while since I sent the letter I co-wrote with my cousin Eddie, and I was just wondering if you planned on replying to it, or if you already have and I just missed it. In case you don't know what letter I'm referring to, you can find it here on my blog.
Anyway, that is not the only reason I am writing to you today. I was reading the book of Luke last night when I came across verse 10 of chapter 8: "He said, 'The knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of God has been given to you, but to others I speak in parables, so that, "though seeing, they may not see; though hearing, they may not understand."'"
Here's something to think about: Why did Jesus come into the world as a man? Wasn't it to die on the cross as a Sacrifice for our sins? I'm sure you know that crucifixion was the worst punishment that could be given in the physical world in Jesus' time. And you know it was reserved for the lowest of the low, like the two men who hung beside our Lord. That is why Jesus had to speak to the Pharisees in parables: so that they would not believe that He was (and is) the Messiah and so that they would have Him killed, fulfilling the Messianic prophecies of the Old Testament. That is also why He came as the Son of a virgin and a poor carpenter rather than as the Son of a king.
Jesus hid His true identity from the Pharisees so that He would be killed at the proper time and thus be able to serve as the Ultimate Sacrifice for the sins of the world. He had a purpose for denying the Pharisees access to the Tree of Life. That is why it's written, "The Lord works out everything for His own ends—even the wicked for a day of disaster" (Proverbs 16:4), and, "In his heart a man plans his course, but the Lord determines his steps" (Proverbs 16:9). If He had revealed to the whole world that He was the Christ, then He would not have been sacrificed and we would not have redemption. The whole reason for the existence of the Pharisees and Sadducees was to have Jesus crucified, proving themselves to be sons of the devil and not of God, separating them from their Creator.
Stick with me here. Up until now, it has sounded like I'm agreeing with your stance in declaring mankind's sins in order to turn them off to the idea of following Christ to eternal life. Sorry to disappoint you, but that is not the case. Ecclesiastes 3, verses 3 and 8 say that there is "a time to kill and a time to heal, a time to tear down and a time to build" and "a time to love and a time to hate, a time for war and a time for peace." Jesus' time was a time of war. Spiritual war, that is. Being God, it was up to Jesus to harden the hearts of the Pharisees so that His purpose could be fulfilled. He knew the reason and the outcome of His obscure words and actions. But we are only human. Our time is a time of love, of peace, and of building others up. There is no way for us to know for sure if we are interacting with an open-minded individual or with one with a hardened heart. So we should assume that everyone we come in contact with is open-minded, so that, if the assumption is correct, they might turn their lives over to Christ and be saved.
The Bible says that there will be 144,000 sealed Jews in heaven. It only specifies the number of sealed Jews. It does not state the number of Gentiles who will reach heaven. Only God knows that number. There are some things the Father withholds from the Son. Our goal should be to surprise the Son with one more believer than He is expecting. (Not that that is really possible.) Our job is to set the bar high; believe that God has prepared room for such a multitude of believers that the earth could not contain them all, even if they were to stand nose-to-spine, shoulder-to-shoulder, one on top of the other. Imagine that, if the believers stood on each other's shoulders, starting at the earth's core, several layers of them would be suffocating outside of the earth's atmosphere. We exist to add to the current number until we fill heaven to the capacity God has designed it for.
I'd like to know something: If you believe that the only way to redemption is to repent, why do you celebrate when pornography gains support, when states and countries legalize gay marriage, when murder runs rampant all over the world? Shouldn't you be out protesting those things rather than celebrating them and protesting funerals? Speaking of which, if your message is for the living, why do you protest funerals? It's not going to do that dead guy much good. Don't you know the proverbs, "He who mocks the poor shows contempt for their Maker; whoever gloats over disaster will not go unpunished" (Proverbs 17:5), and, "Do not gloat when your enemy falls; when he stumbles, do not let your heart rejoice, for the Lord will see and disapprove and turn His wrath away from him" (Proverbs 24:17-18)? These people need to be reached in a gentle, loving way. I'm sorry, but I'm pretty sure protesting the funeral of a loved one would only anger people. It's a very rare case when someone actually turns because of such a bold action.
I beg you to reevaluate your actions and the message of the Gospel. You have such a God-given opportunity to share the Good News with the world. Use your publicity to share God's love with the spiritually needy. Such a radical change could shake the media world-wide. In fact, I believe that such a change would be more effective in expanding the kingdom of heaven than any of us could ever imagine.
I'm sure you've heard about the apostle Paul, but allow me to reacquaint you with his story, because it still amazes me every time I hear it. Saul of Tarsus was a devout Jew, a Pharisee. For a time, his purpose in life was to decimate the cult of the Christ-followers. Then, one day Jesus revealed Himself to Saul from heaven. Saul was blinded until Ananias, a servant of the Lord, healed him. Filled with the Holy Spirit, Saul became Paul and turned his life around. He went from being the fiercest persecutor of Christians to being the strongest advocate of the faith. That is nothing short of a miracle.
While giving his testimony to King Agrippa after being arrested yet again, Paul repeats what Jesus Himself said to him on the road to Damascus: "I am sending you to them to open their eyes and turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, so that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in Me" (Acts 26:17-18). "To open their eyes"—not to blind them. To make them see what we see: God's love and mercy, His grace, and an opportunity to spend eternity with Him. "So that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in Me"—you have to admit that this passage explains itself. If God sent the apostle Paul to open the eyes of the spiritually blind, then that should be our calling as well because we are Christ's ambassadors (2 Corinthians 5:20), just like Paul.
In the same chapter of 2 Corinthians, Paul writes, "All this is from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to Himself in Christ, not counting men's sins against them. And He has committed to us the message of reconciliation." "[He] gave us the ministry of reconciliation"—our message is one of redemption. We are to tell the world that by taking up the cross and following Christ, they can be saved. Of course, we shouldn't forget what we are being saved from, but the focus of the message is salvation, redemption, reconciliation. In marriage, when you have a fight with your spouse, you later go back and apologize and leave the whole thing behind. In a good marriage, you won't constantly remind your spouse why you got in that fight in the first place. You let your spouse remember on his or her own so that he or she will learn from the mistake. God doesn't throw our sins back in our faces after He has forgiven us. He forgives and forgets, never to bring up the sin again unless we do it ourselves. And He gives forgiveness freely to anyone who asks for it. James says that He gives wisdom to those who ask for it (James 1:5), and the same goes for forgiveness.
Thank you again for taking the time to read my rambling. Again, I ask that you show me the same respect that I showed you in my letter. Nothing more, nothing less.
Thanks for reading, and God bless!
Michael
---"So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal." ~ 2 Corinthians 4:18---
Sunday, July 18, 2010
And there was evening, and there was morning—the eighth day.
We all know the story of Creation in Genesis 1. God spoke, and the heavens and the earth were formed, light came into existence, the oceans and the sky were separated, dry land formed in the water, plants and animals appeared on the earth, and God made man in His own image. That was Day One through Day Six. But what about the seventh day?
The Bible says in Genesis 2:1-2, "By the seventh day God had finished the work He had been doing; so on the seventh day He rested from all his work. And God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it He rested from all the work of creating that He had done." "He rested"—GOD took a break. Have you ever wondered why?
