A Response To Donald

A Response to Donald

Donald recently posted a question to me under “About” which is as follows,

“I am curious about people who are Christians. would you be kind enough to discuss your beliefs with me?

‘I believe that it is through Christ’s atonement for us on the cross that we are saved and that through faith in His work, not my own’

What exactly do you feel saved from?

First off Donald, please accept my apology for not getting back to you sooner, day to day living has been a little on the hectic side as of late. I trust you will understand.

The short answer to your question is basically from my own nature, things that I have done, thoughts that I have thought. The Bible calls these shortcoming sin and I believe that all of humanity is subject to commiting sin. The New Testament gives us a recollection of an event wherein a woman who was caught in adultry was brought before Jesus for judgement. In the Old Testament this sin was punishable by death (stoning was the common method). Interestingly enough, both male and female were subject to this punishment but it would appear that only the woman in this case was brought forward. When asked to render a verdict on the woman, Jesus said to the gathered crowd, and I paraphrase here, “Let he that is without sin cast the first stone.” What happened next is that the New Testament states that from the eldest to the youngest, the accusers departed. Jesus asked the woman where her accusers were, and she responded that there were none. Jesus then replied, “Neither do I comdemn you, go and sin no more.”

I am 63 years old, the way that I think things through now is not the way that I thought things through when I was much younger. That definitely doesn’t mean that I am perfect now in all that I do or not do, nor in all that I think or not think, but there has been a substantial change in perspective and for lack of better words, as I recollect some of the things I did and thought in my younger days, it is not difficult to see where my perspective was flawed on a number of occasions.I would suspect that this shortfall continues to this very day, in fact I am sure of it, maybe not as frequent but it is still there, because when all is said and done, I am, in my current state, imperfect, in myself.

Perspective is an interesting word because the life that I have lived has showed me that it changes as new variables are introduced into the equation of life. Do I understand all of the implications of sin, no I do not, but I have learned this. God’s nature or character is different from ours, His ways are not our ways and His thoughts are not our thoughts. A number of years ago, for reasons I do not fully comprehend, I was given grace to stand in the presence of God. This event in my life gave me insight into three things instantly, all at the same time. Holliness is not a word, it is a presence that emulates from the person of God. Second, the difference between myself and God is like day and night and thirdly, God’s love that emulates to us is beyond comprehension. I do know this, I did not want to leave His presence.

I believe that the oneness we had between God and ourselves (humanity) has been broken. Free will I would think, plays a vital role in that. The Law or the Old Testament was given to us to show us that we could not, in ourselves, bring ourselves back into union with God by perfectly following a set of laws or rules per sec. In order to correct the problem you first have to come to the realization that there is a problem. But the Old Testament is only part of God’s message to mankind, the New Testament is the fulfillment, the completion if you will of the original or complete intent of God. He, God provided the way per sec by sending His Son Jesus. The work that Jesus did was to do the will of the Father, and ultimately this meant laying down His life so that we might be at one with the Father again. Consequently, when I say that I believe that it is through the atoning “work” that Jesus did, i.e. His communication of God’s intent and ultimately the sacrifice of the cross, (not to mention the validation of the Resurrection), that I believe or have faith in the fact that I am “at one” with God now, even in my current imperfect bodily state. My faith or trust in the work that Jesus did on my behalf, gives me this confidence. Hence, my reliance to be at one with God the Father is not based on what I have done to bridge the gap that exists but rather on the “work” that Jesus accomplished.

I hope I have answered your question Donald, do not hesitate in letting me know if you require further clarification.

Regards,

bruce

Just A Quickie

While in prayer this morning I was made mindful of how fragile we all are. How open we are to the shortcoming of the human condition. Selfishness, pride, greed and resentment, just to name a few. This journey is much like being placed in a canoe in a stream with a steady current, the current being the way that offers the least resistance. How easy it is to go with the flow and how hard it is to fight it. Yet our calling is to fight it, fight against our own shortcomings, fight against that which does not come from God. I was also made mindful that Jesus said that whoever had seen Him had seen the Father. That is an amazing statement and yet it rings so true. Jesus also said that the words that He spoke were not His own but of the Father and then He summarized it all by saying, and I paraphrase, “and this is the will of the Father, that you love one another like I have loved you”. Another amazing statement. Fighting against our own nature and fighting against that which is so easy to follow is designed to make us aware of our need for God, His guidance, His strength, His perspective and most importantly, His love. The journey is really the development of a dependency, the development of a relationship, nutured in love. I wish I understood more. God also made me mindful that He would honor His word and that He heard my prayer. For now, this is enough. Through His grace, the thread of connection between He and I and those that I lift up to Him in prayer, is maintained. And I will believe Him because He is the only light that shines in the darkness of this world. I don’t say that in a negative way, I am not in dispair, just aware. God bless you all.

