The Case for Christ

The Case for Christ is an older but very popular book by Lee Strobel. I’ve always meant to finish reading it, like I do with a lot of books. I finally did. The book is advertised as Strobel’s journey to “determine if there’s credible evidence that Jesus of Nazareth really is the Son of God.” In this book he interviews scholarly figures such as Metzger, Blomberg, Witherington, along with others.

Metzger, Blomberg and others are all challenged with some typical but sometimes hard questions. Blomberg’s ability to always be in the know doesn’t go unnoticed by Strobel. If you’ve ever had questions about Jesus’ divinity, this book makes and easy argument though I’m sure Case for Christ has it’s critics. With western Evangelicalism in a wash of ‘doubt,’ Strobel makes a compelling case that is an easy low level read for everyone.

The Debate Over Darwin Continues: Stephen Meyer vs. Michael Shermer in Beverly Hills

In less than two weeks we will witness the rematch of the decade as Stephen Meyer and Michael Shermer face off on the question of intelligent design versus evolution.

These two men have met several times before, most recently at Freedomfest in Las Vegas in 2008 (click here for video). They also sparred in 2005 at Westminster College and appeared together on Lee Strobel’s Faith Under Fire program (video here). It will be interesting to see the new insights into the questions at hand as this debate has matured and developed.

The debate is hosted by the American Freedom Alliance and will take place at the prestigious Saban Theater in Beverly Hills on Monday, November 30, at 7:30pm. Dr. Meyer and Dr. Shermer will be joined by Dr. Richard Sternberg and Dr. Donald Prothero, respectively.

For more information and to buy tickets, click here.

(Via Evolution News)

FROM LIGHTHOUSE TRAILS RESEARCH

WHY are Joel Rosenberg and Frank Peretti Appearing With New Age/New Spirituality Sympathizers?

Ye cannot drink the cup of the Lord, and the cup of devils: ye cannot be partakers of the Lord’s table, and of the table of devils. (I Corinthians 10:21)

Why are so many Christian leaders continually appearing with personalities who claim to be Christian yet promote the heretical “new spirituality”? In January 2010, in Alberta, Canada, such a situation will take place at the Break Forth conference, bringing together a conglomeration of Christian figures, New Age sympathizers, and mystic/emerging proponents. From Joel Rosenberg (Epicenter), Frank Peretti (This Present Darkness), and Lee Strobel (The Case for Christ) to William Paul Young (The Shack), Leonard Sweet (Quantum Spirituality), and contemplative proponents such as Duffy Robbins (Enjoy the Silence) and Brad Jersak, Break Forth will be like drawing gray lines in the sand–blended, indistinguishable lines.

In essence, this merging together, like so many other events now taking place within evangelical Christianity, willhelp erode the distinction between truth and falsehood and light and dark.

With well-known names like Rosenberg, Peretti, and Strobel as part of the speaking platform, many Christians who otherwise might not attend or pay much attention to this emerging event, could be drawn in just by the mere mention of these men’s names. And with Break Forth boasting that 1000 Canadian churches are represented at this event, tens of thousands of church goers could easily, directly or indirectly, be impacted in a fashion ultimately leading to spiritual deception and apostasy.

Full article HERE

*)(**)(**)(*

(From: Debate btw. Lane-Craig and Atkins)

“a spiritual life beyond the natural”

“Put that in your pipe and smoke it”, Mr William F. Buckley (Nearer, My GOD) < his personal experience of Jesus Christ.

Considering how many Atheists of the past came to an UNDERSTANDING that there is a Prime Mover, and more.

1. C.S. Lewis – Suprised by Joy

‘I know very well then, but hardly how, the final step was taken. I was driven to Whipsnade one sunny morning. When we set out I did not believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, and when we reached the zoo I did. Yet I had not exactly spent the journey in thought. Nor in great emotion. ‘Emotional’ is perhaps the last word we can apply to some of the most important events. It was more like when a man, after long sleep, still lying motionless in bed, becomes aware that he is now awake.’
( C.S. Lewis )

2. Derek Prince – Biography by Stephen Mansfield

3. CEM Joad – Recovery of Belief

4. Lin Yutang – From Pagan to Christian

(…prominent Christian ((scientistis)) …)

Interesting to note how many EXTREMELY RELIGIOUS people became truely born again….

1. St. Augustine – Confessions < read online

‘I probed the hidden depths of my soul and wrung its pitiful secrets from it, and when I gathered them all before the eyes of my heart, a great storm broke within me, bringing with it a great deluge of tears … For I felt that I was still enslaved by my sins, and in my misery I kept crying, “How long shall I go on saying “Tommorrow, tommorow” ? Why not now ? Why not make an end of my ugly sins at this moment ?

I was asking myself these questions, weeping all the while with the most bitter sorrow in my heart, when all at once I heard the sing-song voice of a child in a nearby house. Whether it was the voice of a boy or a girl I cannot say, but again and again it repeated the chorus, ‘Take it and read, take it and read’. At this I looked up, thinking hard whether there was any kind of game in which children used to chant words like these, but I could not remember ever hearing them before. I stemmed my flood of tears and stoop up, telling myself that this could only be God’s command to open my book of Scripture and read the first passage on which my eyes should fall.

I seized it and opened it, and it silence I read the first passage on which my eyes fell: ‘No orgies or drunkeness, no immorality or indecency, no fighting or jealousy. ‘Take up the weapons of the Lord Jesus Christ; and stop giving attention to your sinful nature, to satisfy its desires’. I had no wish to read more and no need to do so. For in an instant, as I came to the end of the sentence, it was as though the light of faith flooded into my heart and all the darkness of doubt was dispelled.’

2. St. Paul ( New Testament Writer )

3. Professor Martin Luther ( Reformer )

Though I lived as a monk without reproach, I felt that I was a sinner before God with an extremely disturbed conscience. I could not believe that he was placated by my satisfaction. I did not love, yes, I hated the righteous God who punishes sinners, and secretly, if not blasphemously, certainly murmuring greatly, I was angry with God, and said, “As if, indeed, it is not enough, that miserable sinners, eternally lost through original sin, are crushed by every kind of calamity by the law of the decalogue, without having God add pain to pain by the gospel and also by the gospel threatening us with his righteousness and wrath!” Thus I raged with a fierce and troubled conscience. Nevertheless, I beat importunately upon Paul at that place, most ardently desiring to know what St. Paul wanted.

At last, by the mercy of God, meditating day and night, I gave heed to the context of the words, namely, “In it the righteousness of God is revealed, as it is written, ‘He who through faith is righteous shall live.’” There I began to understand that the righteousness of God is that by which the righteous lives by a gift of God, namely by faith. And this is the meaning: the righteousness of God is revealed by the gospel, namely, the passive righteousness with which merciful God justifies us by faith, as it is written, “He who through faith is righteous shall live.” Here I felt that I was altogether born again and had entered paradise itself through open gates. There a totally other face of the entire Scripture showed itself to me. Thereupon I ran through the Scripture from memory. I also fount in other terms an analogy, as, the work of God, that is what God does in us, the power of God, with which he makes us wise, the strenght of God, the salvation of God, the glory of God.

And I extolled my sweetest word with a love as great as the hatred with which I had before hated the word “righteousness of God.” Thus that place in Paul was for me truly the gate to paradise. Later I read Augustine’s The Spirit and the Letter, where contrary to hope I found that he, too, interpreted God’s righteousness in a similar way, as the righteousness with which God clothes us when he justifies us (Augustine passage included below). Although this was heretofore said imperfectly and he did not explain all things concerning imputation clearly, it nevertheless was pleasing that God’s righteousness with which we are justified was taught.

From: Keith’s Grace News

4. Jean Cauvin (John Calvin) – Reformer

5. Kerry Livgren – Seeds of Change

How many more testimonies of philosophers, scientists, biologists, pyschiatrists ( Dr. Richard Ganz ), psychologists, doctors…

I was a pagan, but eventually began experience promptings from the spirit of Jesus Christ, even though I did not read a Bible or go to Church.

If you are serious about REASONING, AND THINKING…(I wrote those in caps for you to notice them, not to shout)…I have referred many who have greater intellectual background than I do, to one of the finest debate and discussion forums of the internet. http://www.apologetics.com

There are a number of people on their who are good at answering questions about Christianity, the Bible, current Scientific thought etc. etc etc. You can ask "Love Supreme" (Lindsay Brooks), or "Mathetes" (Dr. J. Gibson) who are both very well qualified.

Should you have been banned from this forum, and not be able to get access, I suggest reading or listening to the writings of any of the above, plus:

1. Os Guiness

2. Dr Donald Carson

3. Professor Vishal Mangalwadi

4. Dr Albert Mohler

The rest are in the side column of this blog…

5. GK Chesterton

6. Professor Alistar McGrath

7. Professor Alvin Plantinga

8. Dr Michael Sudduth

9. Martin Lloyd-Jones ..just to mention a few…

So many very bright, intelligent thinkers are believers in GOD.

There is so much more to tell, but I leave it up to you to make the move and begin asking the right questions to the right people.
The Internet is not the best place to get these answers, though I do recommend Apologetics.com.

One thing I have learned that once you begin searching for GOD and not putting up arguments to avoid checking Him out for yourself (that is called "seeking" ) — God who has taken the first step in Christ to your heart, will be there and ready to reply to your hearts prayers.