Why are there seven days in a week? You could say it's because God rested on the seventh day, and you'd be right, according to the words of Moses, who is believed to have been the author of Genesis. But really: Why are there seven days in a week instead of six? Why did God rest on the seventh day and leave it at that? Why did He bless the seventh day and not any of the others? Why isn't there an eighth day, and a ninth, and a tenth?
The truth is, God only rested from creating matter on the seventh day. Rather than continuing making things, God made time. He made a seventh day. And He made it for a reason.
Psalm 118:24 says, "This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it." And Genesis 2:2a says, "And God blessed the seventh day and made it holy." He didn't need a break. After all, He's God, the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End, the Lord Almighty, Creator of the universe. He could have stopped at Day Six and then rested for the next six days, giving us six-day weeks instead of seven. He didn't have to bless the seventh day. But He did.
See, God knew that Adam and Eve would rebel against Him in the Garden of Eden. He knew the world would turn away from Him. He knew that He would have to make a fresh start by drowning the entire world except for His faithful servant Noah (and his family). He knew He would have to send His Son to die for the sins of mankind. He knew the world would hate Jesus and have Him killed. He knew man would invent religion after religion to turn others away from Him. He knew that one day He would return to bring His people home to Him. He knew that not all of mankind would follow Him and be able to live with Him in heaven for eternity.
And He knew we would need a break. He knew that after five or six straight days of hard work, we would need a day of rest. So He blessed the seventh day. Not for His sake, but for ours. Jesus says in Mark 2:27, "The Sabbath was made for man."
But He doesn't stop there. He goes on to say in verse 28, "So the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath." The seventh day, the day of rest, didn't come into existence on its own just so we could have a break from a long six days of work. God made it for us. We should be thankful. God took us into consideration before we even existed. Before the world even existed. He had a plan for us, and He included our well-being in that plan.
I write all of this because today is Sunday. Today is Sunday, and I was in a bad mood earlier. I started thinking, "I need to cheer up so I don't bring anyone down at band practice tomorrow." Then I realized that today is the Lord's day. If I should be joyful on an ordinary weekday, how much more joyful should I be on the day the Lord blessed for me? Each and every day is a new creation. I should be thankful that God has given me another 24 hours of breath in my lungs, especially if those 24 hours happen to have been blessed for my sake.
So whether you celebrate the Sabbath on Saturday or Sunday, I want to challenge you to do something. And this is a challenge for myself as well: Every Sabbath, put everything aside. Take a break from the hardships of life. Clear your mind of everything. Everything but God. The Sabbath is the Lord's blessed, holy day. Treat it as such. God made the Sabbath for a reason: it's a day of rest and a day for us to worship our Maker. So make it useful.
The Creator of the universe had us in mind in the beginning. Thank God!
Until next time, God bless!
Michael
—————————————————————
"I want men everywhere to lift up holy hands in prayer, without anger or disputing." ~ 1 Timothy 2:8
"I eagerly expect and hope that I will in no way be ashamed, but will have sufficient courage so that now as always Christ will be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death. For to live is Christ and to die is gain." ~ Philippians 1:20-21
The Bible says in Genesis 2:1-2, "By the seventh day God had finished the work He had been doing; so on the seventh day He rested from all his work. And God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it He rested from all the work of creating that He had done." "He rested"—GOD took a break. Have you ever wondered why?
Why are there seven days in a week? You could say it's because God rested on the seventh day, and you'd be right, according to the words of Moses, who is believed to have been the author of Genesis. But really: Why are there seven days in a week instead of six? Why did God rest on the seventh day and leave it at that? Why did He bless the seventh day and not any of the others? Why isn't there an eighth day, and a ninth, and a tenth?
The truth is, God only rested from creating matter on the seventh day. Rather than continuing making things, God made time. He made a seventh day. And He made it for a reason.
Psalm 118:24 says, "This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it." And Genesis 2:2a says, "And God blessed the seventh day and made it holy." He didn't need a break. After all, He's God, the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End, the Lord Almighty, Creator of the universe. He could have stopped at Day Six and then rested for the next six days, giving us six-day weeks instead of seven. He didn't have to bless the seventh day. But He did.
See, God knew that Adam and Eve would rebel against Him in the Garden of Eden. He knew the world would turn away from Him. He knew that He would have to make a fresh start by drowning the entire world except for His faithful servant Noah (and his family). He knew He would have to send His Son to die for the sins of mankind. He knew the world would hate Jesus and have Him killed. He knew man would invent religion after religion to turn others away from Him. He knew that one day He would return to bring His people home to Him. He knew that not all of mankind would follow Him and be able to live with Him in heaven for eternity.
And He knew we would need a break. He knew that after five or six straight days of hard work, we would need a day of rest. So He blessed the seventh day. Not for His sake, but for ours. Jesus says in Mark 2:27, "The Sabbath was made for man."
But He doesn't stop there. He goes on to say in verse 28, "So the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath." The seventh day, the day of rest, didn't come into existence on its own just so we could have a break from a long six days of work. God made it for us. We should be thankful. God took us into consideration before we even existed. Before the world even existed. He had a plan for us, and He included our well-being in that plan.
I write all of this because today is Sunday. Today is Sunday, and I was in a bad mood earlier. I started thinking, "I need to cheer up so I don't bring anyone down at band practice tomorrow." Then I realized that today is the Lord's day. If I should be joyful on an ordinary weekday, how much more joyful should I be on the day the Lord blessed for me? Each and every day is a new creation. I should be thankful that God has given me another 24 hours of breath in my lungs, especially if those 24 hours happen to have been blessed for my sake.
So whether you celebrate the Sabbath on Saturday or Sunday, I want to challenge you to do something. And this is a challenge for myself as well: Every Sabbath, put everything aside. Take a break from the hardships of life. Clear your mind of everything. Everything but God. The Sabbath is the Lord's blessed, holy day. Treat it as such. God made the Sabbath for a reason: it's a day of rest and a day for us to worship our Maker. So make it useful.
The Creator of the universe had us in mind in the beginning. Thank God!
Until next time, God bless!
Michael
—————————————————————
"I want men everywhere to lift up holy hands in prayer, without anger or disputing." ~ 1 Timothy 2:8
"I eagerly expect and hope that I will in no way be ashamed, but will have sufficient courage so that now as always Christ will be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death. For to live is Christ and to die is gain." ~ Philippians 1:20-21
Sunday, June 27, 2010
Calling all the sinful. Calling all the saved.
TGIF - Thank God I'm Forgiven!!
For the last week or so, thoughts of Apologetics have been running through my head continuously. One argument in particular seemed to recur in my mind more often than any other: the argument of Jesus and His disciples. Defending my faith is something I'm very interested in, and I felt like this might help some people, whether Atheist, Jew, Muslim, or even Christians wanting help arguing for the plausibility of Christianity.
I would just like to make it clear that most of this is paraphrased from different books I've read, although I have thought the arguments through and reasoned that they are believable; however, I am not looking at the books as I type this, so the thought processes are my own (with God's help), which just happen to agree with what I remember from what I read.
Anyway, here we go.