Christianity Today and Eckhart Tolle

There is an interesting article at “Christianity Today” in response to a submitted question as to whether Eckhart Tolle is a Christian. You can check it out at the following link: http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2008/august/12.50.html

Correlations

For those who think that there is no correlation between New Age precepts and Hinduism, I would suggest reading the following article:   http://www.probe.org/content/view/692/0/

And for an enlightening overview of Oprah’s recent spiritual journey I would also recommend the following link: http://www.canadafreepress.com/index.php/article/2930

Food for thought …..

Thoughts on Differing Perspectives

As some of you may have noticed, I have taken part in on going discussions, both on this blog and others, with regard to Eckhart Toole’s book, “A New Earth”. “A New Earth” echos many of the main themes or perspectives of the “New Age” way of looking at how one can formulate an understanding or methodology that moves us supposedly forward towards the goal of finding spiritual truth and fulfillment. As to whether the “New Age” perspective is the correct perspective, is what the on going discussions have been all about. There are those within the “Christian Community”, and I use that term loosely, that agree and disagree with the New Age or A New Earth approach.

The fact that so many people are finding the New Age approach thought provoking and yes, even gratifying, speaks of the universal need for humanity to find meaning in life beyond the physical plain. And it also speaks of the failure of the Christian Church to fill this obvious need.

I am a Christian and the perspective that I adhere to is that we, i.e., humanity, have been given a revelation from God and that revelation is contained within the Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments. There are many that agree with me and there are also many who would disagree with me.

Either side of the coin can and often does, make a reasoned case for their particular perspective. The variables that can come into play are many, and criticism, within and without is often justified.

And I wonder, where did the Christian Church and what it stands for go wrong. I believe with all my heart that Jesus did not go wrong, I believe that what He proclaimed and what He exemplified (and still does) has never changed. But we, His followers, His disciples have often gotten it wrong. Don’t misunderstand me, there are millions of individuals and groups within the body of Christ that have exemplified the love of God (and still do), but collectively, historically, we have often fallen short. Sometimes I think that we focus too much on our mental adherence to what is acceptable and what is not acceptable and we fail to focus on reaching out in the love of God, accepting others where they are, much like God accepts us where we are and takes us from there to a greater understanding.

Is it wrong to know what you believe and why you believe it? Absolutely not, in fact, it is of necessity, an absolute requirement. Even the New Age perspective, which also has many variables, is, in itself, a belief system or methodology of perspective per sec. Nothing, absolutely nothing, is really simplistic. There are sound reasons why the various creeds came into existence. There are reasons why the Reformation took place and there are sound reasons why divisions continue.

I have always marveled that Jesus did not leave us with any of His personal writings. When you stop and think about it, that in itself is really amazing. From a humanistic perspective, one would think that a person who said that He was an equal with God would lay down the fundamentals in written format, but He didn’t. It almost goes against the grain to leave something of that importance to chance, or perhaps He (Jesus) had a perspective that most of us don’t take to heart. He wasn’t leaving it to chance, He knew what was going to happen and He had no doubt how His message would be dealt with by humanity, even more specifically towards the latter days, so what we are experiencing should not come as a surprise. But still, I can’t help but feel that sometimes we just missed the mark and it does not have to be this way. And yet, maybe it is I that am wrong, maybe human nature being what it is, does paint a picture of perpetual conflict. Consider these words from Jesus as recorded in Luke chapter 12: “Suppose ye that I am come to give peace on earth? I tell you, Nay; but rather division: for from henceforth there shall be five in one house divided, three against two, and two against three. The father shall be divided against the son, and the son against the father; the mother against the daughter, and the daughter against the mother; the mother in law against her daughter in law, and the daughter in law against her mother in law.”

Division within the church was always been problematic and there is a reason for that. The church, that is the collective members of the body of Christ here on earth are imperfect. That would be you and I. The Good News that Jesus came to declare, the sacrifice He made on the cross for our sins, the life He exemplified doing the will of the Father, are all without error. There never has been a man like Jesus again and He was and is truly unique. How we react to the truths that He gave us, has been and continues to be a source of division. At what cost do we move towards unity? When does watering down the Gospel equate to walking away from the truth rather than towards it? If what Jesus proclaimed is the truth, then how can one just focus on things that He said that we can agree on and ignore the rest that may make us uncomfortable?