Here are links to some of the testimonies on the playlist (linked above) :

Lee Strobel – “The Unexpected Adventure”

I was an atheist for most of my life. I thought that the idea of an all powerful, all loving God was just silly. I learned in school that evolution was where life came from, so what do you need God for? And I had a lot of self-motivation for living an atheistic lifestyle. I was living a very immoral life and a drunken life, life that was really a hundred percent focused on journalism. (…read more…)

Pastor Oden Fong (ex- Mustard Seed Faith)

Pastor Mike Macintosh

Dan Peek (ex- America)

Kerry Livgren (ex-Kansas, AD, Proto-Kaw)

Phil Keaggy ( Musician )

Dave Hope & Kerry Livgren (both ex- Kansas etc) Part 1 & Part 2

Neal Morse

“This is my story….” ( says Neal Morse)

Professor JP Moreland

Sean: Why do apologetics sometimes get criticized?

JP: First, people often misunderstand what it means to do apologetics. Many people associate apologetics with a cold, objective, didactic presentation of the facts that is meant to control what people believe. If that’s what apologetics were about, you could count me out as well! This overlooks the type of reasoning of The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis, which is presented in story form in a very warm, passionate way. You can even engage in apologetics through presenting your own testimony while including some of the reasons you found persuasive. Second, in a culture where people are not well educated any longer, where they know deep in their hearts that they cannot think very well, or they know they really don’t know why they believe what they believe, it’s too painful to admit that they are inadequate and they need to grow and then have to do their homework to make progress. It’s a simple way to dismiss the problem by just saying, “Who gives a rip about that anyways?” So, then you can just sit in your laziness and complacency and not have to do the hard homework of growing.

(…read more…)

Dr. William Lane-Craig

I wasn’t raised in a church-going family, much less a Christian family—though it was a good and loving home. But when I became a teenager, I began to ask the big questions of life: “Who am I?” “Why am I here?” “Where am I going?” In the search for answers I began to attend on my own a large church in our community. But instead of answers, all I found was a social country club where the dues were a dollar a week in the offering plate. The other high school students who were involved in the youth group and claimed to be Christians on Sunday lived for their real God the rest of the week, which was popularity. They seemed willing to do whatever it took to be popular.

This really bothered me. “They claim to be Christians, but I’m leading a better life than they are!” I thought. “Yet I feel so empty inside. They must be just as empty as I am, but they’re just pretending to be something they’re not. They’re all just a pack of hypocrites.” So I began to grow very bitter toward the institutional church and the people in it.

In time this attitude spread toward other people. “Nobody is really genuine,” I thought. “They’re all just a bunch of phonies, holding up a plastic mask to the world, while the real person is cowering down inside, afraid to come out and be real.” So my anger and resentment spread toward people in general. I grew to despise people, I wanted nothing to do with them. “I don’t need people,” I thought, and I threw myself into my studies. Frankly, I was on my way toward becoming a very alienated young man.

And yet—in moments of introspection and honesty, I knew deep down inside that I really did want to love and be loved by others. I realized in that moment that I was just as much a phony as they were. For here I was, pretending not to need people, when deep down I knew that I really did. So that anger and hatred turned in upon myself for my own hypocrisy and phoniness.

I don’t know if you understand what this is like, but this kind of inner anger and despair just eats away at your insides, making every day miserable, another day to get through. I couldn’t see any purpose to life; nothing really mattered.

One day when I was feeling particularly crummy, I walked into my high school German class and sat down behind a girl who was one of those types that is always so happy it just makes you sick! I tapped her on the shoulder, and she turned around, and I growled, “Sandy, what are you always so happy about anyway?”

“Well, Bill,” she said, “It’s because I’m saved!”

I was in utter shock. I had never heard language like this before.

“You’re what?” I demanded.

“I know Jesus Christ as my personal Savior,” she explained.

“I go to church,” I said lamely.

“That’s not enough, Bill,” she said. “You’ve got to have him really living in your heart.”

That was the limit! “What would he want to do a thing like that for?” I demanded.

“Because he loves you, Bill.”

That hit me like a ton of bricks. Here I was, so filled with anger and hate, and she said there was someone who really loved me. And who was it but the God of the universe! That thought just staggered me. To think that the God of the universe should love me, Bill Craig, that worm down there on that speck of dust called planet Earth! I just couldn’t take it in.

That began for me the most agonizing period of soul-searching that I’ve ever been through. I got a New Testament and read it from cover to cover. And as I did, I was absolutely captivated by the person of Jesus of Nazareth. There was a wisdom about his teaching I had never encountered before and an authenticity in his life that wasn’t characteristic of those people who claimed to be his followers in the local church I was attending. I know that I couldn’t throw the baby out with the bathwater.

Through reading the New Testament, I discovered what my problem was. My own moral failures—in thought, word, and deed—had made me morally guilty before God and so spiritually separated from Him. That’s why God seemed so unreal to me. But the Good News was that God had sent His Son Jesus Christ into the world to pay the death penalty for my sin, thereby freeing up God’s love and forgiveness to pardon and cleanse me and restore me to the relationship with God that I was meant to have.

Meanwhile, Sandy introduced me to other Christian students in the high school. I had never met people like this! Whatever they said about Jesus, what was undeniable was that they were living life on a plane of reality that I didn’t even dream existed, and it imparted a deep meaning and joy to their lives, which I craved.

To make a long story short, my spiritual search went on for the next six months. I attended Christian meetings; I read Christian books; I sought God in prayer. Finally, one night I just came to the end of my rope and cried out to God. I cried out all the anger and bitterness that had built up inside me, and at the same time I felt this tremendous infusion of joy, like a balloon being blown up and blown up until it was ready to burst! I remember I rushed outdoors—it was a clear, mid-western, summer night, and you could see the Milky Way stretched from horizon to horizon. As I looked up at the stars, I thought, “God! I’ve come to know God!”

That moment changed my whole life. I had thought enough about this message during those six months to realize that if it were really the truth—really the truth—, then I could do nothing less than spend my entire life spreading this wonderful message among mankind.

For many Christians, the main difference they find in coming to know Christ is the love or the joy or the peace it brings. All of those things were thrilling for me, too. But if you were to ask me what is the main difference Christ has made in my life, without hesitation I would say, “Meaning!” I knew the blackness, the despair, of a life lived apart from God. Knowing God suddenly brought eternal significance to my life. Now the things I do are charged with eternal meaning. Now life matters. Now every day I wake up to another day of walking with Him.

(…read more…)

Hearts in transition…

Anthony Flew (ex- Atheist Philosopher )

In many of these venues, Flew explained in his own words that he was chiefly persuaded to abandon atheism because of Aristotle’s writings about God and due to a number of arguments that are often associated with Intelligent Design. But his brand of theism – or better yet, deism[7] – was not a variety that admitted special revelation, including either miracles or an afterlife. While he acknowledged most of the traditional attributes for God, he stopped short of affirming any divine involvement with humans.

Along the way, Flew made several very positive comments about Christianity, and about Jesus, in particular. Jesus was a first rate moral philosopher, as well as a preeminent charismatic personality, while Paul had a brilliant philosophical mind. While rejecting miracles, Flew held that the resurrection is the best-attested miracle-claim in history.[8]

It is against this background that we turn to the latest chapter in the ongoing account of Antony Flew’s pilgrimage from ardent atheism to deism. Further clarifying his religious views, especially for those who might have thought that the initial report was too hasty, or suspected incorrect reporting, or later backtracking on Flew’s part, the former atheistic philosopher has now elucidated his position. In a new book that is due to be released before the end of the year, Flew chronicles the entire story of his professional career, from atheism to deism, including more specific reasons for his change. Along the way, several new aspects have been added.

(…read more….)

There are many, many, many, many more who are considering God, and many, many, many, many more who have been born of the Spirit and the shelves are filled with their stories, and some are right next to you now.

Apologetix.

Som sagt så hade jag tänkt att lägga upp några YouTube-klipp här på bloggen, som ska handla om kristendomens trovärdighet. Det kommer vara filmklipp som handlar om den historiske Jesus och Bibelns trovärdighet, men också lite om kristen tro ur ett filosofiskt perspektiv. Kan det t.ex. vara logiskt att tro på Gud?

Men jag inleder med den “historiska granskningen”. Här följer två klipp (ett kort och ett något längre) på totalt knappt 10 minuter. Först ger journalisten och apologeten Lee Strobel sin syn på varför man kan tro på Bibeln. Sedan ger filosofen Dr William Lane Craig ett övertygande anförande, utifrån de historiska fakta vi har, till stöd för att Uppståndelsen faktiskt ägde rum.

Lee Strobel:

William Lane Craig:

A Case for Christ
Lee Strobel

Using the dramatic scenario of an investigative journalist pursuing his story and leads, Lee Strobel uses his experience as a reporter for the Chicago Tribune to interview experts about the evidence for Christ from the fields of science, philosophy, and history. Winner of the Gold Medallion Book Award and twice nominated for the Christian Book of the Year Award.