Let's start by assuming Jesus existed. The story of His life happened exactly how it's read in the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John: He was born of a virgin in Bethlehem, He grew up in Nazareth, He preached salvation to the Jews through the Son of God, He healed the sick and disabled and raised the dead to life, He lived a sinless life and was crucified unjustly, and He rose from the grave on the third day and ascended into heaven after spending forty days with His disciples.
But let's say someone believes that Jesus was not the Son of God and that He was, in fact, a normal sinful human being. My favorite response to this is the "Lord, Liar, or Lunatic" argument. There are only three types of person Jesus could have been. He could be Lord, the Son of God and God Himself, exactly the person He said He was. If He wasn't God, then He would either have to be a liar or a lunatic. But how could He be a liar? Why would someone who knew He was not telling the truth die for something He preached but didn't even follow? That seems pretty dumb to me. And if He was a liar, then He even had His disciples, who followed Him around everywhere He went, deceived. And how could He be a lunatic? How could someone come up with such amazing teachings like serving and loving one another if they weren't in their right mind? His teachings were (and are) so relevant to human living that there is no way He could have been insane. So with the options of liar and lunatic ruled out, that leaves Lord as the only possibility for who Jesus was (and is).
Some people argue that Jesus could have just been a "great moral teacher." But again, if He was only a great moral teacher, that would make Him a liar because He told His disciples and even the Pharisees and Sadducees that He was the Son of God. And if He was a liar, then He would have been a hypocrite because He constantly referred to the Scriptures, which teach that lying is a sin that separates humans from God. And if He were a hypocrite, He would have died knowing that. And He didn't even try to get out of bearing the punishment of being hung on a cross. So much for that argument.
So clearly, if Jesus existed, then there is no option other than the fact that He was and is and always will be God and the Son of God, Lord of all Creation.
But what if He didn't exist? That's where the disciples come in.
If Jesus didn't exist, I'm still convinced that His disciples did (even though they wouldn't really have been His disciples). Now why would twelve fishermen and tax collectors band together with a common belief that completely went against the religious teachings of the time and go out and tell the world about it, angering many? That seems more than a little masochistic to me. And in case you don't know the history of the eleven disciples (leaving out Judas Iscariot who betrayed Jesus, although that wouldn't be important if Jesus never lived), ten of them died a martyr's death. That means that ten of the eleven died for what they believed. Only one died of natural causes. So why would eleven of the world's average fishermen and hated tax collectors go out into the world teaching of an imaginary Person who would bring salvation to anyone who believed in Him? And why would they be willing to die for something they knew was false? That would just be ridiculous!
Now let's backtrack again and assume Jesus did, in fact, exist, and that He lived and died exactly how the Bible tells. But that's where the story ends: He died. He never rose from the dead. Instead, the disciples deceived the world by stealing His body from the grave. First off, one of the twelve disciples betrayed Jesus, and the other eleven abandoned Him when He was arrested, including John the Beloved and Peter, His two closest friends. When He was hung on the cross, only John and Mary, Jesus' mother, were there to see Him as He died. If the disciples weren't there for Him when He was dying, why would they be there for Him when He was already dead? Plus, Jesus' grave was sealed by a boulder that required (I think) twelve Roman soldiers to move it, as well as the Roman seal, which was kind of like special glue that marked the grave as Roman property. The disciples fled from the Roman guard when they arrested Jesus. If they were to steal Jesus' body from His tomb, they would have to face the Roman guard, overpower them all, break the Roman seal, and roll the boulder away, not to mention that the boulder was stuck in a ditch in front of the tomb entrance that locked it in place. Eleven fishermen and tax collectors against twelve highly trained Roman soldiers... The odds in favor of the disciples don't sound too good to me. And how did they plan on breaking the Roman seal and rolling the stone out of the ditch if they did manage to get past the guard? If it took twelve strong soldiers to roll the stone into the ditch, how could twelve fishermen and tax collectors roll it out of it?
The Bible also says that the soldiers on duty at the tomb were left alive. They only fell unconscious. If the disciples were trying to steal Jesus' body secretly, shouldn't they have killed the soldiers rather than let them live to report the event to Pontius Pilate, Caesar's governor in the area? But no, the soldiers remained alive, and they reported to Pilate only that Jesus' body was missing. They mentioned nothing about the disciples stealing the body.
The soldiers also experienced a massive earthquake while they were standing guard. Even the two Marys, who were on their way to visit the grave, felt it while they were on their way there. Something like that could not have been caused by the disciples, especially with the technology of the time.
The only explanation I can find is that Jesus is the Christ, the Messiah of Jewish prophecy, the King of kings and Lord of lords, God of all Creation. He lived, died, and rose again for the sins of the world so that we humans can have a relationship with our heavenly Father and live with Him forever in heaven. He saved us from hell, the punishment for our sins, which separated us from our Creator. And He gave us His word, the Bible, through over forty different authors over a period of just under 2000 years so that we could know Him and the good news of salvation by the cross.
All because He loves us.
That sounds like some pretty good news to me.
Until next time, God bless!
Michael
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"I want men everywhere to lift up holy hands in prayer, without anger or disputing." ~ 1 Timothy 2:8
"I eagerly expect and hope that I will in no way be ashamed, but will have sufficient courage so that now as always Christ will be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death. For to live is Christ and to die is gain." ~ Philippians 1:20-21
For the last week or so, thoughts of Apologetics have been running through my head continuously. One argument in particular seemed to recur in my mind more often than any other: the argument of Jesus and His disciples. Defending my faith is something I'm very interested in, and I felt like this might help some people, whether Atheist, Jew, Muslim, or even Christians wanting help arguing for the plausibility of Christianity.
I would just like to make it clear that most of this is paraphrased from different books I've read, although I have thought the arguments through and reasoned that they are believable; however, I am not looking at the books as I type this, so the thought processes are my own (with God's help), which just happen to agree with what I remember from what I read.
Anyway, here we go.
Let's start by assuming Jesus existed. The story of His life happened exactly how it's read in the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John: He was born of a virgin in Bethlehem, He grew up in Nazareth, He preached salvation to the Jews through the Son of God, He healed the sick and disabled and raised the dead to life, He lived a sinless life and was crucified unjustly, and He rose from the grave on the third day and ascended into heaven after spending forty days with His disciples.
But let's say someone believes that Jesus was not the Son of God and that He was, in fact, a normal sinful human being. My favorite response to this is the "Lord, Liar, or Lunatic" argument. There are only three types of person Jesus could have been. He could be Lord, the Son of God and God Himself, exactly the person He said He was. If He wasn't God, then He would either have to be a liar or a lunatic. But how could He be a liar? Why would someone who knew He was not telling the truth die for something He preached but didn't even follow? That seems pretty dumb to me. And if He was a liar, then He even had His disciples, who followed Him around everywhere He went, deceived. And how could He be a lunatic? How could someone come up with such amazing teachings like serving and loving one another if they weren't in their right mind? His teachings were (and are) so relevant to human living that there is no way He could have been insane. So with the options of liar and lunatic ruled out, that leaves Lord as the only possibility for who Jesus was (and is).
