Dawkins Proof

My comments on this book.

Excellent book. Marred by using AV quotations. Modern translations would be far better (NASB, Phillips for the NT, e.g.). It leans a little heavily on a Calvinistic legalism whereas the 'law' is not like a human conception of law, that is, made by man, rather when he refers to 'God's law', etc. he means what flows from and is congruent with God's nature and therefore reality, deeply set in the ontology of the creation. These aside, the book would be an excellent gift for any younger (in years or faith) Christian. We need books in similar accessible style and length dealing with the doctrine of creation and introductory of the works of both Francis Schaeffer and C. S. Lewis for younger readers.

Marxist? Monist!

James Jeffrey claims you can't be a Marxist and a Christian. He's right, of course. But he misses the point.

The individual is the locus of person hood, not the anonymous group that Marxism relies upon. It puts state/group over the family, and submerges the individual in an insensate collective.

Not only is this playing in to the hands of the oligarchy, it exemplifies the materialism of Marx and its fundamentally monist construction of reality.

You can't join the two because Marxism rides on the pale horse of monism. It rejects the creator and his distinction from his creation.

Just tell me how.

After a sermon on 1 Peter 3:15 (be prepared to give an account of the hope...) there were questions invited.

One question via SMS, but it was 'good' we were told (you know: "Good Question?", like it might have been a poor question).

It was 'how does one 'give an account...?'.

The paid Christian who delivered the sermon said, "It's just practice." Also, "…there’re lots of courses you can do..."

That was it.

So, you tell an 18 year old to 'just practice'. Practice what? Which courses, where?

Completely unhelpful and indeed denigrating answer. If it had been my question at that age, I'd 've been crushed.

Here's my answer:

"I'll be starting a small 'skills' group later this year and I'd invite anyone interested in this question to come along (a bit of quick planning on the hop). In the mean time I want to leave you with three thoughts:

 

1. Remember its YOUR account. No one can tell you that you're wrong. What is the hope, where it come from, how was hope absent before, what is it now? What's better about now?

 

2.  You don't have to make a 'conversion' in one conversation, just seek to plant a seed/stone in the shoe and answer the question to the depth or not that you want to.

 

3. When you do speak, manage the conversation. Say what you want to to get the result you want. Have a few types of reasons for why you are a Christian/read the Bible/are part of a church.

and a bonus '4'. Ask questions. When someone makes a spiritual/values type of comment, ask they why they said/think/believe that and explore their response with them.

When you've had such a conversation think about it, maybe keep a journal. Read how other's have presented their faith journey. Study the Bible so you know the way of life (Genesis to Revelation).

Talk to other Christians about your experiences.

Underlining this is be prayerfully conscious of wanting to speak and our Lord will provide the right opportunity at the right time for you to fit into

 

For me, I was never not a believer. Here's how I might start:

 

I've always thought that life makes sense that it comes from somewhere. It didn't just happen, but a super always existing mind is behind our own minds, but separate. Not part of us. We're not just an atom assembly, were a real being.

Theistic evolution vs creator

Theistic evolution merges the creator with the creation to the point of indistinguishability.

It represents a direct contradiction of all that Genesis 1 stands for.

Personhood is absorbed into material and destroyed as a meaningful component of reality.

Unscrambling the new/old world view

I mentioned  PJ a couple of posts ago.

I linked to his talk at the ACL conference of 2019. In it he mentioned an article on the topic.

The article might have been this one.

His YouTube playlist is here.

PJ's website is at TruthExchange.

One of the items is an audio series on paganism.

Who How What Why

Who God is: creator

How God is: the law >> preparing the way for the Messiah

What: Messiah to restore us to fellowship

Why: So we will enjoy God and his (new) creation without end.

Why is Jesus the only way?

Or, Yeshua/Joshua, as his real name is.

Greg Koukl seeks to answer this question, but fails at square 1. But, he's a Calvinist, so can't help himself, unhappily so.

Yeshua is the only 'way' because he is the creator!

The only alternative way would be within the creation, indeed, the creation itself. And the problem is the whole creation is alienated from the creator because man has turned against his creator from the get go.

As the creature in God's image, created to enjoy free fellowship with God, created to steward the great playground of the material creation, when man falls, it all comes down around his ears. So looking for the way in the creation is like doing a burnout in a cul-de-sac. You get nowhere, make lots of noise and smoke in empty show, and destroy stuff.

Yeshua offers new life if we turn and reject the life of rejection of creator (him) and alienation within the creation.

The signal of the alienation and futility of the world adrift is that we are not linked to God: this is in our souls. We know we are not what we should be. We are not with the one who made us because the link is broken. The ancient Jews were told this in the Torah, in distinction to the paganism (the 'worldism') surrounding them: the 'law' that tells us what God is like. But he provided forgiveness then under Torah, and now in Yeshua. Personally.

Go prosper.