Description: 
If you were a journalist, how would you handle a news story so big it would utterly eclipse all other world events? How thorough would your investigation be? How many hard-hitting questions would you ask? How carefully would you consult with top experts to get detailed, accurate answers? Lee Strobel knows firsthand. It was as an award-winning reporter for the Chicago Tribune and an avowed atheist that he first investigated the greatest news story of all — the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Now, in The Case for Christ, he presents compelling evidence and expert testimony for the claims of Christianity. As a seasoned journalist with a Yale law background, Strobel systematically tracks down his leads and asks the blunt, tough questions you would want to ask — questions that can make or break the Christian faith. He refuses contrived, simplistic answers. Instead, he pieces together hard facts through interviews with a dozen of the country’s top scholars. Written in the style of a blockbuster investigative report, The Case for Christ is a provocative and spellbinding read, marshaling expert testimony and persuasive evidence. With unerring instincts, Strobel ferrets out: Historical evidence: Do we possess reliable documents concerning the life, teachings, and resurrection of Jesus? Scientific Evidence: Is there archaeological substantiation for the historical accounts about Jesus? Did Jesus perform miracles? Psychiatric Evidence: Did Jesus really claim to be God?
 
What evidence is there that he fits God’s profile? Fingerprint Evidence: What does prophecy have to say about Jesus? Other Evidence: Jesus’ death, the missing body, eyewitness accounts, and claims of personal encounters. The Case for Christ reads like a captivating, fast-paced novel.
 
But, it’s not fiction.
 
It’s a riveting journey to the truth about the most remarkable event in history: the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. And it’s a revealing, personal testimony to his power to transform people yet today — even the most case-hardened, cynical journalist.
Lee Strobel with a journalism degree from the University of Missouri and a Master of Studies in Law degree from Yale Law School, was the award-winning legal editor of the Chicago Tribune and a spiritual skeptic until 1981. His books include four Gold Medallion winners and the 2005 Christian Book of the Year (coauthored with Garry Poole). He and his wife live in Colorado.

Other Lee Strobel Products

Get A Case for Christ at Emmaus Road Christian Store - 

http://www.emmaus-road.com/2609

Här kommer lite boktips. 7 stycken faktiskt.

Jag håller just nu på att läsa “Reinventing Jesus” av Komoszewski, Sawyer och Wallace. Det är en bok som i detalj går igenom frågor som “Har Nya Testamentets texter gjorts om under 2000 år?”, “Uteslöts trovärdiga dokument om Jesus från Bibeln?”, “Är Jesu gudomlighet något som kyrkan hittade på på 300-talet?” och “Är historien om Jesus baserad på tidigare mytologier och gudasagor?”.

Det är en fascinerande bok, som jag varmt rekomenderar för den intresserade. Dock kan den kanske vara lite avancerad för många. Den går tämligen djupt in på den textkritiska vetenskapen.

Men för er som vill testa kristendomens trovärdighet, men behöver något lite mer lättsmält, så rekomenderar jag följande böcker:

“Kristen på Goda Grunder” av Stefan Gustavsson

“Kan man vara kristen?” av C.S. Lewis

“Fallet Jesus” av Lee Strobel

“Vilken Jesus ska jag tro på?” av Lee Strobel

Stefan Gustavsson är förmodligen en av de främsta i Sverige på att förklara och försvara kristen tro på ett intellektuellt trovärdigt sätt. C.S. Lewis (författare till Narnia-böckerna) är en av 1900-talets stora kristna tänkare. Hans bok har en liten annan utgångspunkt än Gustavssons, och han talar mycket om moral och var den kommer ifrån. Den fungerar som ett filosofiskt försvar för, men också som en introduktion till, kristen tro. Lee Strobel är en amerikansk f.d. kriminaljournalist som tidigare var ateist, men som efter att ha undersökt bevisen för och emot kristendomen, kom fram till att bevisen för var mycket starkare. Hans böcker innehåller väldigt mycket nyttigt, då han intervjuar världsledande teologer, historiker, filosofer och experter på Nya Testamentet m.m. Men han är själv nog ingen “stor tänkare”, utan förmedlar det hans intervjuobjekt (som ju som sagt är experter) säger. “Kristen på goda grunder” av Gustavsson var den första bok jag läste på det här ämnet, och jag skulle nog rekommendera att man börjar med den.

Jag har också precis läst ut boken “Inga Enkla Frågor” av William Lane Craig. Detta är den världsledande kristne filosofens första bok på svenska. Den är en tämligen kort bok (ca 180 sidor), men sprängfylld med utmanande filosofiskt tänkande. Craig försöker besvara frågor om tvivel, obesvarade böner, misslyckanden, lindande och ondska, aborter, homosexualitet och Jesus som den enda vägen. Men trots de komplicerade frågorna, så är det tämligen lätt att följa med i Craigs strikt logiska resonemang. Boken är dels rent filosofiskt utmanande. Dessutom bra i apologetiskt syfte. Men också på sätt och vis själavårdande och uppmuntrande.

Dessutom läser jag just nu också en tredje kristen bok (plus Bibeln naturligtvis). Det är dock ingen apologetisk bok, utan snarare en bok som handlar om att lära känna Gud. “Lär känna Gud” heter boken, skriven av den framstående teologen J.I. Packer. Det är också en bok jag rekommenderar varmt. Dels lär man på sätt och vis känna nya sidor av Gud. Men man märker också hur Bibelns budskap utmanar ens egen relation med Kristus. Väldigt upplysande och uppbyggande.

Jag hoppas att jag någon gång i framtiden kan dela med mig lite av vad jag har funnit i de böcker jag läser just nu. Det finns mycket jag vill skriva om. Men just nu har jag inte tid.

Därför har jag tänkt att posta några YouTube-klipp som på sätt och vis är kopplade till den litteratur jag läser. Inom en snar framtid kommer här finnas klipp med teologer, filosofer och tänkare som William Lane Craig, Gary Habermas, Lee Strobel, N.T. (Tom) Wright, J.P. Moreland mfl. De kommer tala om Nya Testamentets historiska tillförlitlighet, om det finns objektiv moral, om kristendom är den enda sanna religionen, om det kan vara logiskt att tro på det övernaturliga m.m.

Last week I finished a ten part series reviewing the Top Ten Christian Books for Kids.  The hardest part of putting together the Top Ten Christian Books for Kids was deciding which books weren’t going to make the cut.  So, I put together this Honorable Mention list of the next ten books I considered for the list.  I will limit my input on each one to a sentence or so along with a link to ChristianBook.com and there description of the Book.

11. Little Blessings

This series includes various books which tell the story of the Bible in rhyme for young Children.  Each book includes scripture references at the back for your reference.  Here are some on the books in this series:

• Why Is There A Cross?
• Is God Always With Me?
• Who Made the World?
• What Is God Like?
• What Is the Bible?
• What Is Prayer?
• Are Angels Real?
• God Loves You.
• Who Is Jesus?
• Thank You God
• Questions from little hearts
• What about heaven?

Here is what ChristianBook.com has to say about one entry in this series Why Is There A Cross?:

“This colorfully illustrated book tells the story of the crucifixion and resurrection of Christ in rhyming verse that will delight little eyes and ears. Even the youngest readers can grasp the idea that Jesus loves them and died for them, and older readers will understand the deeper message of how we show our love for Jesus and what He did for us.”

“These delightful new additions to the Little Blessings line help young children understand two more basic truths about God and Jesus. Why Is There a Cross? tackles the difficult subject of Christ’s death. This read-to-me book for children ages 3–6 explains both the how and the why of Christ’s death in simple words and pictures that communicate the wonder of his sacrifice. Is God Always with Me? introduces children ages 3–6 to the idea that God is a part of their everyday lives. This read-to-me book with beautiful illustrations and pleasant rhyming verses conveys the comforting truth that God is with us wherever we go, no matter what.”

12. The Illustrated Bible – New Testament

This Bible contains the complete ICB version of the New Testament illustrated in comic book format.  This one is sure to keep your kids interest as you read to them or they read to you.

Here is what ChristianBook.com has to say about The Illustrated Bible:

“Bring the Word of God to life for your 6- to 10-year-olds with this engaging New Testament. Neely’s frame-by-frame comic-book-style art parallels actual Scripture—not a paraphrase—to help youngsters see who’s speaking and the context of the scene. A great way to encourage learning and find out that it’s fun to read the Bible! 640 pages, 6.5″ x 9.25″ x 1.25″ hardcover from Nelson.”

13. On My Own Reader Bible

When my son first started reading, I bought him this book to read to me every night.  He is eight now and still enjoys reading through this book.

Here is what ChristianBook.com has to say about the On My Own Reader BIble:

Now it’s easy to choose the very best Bible storybook for your child at every age and stage of development with the NLT Story Bible Series.

On-My-Own Reader Bible is designed to meet the specific needs of beginning readers, ages 5-8, by providing:

• layout that supports reading skill-building
• large print and white space between lines
• appropriate story length for primary-grade learners

75 Bible stories selected with new readers in mind

14. The Case for Kids (series)

Lee Strobel’s well known apologetic books are now available in kid sized versions.  This series currently includes four titles for the little apologist in your family or church.

Here is what ChristianBook.com has to say about The Case for Faith for Kids:

“Using kid-friendly language, Lee Strobel shares true examples of how people throughout the world demonstrate their faith in God while answering questions about the nature of God. Ages 9-12”

Here is what ChristianBook.com has to say about The Case For A Creator for Kids:

“Did God create the universe? Or was there a big bang? Author Lee Strobel explains cutting-edge scientific research proving that the universe was designed.