Some people argue that Jesus could have just been a "great moral teacher." But again, if He was only a great moral teacher, that would make Him a liar because He told His disciples and even the Pharisees and Sadducees that He was the Son of God. And if He was a liar, then He would have been a hypocrite because He constantly referred to the Scriptures, which teach that lying is a sin that separates humans from God. And if He were a hypocrite, He would have died knowing that. And He didn't even try to get out of bearing the punishment of being hung on a cross. So much for that argument.
So clearly, if Jesus existed, then there is no option other than the fact that He was and is and always will be God and the Son of God, Lord of all Creation.
But what if He didn't exist? That's where the disciples come in.
If Jesus didn't exist, I'm still convinced that His disciples did (even though they wouldn't really have been His disciples). Now why would twelve fishermen and tax collectors band together with a common belief that completely went against the religious teachings of the time and go out and tell the world about it, angering many? That seems more than a little masochistic to me. And in case you don't know the history of the eleven disciples (leaving out Judas Iscariot who betrayed Jesus, although that wouldn't be important if Jesus never lived), ten of them died a martyr's death. That means that ten of the eleven died for what they believed. Only one died of natural causes. So why would eleven of the world's average fishermen and hated tax collectors go out into the world teaching of an imaginary Person who would bring salvation to anyone who believed in Him? And why would they be willing to die for something they knew was false? That would just be ridiculous!
Now let's backtrack again and assume Jesus did, in fact, exist, and that He lived and died exactly how the Bible tells. But that's where the story ends: He died. He never rose from the dead. Instead, the disciples deceived the world by stealing His body from the grave. First off, one of the twelve disciples betrayed Jesus, and the other eleven abandoned Him when He was arrested, including John the Beloved and Peter, His two closest friends. When He was hung on the cross, only John and Mary, Jesus' mother, were there to see Him as He died. If the disciples weren't there for Him when He was dying, why would they be there for Him when He was already dead? Plus, Jesus' grave was sealed by a boulder that required (I think) twelve Roman soldiers to move it, as well as the Roman seal, which was kind of like special glue that marked the grave as Roman property. The disciples fled from the Roman guard when they arrested Jesus. If they were to steal Jesus' body from His tomb, they would have to face the Roman guard, overpower them all, break the Roman seal, and roll the boulder away, not to mention that the boulder was stuck in a ditch in front of the tomb entrance that locked it in place. Eleven fishermen and tax collectors against twelve highly trained Roman soldiers... The odds in favor of the disciples don't sound too good to me. And how did they plan on breaking the Roman seal and rolling the stone out of the ditch if they did manage to get past the guard? If it took twelve strong soldiers to roll the stone into the ditch, how could twelve fishermen and tax collectors roll it out of it?
The Bible also says that the soldiers on duty at the tomb were left alive. They only fell unconscious. If the disciples were trying to steal Jesus' body secretly, shouldn't they have killed the soldiers rather than let them live to report the event to Pontius Pilate, Caesar's governor in the area? But no, the soldiers remained alive, and they reported to Pilate only that Jesus' body was missing. They mentioned nothing about the disciples stealing the body.
The soldiers also experienced a massive earthquake while they were standing guard. Even the two Marys, who were on their way to visit the grave, felt it while they were on their way there. Something like that could not have been caused by the disciples, especially with the technology of the time.
The only explanation I can find is that Jesus is the Christ, the Messiah of Jewish prophecy, the King of kings and Lord of lords, God of all Creation. He lived, died, and rose again for the sins of the world so that we humans can have a relationship with our heavenly Father and live with Him forever in heaven. He saved us from hell, the punishment for our sins, which separated us from our Creator. And He gave us His word, the Bible, through over forty different authors over a period of just under 2000 years so that we could know Him and the good news of salvation by the cross.
All because He loves us.
That sounds like some pretty good news to me.
Until next time, God bless!
Michael
—————————————————————
"I want men everywhere to lift up holy hands in prayer, without anger or disputing." ~ 1 Timothy 2:8
"I eagerly expect and hope that I will in no way be ashamed, but will have sufficient courage so that now as always Christ will be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death. For to live is Christ and to die is gain." ~ Philippians 1:20-21
Saturday, June 26, 2010
Snowbird
A couple weeks ago, I had the opportunity to attend a camp called Snowbird. Within Snowbird, there are three main groups: SWO (Snowbird Wilderness Outfitters), which is the normal camp where campers participate in a variety of games and recreational activities (recs); SMO (Snowbird Missions and Outreach), which is basically a mini-mission trip; and OLD School (Outdoor Leadership and Discipleship School), which is where campers are sent out into the woods for old-fashioned camping, along with several adventurous activities. I chose to participate in SMO so I could get a chance to do some kind of mission trip before heading off to college this fall. And it was amazing. We walked to a house just down the street from the camp site, and our group painted the house for a family that Brody, one of the founders of Snowbird, has been pouring into, showing them God's love. We almost finished the house in two days, leaving only a few details to polish up on the third day. So instead of taking the whole group back, we had planned to have half the group go back while the other half went to a nursing home to spend time with the elderly. But it rained... So the half that was supposed to go back to the house just stayed at the camp site and did recs instead.
The last two nights hit me hard. Thursday night, the SWO staff did what they call "the Revelation skit." As the name suggests, it's a skit based on the book of Revelation in the Bible. They did an amazing job, and it really moved me. It reminded me of what we Christians look forward to: the return of our Savior and King Jesus Christ.
Then came Friday night... Brody spoke about missionary work and spreading the Gospel to those who have never heard it, and the message really struck a chord with me. After the sermon, I went up to the Prayer Chapel, which is a special building the SWO staff set up in honor of missionaries and persecuted Christians around the world. There were a bunch of things to read for personal spiritual growth, and there were stations where you could write your thoughts or write to a missionary or imprisoned Christian to encourage them. During Brody's sermon, I got the feeling that God wanted me to become a missionary, and He placed India in my thoughts because there are so many unreached people groups there. When I went to the Prayer Chapel, there were three main areas in India that were marked as unreached. I think God had me focus on a particular area for a reason, and I felt like He wanted me to take the Gospel there. After looking around on Google Maps some, I've set my sights on Shahpura, Madhya Pradesh, India. I'm still not sure about any of the details, like when I'll go, if that's really where God wants me, how I'll get the money to go, and what I'll be doing there, but right now I just need prayer.
One of the verses written on the walls of the Prayer Chapel really spoke to me. It said, "How, then, can they call on the One they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the One of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? And how can they preach unless they are sent? As it is written, 'How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!'" (Romans 10:14-15).
So please pray for me. Pray that God would reveal His plan for me, that I would grow in wisdom and faith so that I can share His love and His word if/when I go, for safety if/when I go, for godly fellowship to keep me moving forward, and that God would work through me to reach out to His people who have yet to hear the name of Jesus.
Also, Birju, if you read this, I could use some Indian language/culture lessons. Haha.
Until next time, God bless!
Michael
—————————————————————
"I want men everywhere to lift up holy hands in prayer, without anger or disputing." ~ 1 Timothy 2:8
"I eagerly expect and hope that I will in no way be ashamed, but will have sufficient courage so that now as always Christ will be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death. For to live is Christ and to die is gain." ~ Philippians 1:20-21
The last two nights hit me hard. Thursday night, the SWO staff did what they call "the Revelation skit." As the name suggests, it's a skit based on the book of Revelation in the Bible. They did an amazing job, and it really moved me. It reminded me of what we Christians look forward to: the return of our Savior and King Jesus Christ.