Christian apologetics is in itself a good thing because it can provide answers to many of the questions we have all thought of at one time or another. But ever here there is variance, even here what is acceptable to one may not be acceptable to another.  I don’t see anything wrong in understanding why we as Christians have faith in the written word of God, in fact I think it of paramount importance. But, the way we live our lives, the way we interact with others, the way we offer out God’s love in our dealings with our families and fellow workers and humanity in general is also of equal or even greater importance. If we are to be lights in the darkness, then why do we not shine more brightly?

The more one tries to imitate the way Jesus dealt with people He met, the more we become aware of the distance between His perspective and our own. His work was to do the will of the Father, too often we have our own agenda. This, I believe, is our biggest failing. Do Christian apologetics change non-believers minds, I am sure they have and do, but even more important I suspect is the day to day demonstration of the love of God as defined in Ist Corinthians chapter 13, to our family, our friends and our fellow human beings on this earth. Because, when all is said and done, if I understand 1st Corinthians 13 at all, it is the love that is manifested in all our dealings with others that is pivotal and of utter importance, because no matter what we are doing in response to God’s calling on our life, if we do not do it in love, then we clearly fall short. And yet, I also ponder, is there such a thing as righteous indignation? When Jesus cleared the Temple because they had made it into a den of thieves, was this an act of love on Jesus part? I think it was, love towards His Father in what had been subverted from one representation into another. Maybe our understanding of the demonstration of love needs to be critically reviewed.

For the time being, it is my perspective that different perspectives will always be a reality, the magnitude of the number of those who hold different perspectives, is limited only by our willingness to serve God in truth and in spirit.

Outstanding Christian Resource

Finding a well thought out and balanced Christian resource covering a broad area of topics is not as easy a task as one might think it is. There are so many variables and discernments to take into consideration. But, I have found a jem and I would love to share it with you. We are talking video, audio, study guides, powerpoint presentations and pod casts. Check it out …..

http://www.whchurch.org/content/page_26.htm

and there is an excellent resource available on “New Age” Questions and Answers also.

http://www.whchurch.org/content/page_883.htm

Unlocking the Mystery of Life

I just finished watching “Unlocking the Mystery of Life”. It is a compelling documentary that examines an idea with the power to revolutionize our understanding of life… and to unlock the mystery of its origin. In 1859, Charles Darwin published, On the Origin of Species . In it, he argued that all of life on earth was the product of undirected natural processes. Time, chance, and natural selection. Since Darwin, biologists have relied on such processes to account for the origin of living things. Yet today, this approach is being challenged as never before. “Unlocking the Mystery of Life” is the story of top-notch, contemporary scientists who are advancing a powerful idea — “the theory of intelligent design.” Using state-of-the-art computer animation, “Unlocking the Mystery of Life” transports you into the interior of the living cell to explore systems and machines that bear the unmistakable hallmarks of design. Discover the intricacy of a microscopic bacterial rotary motor, which spins at 100,000 rpm. Within the nucleus explore the wonder of DNA, a thread-like molecule that stores instructions to build the essential components of every living organism. It is part of a biological information processing system more complex and more powerful than any computer network.

You can view it on youtube at the following link. If you haven’t seen it yet I highly recommend you take the time to view it. http://ca.youtube.com/watch?v=FSi353iB020

Not By Chance

The following link provides an excellent article authored by Stephen C. Meyer on the reasoning behind the Intelligence Design position. Stephen C. Meyer is director and Senior Fellow of the Center for Science and Culture at the Discovery Institute, in Seattle.

Meyer earned his Ph.D. in the History and Philosophy of Science from Cambridge University for a dissertation on the history of origin of life biology and the methodology of the historical sciences. Previously he worked as a geophysicist with the Atlantic Richfield Company after earning his undergraduate degrees in Physics and Geology.

http://www.discovery.org/a/3059

A New Earth – More Critiques

Chuck Colson is just one of an ever increasing number of Evangelical Christians to raise the alarm about Eckhart Toole’s book “A New Earth”. You can read his viewpoint at the following link:

http://www.breakpoint.org/listingarticle.asp?ID=7792

The links at the end of the article also provide additional insight….

Whole Hearted Recommendation

I have read many books and visited many web sites over the course of years of my existence and there is one that stands out at the forefront for sound information access and well balanced reasoning. I heartily recommend the following site and it’s publications for both young and old.

http://www.knowgodpersonally.org/index.php