Lee Strobel’s eye-opening bestsellers have been revised by noted children’s author Rob Suggs for young people ages eight to twelve–the age when kids begin asking the complicated questions adults themselves sometimes struggle to answer. These Case for… books are just right for kids who want to stand up for their faith in an unbelieving world. Written in humorous, light-hearted prose perfect for kids this age, these books analyze the evidence and build compelling cases, using historical facts, up-to-date scientific research, and true stories. Recommended for ages 8 to 12.”

Here is what ChristianBook.com has to say about The Case for Christ for Kids:

“Lee Strobel’s eye-opening bestsellers have been revised by noted children’s author Rob Suggs for young people ages eight to twelve–the age when kids begin asking the complicated questions adults themselves sometimes struggle to answer. The Case for Christ for Kids brings Jesus to vivid life, addressing the miracles, ministry, family, and way of life of Jesus of Nazareth. These Case for… books are just right for kids who want to stand up for their faith in an unbelieving world. Written in humorous, light-hearted prose perfect for kids this age, these books analyze the evidence and build compelling cases, using historical facts, up-to-date scientific research, and true stories. Recommended for ages 8 to 12.”

Here is what ChristianBook.com has to say about Off My Case for Kids:

“For kids who are sure of their faith but not sure how to defend it, Off My Case for Kids–a perfect companion or a stand-alone piece–provides twelve real-life scenarios written by Robert Elmer that empower kids to speak up when challenged.

Lee Strobel’s eye-opening bestsellers have been revised by noted children’s author Rob Suggs for young people ages eight to twelve–the age when kids begin asking the complicated questions adults themselves sometimes struggle to answer. These Case for… books are just right for kids who want to stand up for their faith in an unbelieving world. Written in humorous, light-hearted prose perfect for kids this age, these books analyze the evidence and build compelling cases, using historical facts, up-to-date scientific research, and true stories. Recommended for ages 8 to 12.”

15. Veggietale Bible

I’m an huge fan of Veggietales.  Who doesn’t love talking Veggietables.  This NIV version of the Bible is packed full of great Veggietales features.

Here is what ChristianBook.com has to say about The Veggietales Bible:

“Join Bob, Larry, and all the rest of the Veggie characters as they explore the most amazing book of all time! The VeggieTales Bible invites children to experience God’s Word, perhaps for the first time, using the backdrop of familiar VeggieTales characters who remind them that “God made you special and he loves you very much!” It features:

• The complete NIV text along with 32 full-color pages that retell eight favorite Bible stories from the VeggieTales DVDs
• Book Introductions give important information about each book of the Bible
• “Veggie Values” teach lessons from the Bible like forgiveness, trusting God, being helpful, and more
• “Remember This” highlights 100 key verses of Scripture to remember
• Dictionary-Concordance helps kids better understand key Bible words and concepts
• New International Version is the most read, most trusted translation

From this fun-filled Bible, children will learn more about God and how he wants us to live. Recommended for ages 4 to 7.”

16. Jesus Is Alive

From the well known apologist Josh McDowell and his son, this book presented in a Question and Answer form helps give kids a solid foundation for their faith.

Here is what ChristianBook.com has to say about Jesus Is Alive:

“He is risen . . . but curious kids want to see the evidence for themselves! Using an age-appropriate Q & A format, the McDowells clearly present the claims of the Gospel writers and 2,000 years of Christian tradition to help 7- to 10-year-olds discover the proof of Christ’s resurrection and the impact it has on their lives today. 128 pages, softcover from Regal.”

17. How to Study Your Bible For Kids

This book offers great exercises to help teach your kids how to make the Bible their own.

Here is what ChristianBook.com has to say about How to Study Your Bible For Kids:

“The Discover 4 Yourself Inductive Bible Studies for Kids teach children how to find out for themselves what the Bible is all about, and gives them fun and exciting ways to do it! In order to solve The Mystery of How to Study the Bible students must go through inductive detective training. Max, Molly, and their beagle Sam come along to help them examine the scene (context), interpret clues (who, what, when, where, why, & how), unscramble secret messages (memory verses), and use their walkie-talkies (prayer). Many important interpretive skills are covered, even using a concordance and expository dictionary. Recommended for ages 9 to 12.”

18. Beginners Bible

This well known Bible is great for reading to younger children.

Here is what ChristianBook.com has to say about The Beginners Bible:

Introduce children to the stories and characters of the Bible with this best-loved Bible storybook. Now updated with vibrant new art, text and stories, more than 90 favorite Bible stories come to life, making The Beginners Bible the perfect starting point for children. They will enjoy the fun illustrations of Noah helping the elephant onto the ark, Jonah praying inside the fish, and more, as they discover The Beginners Bible just like millions of children before. This hardcover Bible storybook measures 6.25″ x 7.5″ x 1.5″ and has 512 pages. Recommended for ages 2 to 6.

19. Day By Day Kid’s Bible

In under seven minutes a day, this book is set up to let your kids read through the entire Bible in a year.

Here is what ChristianBook.com has to say about the Day by Day Kid’s Bible:

“Popular children’s author Karyn Henley, who wrote The Beginners Bible, has created a unique tool to help children establish Bible reading habits for a lifetime–with an investment of just seven minutes per day. In this revised version of God’s Story, daily Bible readings lead children through the Scriptures in chronological order in just one year. The Day-by-Day Kids Bible bridges the gap between a Bible storybook and a full-text Bible since the scriptures are simplified for young readers. Inside, you’ll find dated Bible readings for every day of the year, two-color interior illustrations and full color pictorial time line of events. Also includes a Presentation Page. This book measures 6.5″ x 8.75″ x 1.75″, and has 900 pages. Recommended for ages 6 to 10.

In this revised version of God’s Story, daily Bible readings lead readers ages seven and up through the Scriptures in just one year. The Day by Day Kid’s Bible bridges the gap between a Bible storybook and a full-text Bible since the Scriptures are simplified for young readers. New features include dated Bible readings for every day of the year, two-color interior, and full-color pictorial time line of events.”

20. Little Princess Devotional Bible

This is another great resource for the little Princess in your life.

Here is what ChristianBook.com has to say about the Little Princess Devotional BIble:

“Every girl is a princess–the daughter of a King! With Sheila Walsh’s God’s Little Princes Devotional Bible, you can help your little girl blossom into the princess she was meant to be. Featuring illustrations of the characters from the picture book series Gigi, God’s Little Princess, and a cover accented with sparkly “jewels,” this devotional Bible is irresistible inside and out! It highlights virtues that create true beauty, such as honor, charity, compassion, sharing truth, fairness, and more. You’ll also find the features:

* Down in My Heart (Scripture Memory)
* Beauty Secrets
* Bible Princesses
* My Hero (Scripture promises)
* Take a Bow (Easy plays that are Bible-focused)
* I Adore You! (Put girls’ energy to use with songs, scripture and worship)
* Royal Truths
* Princess Charming
* Worthy of Love (Ideas to show how to love her royal subjects: family, siblings, friends and those in the community)

With this Bible, little girls will learn about their destiny as a daughter of God and a true princess! Recommended for ages 4 to 7.”

Books I’m currently reading:

1. Susanna Wesley : Servant of God by Sandy Dengler.  So far, about halfway through the book.  Its written in novel form, rather than a sharper, commentary piece.  I’m curious where the author’s research came from, so as to have written the story of Susanna Wesley’s life so full-bodied.
2. The Pursuit of Holiness by Jerry Bridges.  This is an excellent book, full of practical help in looking at God’s holiness and the holiness that He’s calling us to.  I’m actually highlighting passages of this book.  Something I do VERY rarely.  A book has to be pretty extraordinary for me to break the cardinal rule of “never writing in a book”. 
3. The Case for the Real Jesus by Lee Strobel.  Lee Strobel was a journalist.  He has a very hard writing style that can take some getting used to, but all in all, I’m enjoying this book.  This book takes a hard look at all the “new” evidence that’s being discovered regarding Jesus and finds out if these new evidences have any validity to the REAL Jesus.

Books I’ve finished in September/October:

1. Glories Seen & Unseen by Warren Henderson.  Brother Henderson upholds wearing a headcovering, but he doesn’t feel its necessary for more than public worship.  You can see my views on this subject in my previous posts, Biblical Headcovering: Why do women cover their head today?; Biblical Headcovering: Only Cultural?; Biblical Headcovering: More Questions and Conclusion.
2. A Ready Defense, by Josh McDowell.  I really enjoy reading apologetics.  Mainly because I was raised a Jehovah’s Witness and I like to read what others have to say about dealing with cults.  Too, Brother McDowell’s books are always easy to read and understand with lots of thought-provoking questions and thorough, Biblical answers.
3. The Facts on Halloween, by John Ankerberg & John Weldon.  I’ve never celebrated Halloween, (a blessing of being raised a JW), but my husband, raised in a Christian home, has celebrated this holiday.  We purchased this book, so we could read together the origins of this holiday, learn about dealings of the occult world with regard to this day and to find out if the church should be involved even a little bit (like having a “fall festival” right close to or on that day).  Very insightful.