Then came Friday night... Brody spoke about missionary work and spreading the Gospel to those who have never heard it, and the message really struck a chord with me. After the sermon, I went up to the Prayer Chapel, which is a special building the SWO staff set up in honor of missionaries and persecuted Christians around the world. There were a bunch of things to read for personal spiritual growth, and there were stations where you could write your thoughts or write to a missionary or imprisoned Christian to encourage them. During Brody's sermon, I got the feeling that God wanted me to become a missionary, and He placed India in my thoughts because there are so many unreached people groups there. When I went to the Prayer Chapel, there were three main areas in India that were marked as unreached. I think God had me focus on a particular area for a reason, and I felt like He wanted me to take the Gospel there. After looking around on Google Maps some, I've set my sights on Shahpura, Madhya Pradesh, India. I'm still not sure about any of the details, like when I'll go, if that's really where God wants me, how I'll get the money to go, and what I'll be doing there, but right now I just need prayer.
One of the verses written on the walls of the Prayer Chapel really spoke to me. It said, "How, then, can they call on the One they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the One of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? And how can they preach unless they are sent? As it is written, 'How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!'" (Romans 10:14-15).
So please pray for me. Pray that God would reveal His plan for me, that I would grow in wisdom and faith so that I can share His love and His word if/when I go, for safety if/when I go, for godly fellowship to keep me moving forward, and that God would work through me to reach out to His people who have yet to hear the name of Jesus.
Also, Birju, if you read this, I could use some Indian language/culture lessons. Haha.
Until next time, God bless!
Michael
—————————————————————
"I want men everywhere to lift up holy hands in prayer, without anger or disputing." ~ 1 Timothy 2:8
"I eagerly expect and hope that I will in no way be ashamed, but will have sufficient courage so that now as always Christ will be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death. For to live is Christ and to die is gain." ~ Philippians 1:20-21
Friday, June 11, 2010
On Shirley Phelps Roper and the Westboro Baptist Church
Okay, so a couple weeks ago, my friend showed me some video interviews of Mrs. Shirley Phelps Roper, the daughter of the founding pastor of Westboro Baptist Church. They were... interesting. My friend sent a letter to Mrs. Roper asking a few questions and making some comments on her actions, and he shared his letter with several friends.
A week later, my cousin came to visit for my high school graduation ceremony. He is very interested in God's word, so I decided to show him the video interviews to get his opinion on them. Clearly, he felt the same way I did, to an even greater extreme. When I told him about my friend's letter, he was more than eager to write a letter of his own. I was slowly persuaded to write a letter as well. So rather than send two separate messages to Mrs. Roper, my cousin and I teamed up to write one long letter.
Before I share the message, I would like to briefly explain what the Westboro Baptist Church preaches and why it and its congregation are so interesting. Founded in 1955 by Pastor Fred Phelps, the Westboro Baptist Church preaches that salvation is primarily through works. They travel the world protesting the funerals of American soldiers, claiming that they deserved to die for supporting America. Why would WBC be against America? Because this nation is filled with homosexuals and people who do nothing to oppose homosexuality, according to WBC. (The members of WBC use a different word for "homosexual," but I feel uncomfortable saying it, or even typing it. The word is even used in the URL for their website.) Mrs. Roper and her congregation go out on the streets, preaching that obedience is the only way to salvation and that, otherwise, we are all going to hell. (That is not the true message of the Bible, but I will let my letter do the explaining on that.) To make a long story short, WBC seems to believe that they are the only true Christians, the only ones righteous in the world, and that their mission is to make that known while hardening the hearts of men, blinding their eyes, and deafening their ears so that no others will obtain redemption.
If you would like more information, please feel free to look up Shirley Phelps Roper on YouTube. Her interviews are everywhere.
And now, without further ado, here is the letter that my cousin and I put together for Mrs. Roper.
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Hello, Mrs. Roper.
Our names are Michael and Eddie, and we are two teenage cousins with a love of God and a deep interest in Christian beliefs. We have seen several videos of your interviews and are very interested in your views and your reasons for your actions. We have several questions and comments we would like to make, which we will try to do respectfully, and we would very much appreciate it if you would give us a timely reply with the same respect.
First, we would like to apologize for the length of this letter. There are just so many points that we would like to address, and there was no way we could abbreviate it.
Also, please seriously consider what we are saying. We may be young, but we are simply trying to obey the words of 1 Timothy 4:12: "Don't let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith and in purity."
Eddie and I both attend church regularly, and we spend a great deal of time in the Scriptures so that we can grow closer to God. We have experience in several different denominations, including Presbyterian, Baptist, Methodist, and Wesleyan churches. But we have never heard of any church that preaches what you preach. We were very surprised and, to be honest, somewhat indignant when we heard some of the things you said in news reports.
In one such interview, you clearly stated that God controls the hearts of men. We have come to believe over the years that, although God does have the ability to control our actions, often He does not use that ability. After all, if He did, then sin would be nonexistent. In fact, it never would have come into existence at all. We believe that our heavenly Father has given us free will to decide what to do for ourselves. As He says through John in 1 John 4:16, "God is love." The way I have come to understand love is this: the relationship between two humans is not forced but a mutual act of free will. Eddie and I believe that this understanding of love also applies to the relationship between God and men. God sent His Son to die for us out of love. He chose us, so now it is up to us as humans to choose Him and complete the relationship. In this way, God gives us freedom to choose our own courses of action. It is only when we give our lives to Him that He reveals His will to us so that we can act upon it, but even then He does not control us. We have to continually choose to follow Him.
We would like to bring an idea to mind. Have you ever considered that when young men and women die, God allows them to die rather than killing them? What we mean is this: there may be plenty of cases where God allows His people to die so that they can return home to heaven to be with Him, like Elijah and Enoch (2 Kings 2:1-14; Genesis 5:24). Just because someone dies does not mean that God hates him or her. I don't know about you, but we haven't heard of any more cases like Elijah or Enoch outside of the Bible. So by your reasoning, it seems that this must mean that God hates everyone. But it seems to me that you believe that you and your followers are the only people who will go to heaven. But I would like to remind you of Romans 3:10: "As it is written: 'There is no one righteous, not even one.'"
Human death is not a thing to be ashamed of. In fact, aside from the coming of our Lord, it is the one thing we Christians look forward to the most in this life. After all, death of the flesh means entrance into the new life. We remain in this life only to do good works that glorify God and to spread the good news of salvation through Jesus Christ.
As I understand from your interviews, you believe that only those who obey the Lord's Commandments will be saved. But look back at Romans 3:10 again. Nobody can live their lives without breaking the Commandments. It seems to me that you are preaching salvation by works, not by faith. But the Bible clearly states that faith is what saves us, and works are merely the evidence of our faith. For example, the famous words of John 3:16 say, "For God so loved the world that He gave His One and Only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life." "Whoever believes in Him"—not whoever obeys the commandments flawlessly, not those God likes: those who believe in Him. Now I do agree that faith alone cannot save us. In fact, Jesus' brother James says so in James 2:17. But that does not mean that our deeds can save us. See Ephesians 2:8-9: "For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast." "It is the gift of God"—God was under no obligation to give us salvation. He did it out of love for us. Paul then goes on in his letter to the Ephesians to say that we have been made to do good works. But this means that we are to serve others and glorify God, not judge others and condemn them by their deeds.