Une bonne adresse à vous partager: http://occamsshavingcream.blogspot.com/

L’auteur, le canadien Tommy Blanchard, n’écrit plus depuis juin dernier, mais le contenu en vaut la peine. Imaginez vous qu’il a osé lire The Spiritual Brain, le bouquin pseudo-scientifique écrite par Mario Beauregard (neuroscientifique) et Denyse O’Leary (journaliste pour Christianity Today). Il l’a lu. Il a commenté et critiqué chaque chapitre. Ce livre est bourré de conneries, manifestement, au point où même au CMA (complot mondial athée) personne n’osait rédiger une critique. Et bien, en voilà une.

Et c’est pas tout, Blanchard nous livre aussi une critique de deux bouquins de l’apologiste Lee Strobel: The Case for Christ et The Case for Faith.

À elles seules, ces critiques justifient amplement les quelques minutes requises pour lire le site en entier. Alors… bonne lecture!

I invariably regret it when I check out the insipid stories linked through AOL News. (Old e-mail accounts are burden.) Not only is the quality of the reporting from these junior outlets surpassed by that of any high school newspaper, the comments left, which I can’t help from browsing — are inherently vacuous. This time the story I fell upon is about an unfortunate 4-year-old boy, named Luke, who was struck by a foul ball at a baseball game. He suffered a skull fracture and is currently in a medically-induced coma. The reporter and several of those who left comments couldn’t help but stick religion in the reader’s face. The reporter said:

Luke was hit Sept. 2 at a minor league game in Niles, Ohio. We may never know why it happened, but what’s happened since should restore your faith in people. It might even restore your faith in faith.

Maybe this nutwing will never know why it happened, but I already know. And I think I may speak for all reasonable people when I say they know, too. It was a mere accident. Even the distraught mother said so in the video. And why would a well trained and responsive medical team restore my faith in faith? A commenter took the god slant further:

May God’s healing hand touch this precious young boy. I pray God is with his parents, giving them strength and faith in this critical time of his recovery. Also, prayers for the ballplayer, may he find comfort and peace.

In tragic cases such as this, religious minions are quick to grab credit for their non-existent deity. If the boy survives god will receive their praise, even though god didn’t prevent the accident. But if the boy dies, I’m sure the same minions will lay blame elsewhere, on the non-existent devil, perhaps. It’s not like the god of the Old Testament ever killed a child –well, except in some of those fire-and-brimstone stories, which are simultaneously and conveniently open to wide and narrow interpretation. That worldwide flood must have killed millions of innocent children. On the other hand, modern medicine has saved countless. Who to trust?

When tragedies occur and people insist on praying for deliverance, the one thing I find most insufferable is that humans can’t admit to themselves that they are sometimes helpless. Prayer is the delusion of certainty that humans have control over everything just by asking the Sky Daddy to intervene. And encouraging children to believe in prayer sets them up for disappointment when god doesn’t provide. Pray to your heart’s content, but don’t expect me to join in, and don’t condemn me as a heartless bastard when I don’t. Supporting modern medicine and reason is the best way to help children like Luke.

The Resurrection of Christ and the Women at the Tomb; Fra ANGELICO; 1440-41 fresco; convento di San Marco, Florence

While faith in such things as the Resurrection springs from the relationship the believer has with the living Jesus, there are a number of facts that derive from the nature of the historical event that is reported in the Gospels. This event and the nature of the facts that are presented also point to truth as well, simply because many are facts

1. that would be considered embarrassing to the Christian case
2. that are never used to embellish the reputations of the original apostles
3. that are never put in the mouths of gospel character to resolve post Easter church disputes
4. that show a fidelity to a detail that displays careful historical work

Many of these points are affirmed by Lee Strobel in his Case for Christ:

The Gospels’ Theological Agenda
In the ancient world the idea of writing dispassionate, objective history merely to chronicle events, with no ideological purpose, was unheard of. Nobody wrote history if there wasn’t a reason to learn from it. As with any ideological document, there are people who distort history to serve their ideological ends. But it is a mistake to think that that always happens. A modern parallel from the experience of the Jewish community clarifies this. Some people, usually for anti-Semitic purposes, deny or downplay the horrors of the Holocaust. But it has been the Jewish scholars who’ve created museums, written books, preserved artifacts and documented eyewitness testimony concerning the Holocaust. Now, they have a very ideological purpose – namely to ensure that such an atrocity never occurs again – but they have also been the most faithful and objective in their reporting of historical truth. Christianity was likewise based on certain historical claims that God uniquely entered into space and time in the person of Jesus of Nazareth, so the very ideology that Christians were trying to promote required as careful historical work as possible.

The Intentions Of The Gospels
Luke states a clear intention at the beginning of his gospel to write accurately about the things he investigated and found to be well supported by witnesses. While Mark and Matthew don’t have the explicit kind of statement that Luke does, they are close in terms of genre and it seem reasonable that Luke’s historical intent would closely mirror theirs. John contains a statement of purpose n 20:31. Consider also the way that the gospels are written – in a sober and responsible fashion, with accurate incidental details, with obvious care and exactitude. You don’t find the outlandish flourishes and blatant mythologizing that you see in a lot of other ancient writings…. Further, after Jesus’ ascension there were a number of controversies that threatened the early church – should believers be circumcised, how should speaking in tongues be regulated, how to keep Jew and Gentile united, what are the appropriate roles for women in ministry, whether believers could divorce non-Christian spouses. These issues could have been conveniently resolved if the early Christians had simply read back into the gospels what Jesus had told them from the world beyond. But his never happened. The continuance of these controversies demonstrates that Christians were interested in distinguishing between what happened during Jesus’ lifetime and what was debated later in the churches.

The Discoverers Of The Empty Tomb
When you understand the role of women in first-century Jewish society, what’s really extraordinary is that this empty tomb story should feature women as the discoverers of the empty tomb in the first place. Women were on a very low rung of the social ladder in first-century Palestine, There are old rabbinical sayings that said, ‘Let the words of the Law be burned rather than delivered to women’ and ‘Blessed is he whose children are male, but woe to him whose children are female.’ Women’s testimony was regarded as so worthless that they weren’t even allowed to serve as legal witnesses in a Jewish court of law. In light of this it is absolutely remarkable that the chief witnesses to the empty tomb are these women who were friends of Jesus. Any later legendary account would have certainly portrayed male disciples as discovering the tomb – Peter or John for example. The fact that women are the first witnesses to the empty tomb is most plausibly explained by the reality that – like it or not – they were the discoverers of the empty tomb! This shows that he gospel writers faithfully recorded what happened, even if it was embarrassing. This bespeaks the historicity of this tradition rather than its legendary status.

The Empty Tomb As Historical Fact
The empty tomb is implicit in the early tradition that is passed along by Paul in 1 Corinthians 15, which is a very old and reliable source of historical information about Jesus.  Christian and Jew alike knew the site of Jesus’ tomb. So if it weren’t empty, it would have been impossible for a movement founded on belief in the Resurrection to have come into existence in the same city where this man had been publicly executed and buried. We can tell from the language, grammar, and style that Mark got his empty tomb story from an earlier source. There’s evidence that it was written before A.D.37, which is much too early for legend to have seriously corrupted it. It would have been unprecedented anywhere in history for legend to have grown up that fast and significantly distorted the gospels. Mark’s account of the story of the empty tomb is stark in its simplicity and unadorned by theological reflection. The unanimous testimony that the empty tomb was discovered by women argues for the authenticity of the story, because this would have been embarrassing for the disciples to admit and most certainly would have been covered up if this were a legend.

And how to explain the  innumerable graphic little details, names, numbers, times that cluster about each gospel; here are some, for example,  listed in the Catholic Encyclopedia article on Mark:

(1)  how Jesus took Peter’s mother-in-law by the hand and raised her up (i, 31), how with anger He looked round about on His critics (iii, 5), how He took little children into His arms and blessed them and laid His hands upon them (ix, 35; x, 16), how those who carried the paralytic uncovered the roof (ii, 3, 4), how Christ commanded that the multitude should sit down upon the green grass, and how they sat down in companies, in hundred and in fifties (vi, 39-40);

(2)  how James and John left their father in the boat with the hired servants (i, 20), how they came into the house of Simon and Andrew, with James and John (i, 29), how the blind man at Jericho was the son of Timeus (x, 46), how Simon of Cyrene was the father of Alexander and Rufus (xv, 21);

(3)  how there was no room even about the door of the house where Jesus was (ii, 2), how Jesus sat in the sea and all the multitude was by the sea on the land (iv, 1), how Jesus was in the stern of the boat asleep on the pillow (iv, 38);

(4) how on the evening of the Sabbath, when the sun had set, the sick were brought to be cured (i, 32), how in the morning, long before day, Christ rose up (i, 35), how He was crucified at the third hour (xv, 25), how the women came to the tomb very early, when the sun had risen (xvi, 2);

(5)  how the paralytic was carried by four (ii, 3), how the swine were about two thousand in number (v. 13), how Christ began to send forth the Apostles, two and two (vi, 7).

Peter Kreeft has written:  “Some of the tenets of Christian faith (for example, the Trinity) cannot be discovered, adequately understood, or proved by human reason, but are “mysterious and supernatural”; others, like monotheism, can; and all of them at least do not “offend the principles of reason (Aquinas). Not all of Christianity can be proved, but some of it can, and none of it can be disproved. If it could, faith would be absurd and ridiculous.”

President Dwight D. Eisenhower, was asked by reporters in the 1960s for his reaction to the fact that some intellectuals thought God was dead. The president replied, “That’s odd; I was just speaking to him this morning.” Richard Dawkins goes the former President one better; saying in a recent Wall Street Journal piece that “God was never alive in the first place.” Many of us will cast our lots with the Psalmist who wrote “The fool says in his heart there is no God.”

Many moderns opt for God, but their God is no more than a mythic evolutionary journey on a road less traveled that we make up as we go along. No “unsustainable certainty” of faith for them. Presumably they are OK with the “story” of the death and resurrection of Christ, for example, if (making no pretentions to historical accuracy) it gives one the needed psychological boost to cope with human grief and helps one find ultimate meaning in life’s struggles.

St. Paul would beg to disagree. He summarizes the Christian explanation of the Resurrection, in 1 Corinthians 15:1-14:

“Now I would remind you, brethren, in what terms I preached to you the gospel, which you received, in which you stand, by which you are saved, if you hold it fast – unless you believed in vain.

For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. Then he appeared to more than five hundred brethren at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep. Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles. Last of all, as to one untimely born, he appeared also to me. For I am the least of the apostles, unfit to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me was not in vain. On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them, though it was not I, but the grace of God which is with me. Whether then it was I or they, so we preach and so you believed.

Now if Christ is preached as raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ has not been raised; if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain.”

Mark Shea has summarized some of the modern alternatives for us: “Then again, there are others who solve the problem of the Resurrection by not letting Jesus die. In this view, somebody else was crucified on Good Friday (somebody who really deserved it, like Judas Iscariot), while Jesus went off to a well-earned pension someplace else. Depending on which legend or Shocking Book (e.g., Holy Blood, Holy Grail by Michael Baigent) you choose, “someplace else” could be anywhere from Japan to France. Frequently, “Jesus didn’t die” scenarios go for the hearts-and-flowers conclusion favored by Hollywood, in which the retired Son of Man finally gets the girl, like Clark Kent in Superman II, and no longer has to pursue His unrewarding task of proclaiming platitudes.

Typically, they pack Him off to some vineyard with Mary Magdalene, there to found a dynasty of Merovingians or something. Instead of having Him escape crucifixion entirely, some scenarios grant that He was crucified but insist that He only swooned (possibly with the help of some drugged wine) and regained consciousness later. But the central claim of all such scenarios is that Jesus didn’t really die on the Cross.

Still other theorists, often involved in the New Age movement, solve the problem by allowing Him to be only a spirit (divine or angelic, depending on the preference of the author) appearing as a man, a sort of holy vision. This solves the problem of His death by making it an illusion: a tidy disposal of a messy crucifixion that preserves the happy ending.

Meanwhile, others have much simpler and cruder explanations: Disciples stole the corpse, lied about it, and founded a cult for their own selfish gain and power. Slightly kinder than this is the Hysterical Hallucination Theory, which says the well-meaning apostles hallucinated the Resurrection. Others say it was a later generation of Christians who added the Resurrection to the New Testament. Originally, it was just a collection of apostolic memoirs about the Dead Master and His witty sayings. Many think St. Paul is behind the whole thing (see, for instance, The Mythmaker: Paul and the Invention of Christianity by Hyam Maccoby).

Under the influence of pagan myth, St. Paul allegedly transformed this ordinary Jewish rabbi into a Cosmic Christ figure. The original apostles, according to this school, would be horrified at what Paul did to the teaching of the gentle and witty Y’shua….

The mention of the tomb leads some people to another favorite theory: namely, that the disciples went to the wrong tomb and leapt to the conclusion that Christ was risen. One can only wonder what such theorists think people are made of. For the apostles to conclude that Jesus was the risen and glorious Lord of all on the basis of such a blunder would have required preternatural stupidity not only on their part but on the part of the Jerusalem authorities.

Even if all the early Church was too obtuse to find its way back to the final resting place of the Man who was the focus of their devotion, surely somebody in the Jerusalem elite who opposed the growing sect of Nazarenes could have said, “Uh, guys? Here’s the corpse. You were looking in the wrong place. Next time ask for directions.” Joseph of Arimathea might have been of some help here. So might the women, who saw where He was laid. And such a theory becomes doubly silly when the early Church’s fascination with relics and tombs is factored in. Early liturgies tended to be held at grave sites, yet there is no cult that develops around the most important grave of all. Why, it’s as if the tomb had been empty or something.

Which takes us, in our taxonomy of Resurrection alternatives, to the various escape-from-death/swoon theories: the notion that Jesus somehow avoided death, either by skipping town and leaving a stooge to take the fall for Him or by enduring crucifixion and then escaping the tomb. It’s hard to say which version of this theory is more preposterous. If there’s a fact of history that’s not disputed even by hard-core atheist historians, it is the fact of His death. If we know nothing else about Him, we know that He died by crucifixion outside the walls of Jerusalem circa 30 A.D.

And yet some insist that He didn’t. Like a sort of first-century Elvis, He went into sudden and mysterious retirement, in sharp contradiction to everything He had ever said or done, and founded a dynasty or studied philosophy or something in some far-off land. What is the evidence for this? Well, there is none really, just hints, supposings, surmises, and what-ifs. It’s rather like the thinking behind Chariots of the Gods. It’s a case of a theory in search of evidence, not of evidence giving rise to a theory. Meanwhile, the people who were there give testimony, not that Jesus left town right after the Last Supper (a supper at which He specifically prophesied His Passion with a strange accuracy that would reduce Peter to tears when it all happened), but that He went to betrayal, trial, and crucifixion. And again, why would lying cult founders make up the story of that prophecy and its very embarrassing fulfillment? Indeed, eyewitnesses like John saw Jesus at both His trial and crucifixion. So there aren’t many ways for Jesus to have skipped town and left somebody else holding the bag.

Ah! But John only thought he saw Jesus die. Really, the Nazarene received a drugged wine, passed out, and awoke in a freezing-cold tomb on a chilly morning in April. The perfect setting for a dramatic recovery from scourging, crucifixion, massive blood loss, shock, and a spear wound to the heart, as nine out of ten doctors agree. He then stumbled out (after somehow freeing Himself from the bandages sealed to His torn flesh) and, shoving the zillion-ton stone that sealed the tomb out of the way, limped up to the disciples on His bloody feet, showed them His hands (complete with permanently immovable thumbs due to irreparable nerve damage), and gasped out a greeting between the stabs of agonizing pain from the spear wound. Most people, faced with such a ghastly spectacle, would dial 911. The disciples, naturally, greeted Him as the glorious Conqueror of Death and Lord of the Universe and founded a religion instead.

“Okay, fine,” the diehard skeptic says, “Jesus died. And the disciples didn’t steal the body and lie about it. They just hallucinated. Together. All 500 of them. For 40 days. No, really…”

Even if we put aside that troublesome matter of the empty tomb (with empty grave clothes in it), there’s still a problem concerning the nature of hallucinations. Mass hallucination is extremely rare. So rare, in fact, that it’s usually only invoked to explain away things like, oh, the Resurrection. The rest of the time, when 500 people say they saw somebody and spoke with him, we believe them, particularly when they have nothing to gain by saying it – when they are routinely put to death for saying it.

And we have other problems to deal with if we want to entertain the Mass Hallucination Theory. First and foremost is the curious fact that hallucinations like this are supposed to be the fruition of intense wish-fulfillment fantasies. The witnesses supposedly wanted Jesus to be alive so bad that they freaked out and thought they saw Him. On at least three occasions, however, His disciples failed to recognize Him when they did meet Him. We are told they were so desperate to see Him that they might have tricked themselves into believing they had seen Him, but they walked for half a day with Him and did not notice. Strange. More to the point, what hallucination can be touched and eats fish?

Which leaves us pretty much with the Jesus-was-a-divine-illusion school of Gnostic or New Age thinking. But if the Risen Christ was really a purely spiritual illusion sent by the divine to teach us higher truths about the unimportance of the body and the need to transcend our humanity, what could be more certain to obscure this lesson than a body that Thomas could touch, a body that breathes the air and eats fish? The apostles, at any rate, don’t seem to have picked up on these higher truths at all. They teach instead that the Risen Christ is raised bodily and is not only fully God but fully human, albeit glorified.”

A resurrected body. Glorified. Fully God and fully man. When the alternatives have all spent themselves in fruitless clamor for our attention, it’s the old Christian story that still persuades. It’s the story of the Conqueror of Death who has Himself borne the sting of death and raised our dead human nature out of the grave so that we, too, may be resurrected. You can read all about it – without crackpot alternative explanations – in the New Testament.

By Dr. Ralph Levy and Jeremy Lallier

If you don’t believe in evolution, you are as ignorant and deluded as the fools who deny the Holocaust.

That, at least, is the stance of Dr. Richard Dawkins in his book, The Greatest Show on Earth: the Evidence for Evolution, set to be released in the United States Sept. 22. Dawkins claims that the evidence for evolution is just as concrete as the evidence for the massacre of six million Jews during Hitler’s reign. He also labels those who believe that the universe was created by God as “a baying pack of ignoramuses,” displaying “an exhibition of ignorant prejudice” through their continuous and “belligerent demands.”