Romans 3:21-24 says, "But now a righteousness from God, apart from the law, has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by His grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus." "A righteousness from God, apart from the law"—again, Paul makes it clear that we are not to rely on our works to gain salvation for us. Our works cannot save us; that is why Jesus came to die for us, in order to serve as the ultimate Sacrifice for our sins. "Through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe"—anyone can be saved if they believe in Jesus. To me, to "believe in" Jesus means that we thankfully accept His gift of salvation and turn from our sinful ways. And by "turn from our sinful ways," I mean, "wholeheartedly apologize to God and make an honest attempt to choose Him over our sinful desires." And of course you know Romans 3:23: "For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God."
Now before you zone us out, let me say this: I understand how annoyed you must get when you hear others tell you not to judge people when they themselves seem to be judging you. Allow me to apologize now for anything we may say that offends you or that sounds like we are being judgmental.
With that being said, I would like to direct your attention to James 4:11-12: "Brothers, do not slander one another. Anyone who speaks against his brother or judges him speaks against the law and judges it. When you judge the law, you are not keeping it, but sitting in judgment on it. There is only one Lawgiver and Judge, the One who is able to save and destroy. But you—who are you to judge your neighbor?" Do any of us have any right to judge a fellow human? James seems to think not. And if what we, as Christians, believe is true, then we can take James' words to be the words of God Himself.
We have a question for you. Any time an interviewer says, "Judge not," to you, you become indignant and retort that they are the ones judging you. That may be true, but seriously reconsider what you have been doing and saying. Take a minute and step into the shoes of the wife of a soldier who died in Iraq. Let's say, hypothetically, that this soldier was a devout member of the church (nondenominational); he read his Bible every day and spent time alone with God for an hour in the morning and an hour in the evening each day; he led Bible studies at church every week, and he actively took notes on the sermon every Sunday morning and studied them throughout the week, applying them to his life along with the words of the Bible; through his actions and words over the last three years, he has brought ten people to Christ and has introduced God to hundreds. If someone came to you protesting your husband's funeral and claiming that he deserved to die, what would you think? Would you automatically think and say, "Thank you for warning me. Clearly God used my husband's death in order to save me"? Although it may be true that that is God's purpose in the deaths of some, that is not the case in all situations. I honestly cannot imagine you being so driven by your beliefs that you would stand by and let your own husband's funeral be protested. What do you think is running through the minds of those men and women whose loved ones have passed away, whose funerals you and your church are protesting? I highly doubt it is gratitude. If you were in their shoes, I believe you would be thinking the same thing so many people have been telling you: "Judge not."
Now please tell me, do you consider your actions to be acts of love? Again, I may only be a teenager, but I believe acts of love are recognizable as acts of love. Whether a parent's rebuke or a friendly hug, it is understood that these things are done out of love. But I cannot truthfully say that I believe saying, "Gays deserve to die," is very loving. Sure, the Bible forbids homosexuality, but God forgives sinners when we repent and turn our lives over to Christ. (Just to clarify, no, I am not gay.) In one interview, you repeatedly avoided the accusation that you had a child out of wedlock. If the accusation is true, then thank God that He is a forgiving God. (If it is false, thank God for helping you to keep His Commandment against adultery.) And because He is a forgiving God, He forgives all who call on His name and turn from their sinful desires. It is not for us but for God alone to decide who will live in heaven and who will die in hell.
1 Peter 3:8-9 says, "Finally, all of you, live in harmony with one another; be sympathetic, love as brothers, be compassionate and humble. Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult, but with blessing, because to this you were called so that you may inherit a blessing." And Galatians 6:1a says, "Brothers, if someone is caught in a sin, you who are spiritual should restore him gently." When I see these verses, I think of a mother warning a toddler not to hit his or her siblings, or two brothers in Christ keeping each other accountable in staying away from lustful temptations. I ask you to reconsider your actions and see if there may be a better way to get the message across that Jesus is the only way to eternal life.
On the WBC website, there is a verse (Proverbs 1:22) that says that God doesn't love everyone. First, I would just like to say that my New International Version Bible does not say that. Second, I would like to show another verse that, I believe, contradicts that statement: Romans 5:6-8. "You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates His own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us." "Christ died for the ungodly"—that's great news for everyone, including you and me. After all, we are sinful human beings. Until we had Christ, we too were ungodly. "While we were still sinners, Christ died for us"—thank God! Think about it this way: If Jesus didn't die for the sinners but only for the righteous, what was the point of His death? After all, I don't know of anyone other than Jesus Himself who managed to live perfectly for his or her entire life. That means that there was no one for Him to die for. If that is the case, then Jesus died only for Himself... and what good does that do anyone?
As I came to this part of the letter, I began to think of a good way to wrap things up. I wanted to bring up John 3:16 again, and I thought it would be cool if I started and ended this message with the same verse. But then I realized that I didn't start the letter with John 3:16, and it turns out I won't be ending with it either, so I gave up on that idea. But I would still like to bring up John 3:16 again anyway. "For God so loved the world that He gave His One and Only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life." "For God so loved the world"—He sent Jesus to die for us because He loved the world. He loved His creation. He loved all of mankind. Not just those who loved Him, but everyone. If you've ever had a crush on someone when you were a kid, and you didn't know how he felt about you, but you continued to like him anyway, hoping that he would eventually come around and tell you that he liked you too, that is how God felt about all of mankind, on a microscopic level. He hoped to demonstrate His love for us through Jesus' sacrifice on the cross. It is up to us as humans to decide whether we love Him back or not.
I enjoy doing Bible studies with my small group at church. A couple months ago, we were reading our way through 1 Corinthians. My small group leader stressed to us the importance of the message in 1 Corinthians 8, which I believe is summed up in 1 Corinthians 10:31-33: "So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God. Do not cause anyone to stumble, whether Jews, Greeks or the church of God—even as I try to please everybody in every way. For I am not seeking my own good but the good of many, so that they may be saved." In an interview I saw on YouTube, you said that your mission as a church is summarized in Isaiah in the verse that says that the people will be "ever seeing but not perceiving" and "ever hearing but not understanding" and their hearts will be hardened. I would like to offer an alternative mission. Rather than harden the hearts of men so that they will not gain salvation, try sharing the Gospel. God loves His people: He hates sin and desires for everyone to be free of sin so that we can all live with Him forever. Jesus tells His disciples in Matthew 28:19-20 to "go and make disciples of all nations." Not just His chosen people, Israel. All nations. So rather than cause the hearts of the unfaithful to become even more hardened and the newborn believers to become unsure of their beliefs, encourage new believers and show the positive side of the Gospel. Show love and compassion, and use all the publicity you have gotten to tell the world that God loves them and wants them to love Him back.
Now, to end, Eddie and I have a few questions for you, just to lighten the mood a bit (we hope).