Richard Dawkins' The Greatest Show on Earth

He goes on to say, “Evolution is a fact in the same sense as it is a fact that Paris is in the northern hemisphere,” adding that, “No reputable scientist disputes it, and no unbiased reader will close the book doubting it.”

Evidently Professor Dawkins refuses to acknowledge as “reputable” scientists such as Dr. Michael Behe, a professor, biochemist and author of Darwin’s Black Box, or the many scientists interviewed in Lee Strobel’s The Case for a Creator, or the 50 scientists who contributed to the essay collection, In Six Days: Why 50 Scientists Choose to Believe in Creation.

But the finer points of the evolution debate are far beyond the scope of a short commentary. Let’s instead take a brief look at the endgame of two very different worldviews: the one presented by evolution, and the one presented by the Bible.

Evolution says that the finely tuned ecosystems all around us are the result of millions of years of infinitesimal changes in genetic structure, which against all odds managed to produce a staggering variety of life filled with molecular machinery so advanced that the greatest of mankind’s technological feats pale in comparison.

The Bible says that the same ecosystems, along with the entire universe, are the deliberate and careful work of a supremely intelligent Being who does nothing without a purpose.

To believe in evolution is to believe that you are a perhaps four-billion-year-long accident in the making. You have no reason for being; at the very best you can make a valiant attempt to enjoy your life until you die, return to the ground and pass forever from history and memory alike.

To believe the Bible is to believe that the same God who put such time and consideration into creating the universe made it and the people in it with a purpose. That we are here for a reason. That the world around us, and yes, even we ourselves are not the result of some incomprehensible genetic lottery. The apostle Paul writes that “the creation itself also will be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God” (Romans 8:21).

Two very different cosmologies. One that proposes an accidental occurrence in the evolutionary chain. The other that suggests you are here to become part of a great divine plan.

Which one will you believe?

(Dawkins’ book lists for $30, though Amazon has it for much less. On the other hand, we offer some priceless resources you can read on online or order free of charge: Life’s Ultimate Question: Does God Exist? and Creation or Evolution: Does It Really Matter What You Believe?)

Encontrei a mesma intensidade emocional demonstrada por Templeton ao me defrontar com Kreeft. Descrevi a foto e depois citei o ex-evangelista palavra por palavra:

“Pensei: “É impossível crer que existe um Criador amoroso ou solidário quando tudo o que essa mulher necessitava era chuva?” Como poderia um Deus amoroso fazer isso com aquela mulher? Quem governa a chuva? Eu não, nem você. Ele o faz – ou era isso que eu achava. Mas quando vi aquela fotografia, imediatamente percebi que não é possível que isso aconteça e que exista um Deus amoroso. Não havia como. Quem mais senão um demônio poderia destruir um bebê e virtualmente matar a sua mãe de agonia – quando tudo o que precisava era de chuva?… Então comecei… a considerar as pragas que varrem certas partes do planeta e matam indiscriminadamente… e ficou cristalinamente claro para mim que não é possível que uma pessoa inteligente creia que existe uma divindade que ama.”

Levantei o olhar das minhas anotações. Os olhos do professor estavam cravados em mim. Encarando-o firmemente e inclinando-me à frente na beira da minha cadeira a fim de dar ênfase, disse em um tom um tanto acusatório:

- Dr. Kreeft, o senhor é uma pessoa inteligente e crê em uma divindade que ama. Como afinal o senhor responderia a Templeton?

Kreeft pigarreou.

- Em primeiro lugar – começou – eu me concentraria nas palavras “não é possível”. Até mais David Hume, um dos céticos mais famosos da história, disse que é só um pouquinho provável que Deus exista. Pelo menos essa é uma posição um tanto razoável – dizer que existe pelo menos uma pequena possibilidade. Mas dizer que não há possibilidade de que um Deus amoroso, que sabe muito mais que nós, até sobre nosso futuro, talvez pudesse tolerar um mal como o que Templeton vê na África – bem, isso me parece intelectualmente arrogante.

Isso me pegou de surpresa.

- Verdade? – espantei-me. – Como assim?

- Como pode um simples ser humano finito estar certo de que a sabedoria infinita não toleraria certos males de curta duração a fim de alcançar bens de maior amplitude que não poderíamos prever? – perguntou.

Entendi seu argumento, mas precisava de um exemplo.

- Elabore um pouco mais – provoquei.

Kreeft pensou por ummomento.

- Veja dessa maneira – disse. – Você concordaria que a diferença entre nós e Deus é maior que a diferença entre nós e, digamos, um urso?

Acenei, concordando.

- Pois bem. Então imagine um urso preso em uma armadilha e um caçador que, movido pela simpatia, quer libertá-lo. Tenta conquistar a confiança do urso, em vão, e em consequência tem de dar um tiro tranquilizante no urso. O urso, no entanto, pensa que isso é um ataque e que o caçador está tentando matá-lo. Não compreende que isso está sendo feito por compaixão. A fim de tirar o urso da armadilha, o caçador de de empurrá-lo mais para dentro da armadilha de modo a liberar a pressão da mola. Se o urso nesse momento estivesse semiconsciente, ficaria ainda mais convencido que o caçador era seu inimigo e estava querendo causar-lhe sofrimento e dor. Porém, o urso estaria errado. Chega a essa conclusão incorreta porque não é um ser humano.

Kreeft deixou a fábula produzir efeito. – Agora – concluiu -, como pode alguém estar certo de que essa não é uma analogia entre nós e Deus? Eu creio que Deus faz o mesmo conosco às vezes, e nós não podemos compreender por que Ele o faz, mais que o urso pode compreender as motivações do caçador. Do mesmo modo que o urso poderia ter confiado no caçador, nós podemos confiar em Deus.

[Excerto retirado do livro "Em defesa da fé" de Lee Strobel - Capítulo: Primeira objeção]

Talvez seja arrogância mesmo dos que duvidam disso. Aquele que é maior sabe bem o que faz. Temos que crer nisso sempre.

Bom, todavia, Mr. Bean e Teddy também nos provam que isso tudo é possível (claro, estou brincando com Mr. Bean).

OBS.:

Mais uma vez, não se acostumem com a ideia de eu sempre trazer trechos e autores. Às vezes, o post poderá ser limitado por menos de 10 linhas (quem lia o que eu fazia no fotolog -  www.fotolog.com/grmelo – sabe do que estou falando).

Post Author: Bill Pratt

Last night I watched the DVD, The Case for Faith, featuring Lee Strobel.  The video deals with two issues from the book that bears the same name: 1) How can Jesus be the only way? and 2) How can God exist and there be so much evil, pain, and suffering?

In the DVD, Strobel features the words of Charles Templeton prominently and lets his challenges to the Christian faith drive the discussion.  Templeton, if you recall, was a co-evangelist with Billy Graham back in the 1940’s.  Templeton suffered a crisis of faith and eventually turned his back on Christianity.  Strobel interviewed Templeton for his book, The Case for Faith, which quickly became a Christian apologetics classic.

The DVD answers these tough questions by interviewing some of Christianity’s greatest living apologists and scholars.  Some of those who participated were Craig Hazen, Greg Koukl, J. P. Moreland, N. T. Wright, Ben Witherington, and Peter Kreeft.  I may be leaving some out, but those are the ones that come to mind.

Along with these scholars, the film also features the stories of two people who suffered greatly, and how their suffering affected their relationship with God.  These stories are truly powerful and balance the documentary between intellectual arguments and heart-felt experience.

All in all, I highly commend this DVD to all Christians who have ever thought about these two key issues and to skeptics who are open to hearing for themselves from some of Christianity’s best and brightest.  This DVD was truly fantastic.  I regret waiting so long to see it.

You’ve got to hand it to Christopher Hitchens.  Such is his self-confidence, and perhaps his disdain for the ‘opposition’, that he is prepared to take on all-comers when it comes to debating religion.  Oh, and it must help his book to sell as well.

In March of this year Hitchens took on not one, not two, not even three, but FOUR Christian apologists at the same time.  Of course, he comes out fighting, and if he was feeling a little bruised by the end he is too wily a campaigner to let it show.

Actually, I found this debate one of the more interesting that I have come across.  Hitchens seemed reasonably sober, and at times was almost charming.  The Christians were unfailingly courteous towards him, and he seemed genuinely touched by that.  (Even evangelicals have manners.  Sometimes.)  There were some nice touches of humour on both sides (like when someone referred to Hitchens being thrown into a den of lambs.  Hitchens had a quip of his own in reply to that).

The Christians offered many of the usual arguments for God’s existence.  William Lane Craig and Lee Strobel offered a more evidentialist approach, whereas Doug Wilson and James Denison took a more experiential line.

Hitchen’s polemical approach is enormously frustrating.  As far as I can tell, he raised no new arguments against God’s existence.  He just raised the old ones and lets additional rhetorical flourish (vehemence, even) stand in the place of logic or evidence.  So we recognise familiar problems such as, ‘How can an all-loving, all-powerful God permit suffering?’ ‘Why should anyone believe the biblical account of (say) the resurrection of Jesus Christ?’  ‘Does not religion do more harm than good?’ and so on.  When apologists begin to give responses to such questions, he switches his ground, and demands, ‘How do you know that?  How can you possibly know what God is like or what he thinks?’