Just out of curiosity, how many children do you have? We saw a couple video interviews, and in one you said you had eight children, and in the other you said you had eleven. So we were just wondering how many you have now.
I would also like to know (as if we haven't already given you enough to talk about), what is your view on the Harry Potter books? Are they permissible, or should Christians steer clear of them?
One more question: Where did you and your husband take your theological training? Just curious.
Again, we apologize for the length of this letter. And I sincerely apologize if anything we have said has offended you. (My cousin would not agree with my apology, but that is why I am the one writing, not him.) Thank you for your time, and God bless!
Michael and Eddie
---"I eagerly expect and hope that I will in no way be ashamed, but will have sufficient courage so that now as always Christ will be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death. For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain." ~ Philippians 1:20-21---
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As I said to Mrs. Roper, I apologize for the length of this post. But I hope that it cleared some things up for anyone who had any questions on what Christians truly believe.
If, and when, I receive a response, I will be sure to post it. If you would like to send a message to Mrs. Roper and the WBC, visit the church's website (look up Westboro Baptist Church on Google, and it should be the first result) and click "Contact" in the upper-right corner.
Until next time, God bless!
Michael
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"I want men everywhere to lift up holy hands in prayer, without anger or disputing." ~ 1 Timothy 2:8
A week later, my cousin came to visit for my high school graduation ceremony. He is very interested in God's word, so I decided to show him the video interviews to get his opinion on them. Clearly, he felt the same way I did, to an even greater extreme. When I told him about my friend's letter, he was more than eager to write a letter of his own. I was slowly persuaded to write a letter as well. So rather than send two separate messages to Mrs. Roper, my cousin and I teamed up to write one long letter.
Before I share the message, I would like to briefly explain what the Westboro Baptist Church preaches and why it and its congregation are so interesting. Founded in 1955 by Pastor Fred Phelps, the Westboro Baptist Church preaches that salvation is primarily through works. They travel the world protesting the funerals of American soldiers, claiming that they deserved to die for supporting America. Why would WBC be against America? Because this nation is filled with homosexuals and people who do nothing to oppose homosexuality, according to WBC. (The members of WBC use a different word for "homosexual," but I feel uncomfortable saying it, or even typing it. The word is even used in the URL for their website.) Mrs. Roper and her congregation go out on the streets, preaching that obedience is the only way to salvation and that, otherwise, we are all going to hell. (That is not the true message of the Bible, but I will let my letter do the explaining on that.) To make a long story short, WBC seems to believe that they are the only true Christians, the only ones righteous in the world, and that their mission is to make that known while hardening the hearts of men, blinding their eyes, and deafening their ears so that no others will obtain redemption.
If you would like more information, please feel free to look up Shirley Phelps Roper on YouTube. Her interviews are everywhere.
And now, without further ado, here is the letter that my cousin and I put together for Mrs. Roper.
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Hello, Mrs. Roper.
Our names are Michael and Eddie, and we are two teenage cousins with a love of God and a deep interest in Christian beliefs. We have seen several videos of your interviews and are very interested in your views and your reasons for your actions. We have several questions and comments we would like to make, which we will try to do respectfully, and we would very much appreciate it if you would give us a timely reply with the same respect.
First, we would like to apologize for the length of this letter. There are just so many points that we would like to address, and there was no way we could abbreviate it.
Also, please seriously consider what we are saying. We may be young, but we are simply trying to obey the words of 1 Timothy 4:12: "Don't let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith and in purity."
Eddie and I both attend church regularly, and we spend a great deal of time in the Scriptures so that we can grow closer to God. We have experience in several different denominations, including Presbyterian, Baptist, Methodist, and Wesleyan churches. But we have never heard of any church that preaches what you preach. We were very surprised and, to be honest, somewhat indignant when we heard some of the things you said in news reports.
In one such interview, you clearly stated that God controls the hearts of men. We have come to believe over the years that, although God does have the ability to control our actions, often He does not use that ability. After all, if He did, then sin would be nonexistent. In fact, it never would have come into existence at all. We believe that our heavenly Father has given us free will to decide what to do for ourselves. As He says through John in 1 John 4:16, "God is love." The way I have come to understand love is this: the relationship between two humans is not forced but a mutual act of free will. Eddie and I believe that this understanding of love also applies to the relationship between God and men. God sent His Son to die for us out of love. He chose us, so now it is up to us as humans to choose Him and complete the relationship. In this way, God gives us freedom to choose our own courses of action. It is only when we give our lives to Him that He reveals His will to us so that we can act upon it, but even then He does not control us. We have to continually choose to follow Him.
We would like to bring an idea to mind. Have you ever considered that when young men and women die, God allows them to die rather than killing them? What we mean is this: there may be plenty of cases where God allows His people to die so that they can return home to heaven to be with Him, like Elijah and Enoch (2 Kings 2:1-14; Genesis 5:24). Just because someone dies does not mean that God hates him or her. I don't know about you, but we haven't heard of any more cases like Elijah or Enoch outside of the Bible. So by your reasoning, it seems that this must mean that God hates everyone. But it seems to me that you believe that you and your followers are the only people who will go to heaven. But I would like to remind you of Romans 3:10: "As it is written: 'There is no one righteous, not even one.'"
Human death is not a thing to be ashamed of. In fact, aside from the coming of our Lord, it is the one thing we Christians look forward to the most in this life. After all, death of the flesh means entrance into the new life. We remain in this life only to do good works that glorify God and to spread the good news of salvation through Jesus Christ.
As I understand from your interviews, you believe that only those who obey the Lord's Commandments will be saved. But look back at Romans 3:10 again. Nobody can live their lives without breaking the Commandments. It seems to me that you are preaching salvation by works, not by faith. But the Bible clearly states that faith is what saves us, and works are merely the evidence of our faith. For example, the famous words of John 3:16 say, "For God so loved the world that He gave His One and Only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life." "Whoever believes in Him"—not whoever obeys the commandments flawlessly, not those God likes: those who believe in Him. Now I do agree that faith alone cannot save us. In fact, Jesus' brother James says so in James 2:17. But that does not mean that our deeds can save us. See Ephesians 2:8-9: "For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast." "It is the gift of God"—God was under no obligation to give us salvation. He did it out of love for us. Paul then goes on in his letter to the Ephesians to say that we have been made to do good works. But this means that we are to serve others and glorify God, not judge others and condemn them by their deeds.
Romans 3:21-24 says, "But now a righteousness from God, apart from the law, has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by His grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus." "A righteousness from God, apart from the law"—again, Paul makes it clear that we are not to rely on our works to gain salvation for us. Our works cannot save us; that is why Jesus came to die for us, in order to serve as the ultimate Sacrifice for our sins. "Through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe"—anyone can be saved if they believe in Jesus. To me, to "believe in" Jesus means that we thankfully accept His gift of salvation and turn from our sinful ways. And by "turn from our sinful ways," I mean, "wholeheartedly apologize to God and make an honest attempt to choose Him over our sinful desires." And of course you know Romans 3:23: "For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God."
Now before you zone us out, let me say this: I understand how annoyed you must get when you hear others tell you not to judge people when they themselves seem to be judging you. Allow me to apologize now for anything we may say that offends you or that sounds like we are being judgmental.