So, from Christopher Hitchen’s perspective, it is not at all a question of considering the arguments for theism, but of jumping from one problem to another, asking, ‘But what about this…and what about that?’  This is not debate; these are are spoiling tactics.

Hitchens poses some pretty straight questions, but rarely gives a straight answer himself.  When asked to account for a universal moral sense, he merely says, ‘Well, we’re hard-wired that way.’  When asked what hope, if any, his world-view offers those who are in sorrow, he has even less to offer, and it’s back to ‘But what about this or that distasteful aspect of religion?’

I thought that the Christian apologists acquitted themselves quite well.  They did not come across as pretending to know all the answers.  Denison, in particular, spoke quite movingly of his father’s loss of faith and of questions that he himself has about the problem of suffering.  (Don’t we all?)

Hitchens repeated his usual challenge to religious believers.  He says, in effect, ‘Show me a single moral act done by a religious believer that could not equally have been performed by a non-believer.  And yet you can easily think of wicked acts carried out by religious persons that would not have been performed by any unbeliever (examples: female circumcision; suicide bombing, and so on).’  Hitchens has been setting this poser to audiences wherever he goes, and claims that he never been given a satisfactory response.  Well, I think that something approaching an adequate response was given on this occasion.  William Lane Craig points out the fallacy within the problem that Hitchens poses: any number of examples of moral acts carried out by religious believers could be cited, but they would not be regarded as moral on an naturalistic world view.  Fairly trivial examples would include tithing; more substantial examples would include forgiveness.  (It’s interesting the Hitchens admitted that he didn’t have much time for the notion of forgiveness, and a pity that this example was not pursued.  There are, or course, more general theological points that might be made, to the effect that that biblical theology would agree that man’s most heinous sins are often those committed for religious reason; and that the doctrine of common grace teaches that non-religious people are indeed capable of much that is morally praiseworthy).

But I was left with the impression that unless Hitchens at al are prepared to take Christian evidences a bit more seriously, and deal with the arguments and evidences a bit more honestly, then debates like this will sound like shouting at one another across oceans of ignorance and misunderstanding.  If you are already convinced that Christians are fundamentally deluded, then of course you will mock them.  And if you are already persuaded that Christianity is basically dangerous, then of course you will vilify it.  Unless, that it, you are willing suspend those judgement just for a moment in the interests of mutual understanding.

As part of my trying to better understand the viewpoints of those whom I disagree with I have started reading books by apologetics, ID proponents and theists in general arguing their case.  My most recent one is The Case for a Creator by Lee Strobel.  I shall post a review of sorts here.  I scale it against Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis which I consider to be one of the finest books by an apologetics.  I would give that an “A”.

Strobel starts out quite nicely in the beginning talking about he witnessed a bunch of rednecks getting all pissed off because of some of their childrens’ school’s textbooks.  He portrays himself as an elite atheist who thinks that he is better than everyone else which is a common trope among apologists.

Then he starts talking about evolution and how he is going to examine it critically.  His approach would be “to cross-examine authorities in various scientific disciplines about the most current findings in their fields.”(pg. 28) and “…reading all sides of each topic…”(also pg. 28)

That is a very good idea if you have the resources available to do that.  Increasing scientific literacy should be one of everyone’s top goals.  He then claims to take the role of a skeptic.    There are quite a few problems with this.  One, Lee Strobel was already convinced of the answer before he did his little search.  He was a pastor in 1987 and the Discovery Institute was not founded until 1990.  This is made even more clear by the fact that he does not use a single person who disagrees with an intelligent creator in his book even though they make up a large majority of scientists in America.  He uses some of the big names in the Discovery Institute, Wells and Meyer.  In all of the interviews Strobel gives them softball questions about tired old arguments that have been refuted for the ID proponents to hit out of the park. He goes over (in order) some things that evolution says or used to say and Jonathan Wells’ disagreements with them, how science is actually providing evidence for god, the kalam cosmological argument, the teleological argument, Behe’s irreducible complexity argument, Dembski’s information argument and the argument from human consciousness.  In none of these areas is anything novel said by any of the people who he interviewed and they recycle the same old arguments that have been debunked time and time before.

This book offers nothing new to the field and I believe that I have lost a few IQ points reading it.   The writing is good though, I was spellbound by the little tale in the beginning.  But that is the best praise I can give it.

This book gets a “D-”.  There is nothing novel in it, his entire premise is a facade and his talk of being unbiased is contradicted by the book’s actual content.  The only thing that saves this book from utter failure is the writing style which I quite enjoyed.

Here’s a list of the titles I ordered today.

I’ll be reading them rather quickly (I hope) – the fall semester starts at Fuller in September, and I’m pretty sure I won’t have much reading time after that (besides what I’ll be reading for class).

Anyway, here’s what’s coming in the mail to me as of today:

1. Busted: Exposing Popular Myths about Christianity by Fred von Kamecke
2. College Ministry 101: A Guide to Working with 18-25 Year Olds by Chuck Bomar (I REALLY hope this book isn’t a bust – we’re in desperate need of good campus ministry literature! No pressure, Chuck :p)
3. The Case for the Real Jesus: A Journalist Investigates Current Attacks on the Identity of Christ by Lee Strobel
4. The New Testament Documents: Are They Reliable? by Frederick Fyvie Bruce
5. Lead Like Jesus: Lessons from the Greatest Leadership Role Model of All Time by Ken Blanchard
6. On the New Testament (A Book You Will Actually Read) by Mark Driscoll
7. On the Old Testament (A Book You’ll Actually Read) by Mark Driscoll
8. On Who Is God? (A Book You’ll Actually Read) by Mark Driscoll
9. On Church Leadership (A Book You’ll Actually Read) by Mark Driscoll
10. Religion Saves: And Nine Other Misconceptions by Mark Driscoll
11. Simply Christian: Why Christianity Makes Sense by N.T. Wright
12. The Kingdom-Focused Church: A Compelling Image of an Achievable Future for Your Church by Gene Mims
13. The Source by John Clayton

I’m looking forward to diggin in to these titles.

Speaking of digging in, I just finished reading It: How Churches and Leaders Can Get It and Keep It by Craig Groeschel.

Zondervan does a great job marketing their products, but they disappointed me with It - I didn’t care for this book. No, I’m not going to right a full review of It, either. Here are a couple of quick thoughts:

It’s not that It’s a horrible book or poorly written or anything like that. Good content is there and It’s readable.

BUT … I just didn’t learn anything new in reading It. Much of It was simply a repeat of material found in Purpose Driven Church by Rick Warren - a much better book that I highly recommend church leaders read.

I also got tired of the way Craig used the word It throughout the book. Italicising and highlighting almost every It made for a very annoying read, much like It probably is in this blog post.

It’s really annoying, isn’t It?

Yes, It is!

Okay … enough of that …

I’m currently reading the daily devotional guide that goes along with Lead Like Jesus, and have also gotten a little ways into Wide Awake by Erwin McManus. They’re both good so far.

By the way – thanks to everyone who contributed to the Apologetics Resource List.

Once I digest these new books and get some faith building studies on paper, I’ll share them with everyone.

Thanks for reading

I understand some atheists are now having “debaptizing” ceremonies now for those who wish to break from their religious faiths and become a disbeliever in God.

According to this report, one person “unbaptized” by someone “drying” them with a blow dryer that had “Reason” written on it.

It’s symbolic, of course, since the person no doubt has long since dried from their initial baptism. I know I have: I was first baptized in 1981 and then re-baptized about nine years later after I reaffirmed my salvation.

With all due respect (I have a friend from Christian college who’s now a professing atheist), I’m a little puzzled why atheists seem to think they have cornered the market on “reason”, “enlightenment” and “free thinking”. I’ve encountered a few atheists and agnostics in my time and have found, more often than not, anyone who believes in God or—even worse—intelligent design is an ignorant fool who can’t possibly understand the way the world really works.

Never mind that Dissent from Darwin shows a long list of well-educated scientists and professors who are skeptical of Darwin and evolution and feel far too few questions are being asked and explored—critically studying evolution inexplicably doesn’t belong in the classroom.

Never mind that books like Michael Behe’s Darwin’s Black Box explore the growing difficulties evolution is having in trying to be reconciled with science.

I wonder if that’s why American children lag behind in science.

I suppose anyone atheist who sees this post will insist on my reading Christopher Hitchens’ God is Not Great or Richard Dawkins’ The God Delusion. Perhaps they should, in fairness, read ex-atheist Lee Stroebel’s Case for a Creator.

I’m going to spend time over the course of the next couple of months perusing the best apologetics resources out there.

Here in San Francisco, many of those I study the Bible with don’t have a basic belief in God, a trust in the Bible, or an awareness of, or belief in, core Christian doctrines.

I would like to prepare myself as well as possible for any encounters with people God may send, and would also like to be able to teach other church members to do the same.

Here are a few questions I’m interested in designing studies for:

Here are a few resources I already own that I’ll be diving into:

Here are a few of good websites I’m aware of:

Here are a few additional books I’m planning to pick up:

And here are a few resource lists from TheResurgence.com:

Am I leaving anything out? If you know of a good resource please let me know.

—-

In other news, remember that finger I slammed in the bathroom door? That injury has born fruit:

A new nail is growing underneath the old one! This is the weirdest thing that has ever happened to a fingernail of mine.

Just thought I’d share … I know you needed to see that. :p