With that being said, I would like to direct your attention to James 4:11-12: "Brothers, do not slander one another. Anyone who speaks against his brother or judges him speaks against the law and judges it. When you judge the law, you are not keeping it, but sitting in judgment on it. There is only one Lawgiver and Judge, the One who is able to save and destroy. But you—who are you to judge your neighbor?" Do any of us have any right to judge a fellow human? James seems to think not. And if what we, as Christians, believe is true, then we can take James' words to be the words of God Himself.
We have a question for you. Any time an interviewer says, "Judge not," to you, you become indignant and retort that they are the ones judging you. That may be true, but seriously reconsider what you have been doing and saying. Take a minute and step into the shoes of the wife of a soldier who died in Iraq. Let's say, hypothetically, that this soldier was a devout member of the church (nondenominational); he read his Bible every day and spent time alone with God for an hour in the morning and an hour in the evening each day; he led Bible studies at church every week, and he actively took notes on the sermon every Sunday morning and studied them throughout the week, applying them to his life along with the words of the Bible; through his actions and words over the last three years, he has brought ten people to Christ and has introduced God to hundreds. If someone came to you protesting your husband's funeral and claiming that he deserved to die, what would you think? Would you automatically think and say, "Thank you for warning me. Clearly God used my husband's death in order to save me"? Although it may be true that that is God's purpose in the deaths of some, that is not the case in all situations. I honestly cannot imagine you being so driven by your beliefs that you would stand by and let your own husband's funeral be protested. What do you think is running through the minds of those men and women whose loved ones have passed away, whose funerals you and your church are protesting? I highly doubt it is gratitude. If you were in their shoes, I believe you would be thinking the same thing so many people have been telling you: "Judge not."
Now please tell me, do you consider your actions to be acts of love? Again, I may only be a teenager, but I believe acts of love are recognizable as acts of love. Whether a parent's rebuke or a friendly hug, it is understood that these things are done out of love. But I cannot truthfully say that I believe saying, "Gays deserve to die," is very loving. Sure, the Bible forbids homosexuality, but God forgives sinners when we repent and turn our lives over to Christ. (Just to clarify, no, I am not gay.) In one interview, you repeatedly avoided the accusation that you had a child out of wedlock. If the accusation is true, then thank God that He is a forgiving God. (If it is false, thank God for helping you to keep His Commandment against adultery.) And because He is a forgiving God, He forgives all who call on His name and turn from their sinful desires. It is not for us but for God alone to decide who will live in heaven and who will die in hell.
1 Peter 3:8-9 says, "Finally, all of you, live in harmony with one another; be sympathetic, love as brothers, be compassionate and humble. Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult, but with blessing, because to this you were called so that you may inherit a blessing." And Galatians 6:1a says, "Brothers, if someone is caught in a sin, you who are spiritual should restore him gently." When I see these verses, I think of a mother warning a toddler not to hit his or her siblings, or two brothers in Christ keeping each other accountable in staying away from lustful temptations. I ask you to reconsider your actions and see if there may be a better way to get the message across that Jesus is the only way to eternal life.
On the WBC website, there is a verse (Proverbs 1:22) that says that God doesn't love everyone. First, I would just like to say that my New International Version Bible does not say that. Second, I would like to show another verse that, I believe, contradicts that statement: Romans 5:6-8. "You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates His own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us." "Christ died for the ungodly"—that's great news for everyone, including you and me. After all, we are sinful human beings. Until we had Christ, we too were ungodly. "While we were still sinners, Christ died for us"—thank God! Think about it this way: If Jesus didn't die for the sinners but only for the righteous, what was the point of His death? After all, I don't know of anyone other than Jesus Himself who managed to live perfectly for his or her entire life. That means that there was no one for Him to die for. If that is the case, then Jesus died only for Himself... and what good does that do anyone?
As I came to this part of the letter, I began to think of a good way to wrap things up. I wanted to bring up John 3:16 again, and I thought it would be cool if I started and ended this message with the same verse. But then I realized that I didn't start the letter with John 3:16, and it turns out I won't be ending with it either, so I gave up on that idea. But I would still like to bring up John 3:16 again anyway. "For God so loved the world that He gave His One and Only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life." "For God so loved the world"—He sent Jesus to die for us because He loved the world. He loved His creation. He loved all of mankind. Not just those who loved Him, but everyone. If you've ever had a crush on someone when you were a kid, and you didn't know how he felt about you, but you continued to like him anyway, hoping that he would eventually come around and tell you that he liked you too, that is how God felt about all of mankind, on a microscopic level. He hoped to demonstrate His love for us through Jesus' sacrifice on the cross. It is up to us as humans to decide whether we love Him back or not.
I enjoy doing Bible studies with my small group at church. A couple months ago, we were reading our way through 1 Corinthians. My small group leader stressed to us the importance of the message in 1 Corinthians 8, which I believe is summed up in 1 Corinthians 10:31-33: "So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God. Do not cause anyone to stumble, whether Jews, Greeks or the church of God—even as I try to please everybody in every way. For I am not seeking my own good but the good of many, so that they may be saved." In an interview I saw on YouTube, you said that your mission as a church is summarized in Isaiah in the verse that says that the people will be "ever seeing but not perceiving" and "ever hearing but not understanding" and their hearts will be hardened. I would like to offer an alternative mission. Rather than harden the hearts of men so that they will not gain salvation, try sharing the Gospel. God loves His people: He hates sin and desires for everyone to be free of sin so that we can all live with Him forever. Jesus tells His disciples in Matthew 28:19-20 to "go and make disciples of all nations." Not just His chosen people, Israel. All nations. So rather than cause the hearts of the unfaithful to become even more hardened and the newborn believers to become unsure of their beliefs, encourage new believers and show the positive side of the Gospel. Show love and compassion, and use all the publicity you have gotten to tell the world that God loves them and wants them to love Him back.
Now, to end, Eddie and I have a few questions for you, just to lighten the mood a bit (we hope).
Just out of curiosity, how many children do you have? We saw a couple video interviews, and in one you said you had eight children, and in the other you said you had eleven. So we were just wondering how many you have now.
I would also like to know (as if we haven't already given you enough to talk about), what is your view on the Harry Potter books? Are they permissible, or should Christians steer clear of them?
One more question: Where did you and your husband take your theological training? Just curious.
Again, we apologize for the length of this letter. And I sincerely apologize if anything we have said has offended you. (My cousin would not agree with my apology, but that is why I am the one writing, not him.) Thank you for your time, and God bless!
Michael and Eddie
---"I eagerly expect and hope that I will in no way be ashamed, but will have sufficient courage so that now as always Christ will be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death. For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain." ~ Philippians 1:20-21---
—————————————————————
As I said to Mrs. Roper, I apologize for the length of this post. But I hope that it cleared some things up for anyone who had any questions on what Christians truly believe.
If, and when, I receive a response, I will be sure to post it. If you would like to send a message to Mrs. Roper and the WBC, visit the church's website (look up Westboro Baptist Church on Google, and it should be the first result) and click "Contact" in the upper-right corner.
Until next time, God bless!
Michael
—————————————————————
"I want men everywhere to lift up holy hands in prayer, without anger or disputing." ~ 1 Timothy 2:8
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