| Topic: |
Religions > Atheism |
| User: |
"Beelzebull" |
| Date: |
13 Oct 2006 03:08:21 AM |
| Object: |
Guide to God, part 39/41: Labels And Clubs |
Guide to God, part 39/41: Labels And Clubs
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Labels And Clubs
Labels And Organizations: Humans tend to gather together
into groups, feeling stronger in numbers, which,
incidentally, is a manifestation of insecurity: For, in
the Day of Judgement, each person must stand alone before
the judgement seat of God and give an account of his own
life. The label you choose to put upon yourself and/or the
organization(s) you choose to belong to will be useless in
that Day.
Imitation Without Reflection: Each person is created a
unique individual, and will be judged as such in the Day
of Judgement. Therefore, do not become a counterfeit of
someone else -- think for yourself and make your own
decisions: "You shall not circulate a false report. Do
not put your hand with the wicked to be an unrighteous
witness. You shall not follow a crowd to do evil; nor shall
you testify in a dispute so as to turn aside after many to
pervert justice." [Exodus 23:1-2] Do not blindly follow a
group of people, but rather consider your own individual
destiny and be prepared to make your own path. I have seen
a great evil on the earth: Large groups of people will
elevate a man as if he were God, holding the cures for all
their ills. "Cursed is the man who trusts in man and makes
flesh his strength, whose heart departs from the LORD."
[Jeremiah 17:5]
Hedonism: "Hedonism is the belief in pleasure as the
highest good and mankind's proper aim." [Oxford Dictionary]
Relative to the earth, a man's body is significantly smaller
and, hence, easily satiated with the contents thereof. Yet,
if a man gratifies his every physical appetitie, he remains
unsatisfied: Why? Obviously, there's more to man than the
physical. It is best for the hedonist to satisfy his every
desire, and to waste no time in so doing -- after all, life
is very short.
Atheism: Atheism is the belief that God does not exist.
If God does not exist, why do atheists attack Him? There
is a man who spends his precious time and finite energy
fighting God, whom he believes does not exist: This is
curious behaviour. The atheist may argue, "I am serving my
fellow man by debunking the word of God, which is nothing
more than a fairy tale designed to control the masses." A
noble endeavour, but why bother? After all, what harm is
there in keeping the fabled Ten Commandments as a way of
life? Indeed, those who keep the mythical Ten Commandments
are completely harmless. Furthermore, how can one man
benefit from the beliefs of another man? If some choose
to believe a fairy tale, how are you the worse for their
belief? If you know the Bible is a fable, why attack it?
Why not simply be calmly content in your superior knowledge
and eat, drink, and be merry -- knowing that tomorrow you
will die and rest in peace forever? There is only one
logical explanation for the perpetual attack upon the
things of God: There is a real God and a real Adversary
who deceives and manipulates his followers into doing his
work of attacking (testing) the things of God.
The Lazy Atheist: The lazy atheist, not sincerely desiring
to know God, stands on the sideline, mockingly shouting at
the seekers and finders of God, "Show us your God!"
However, being creatures of freewill, it is encumbent upon
each man to take the initiative, for the word of God clearly
teaches that one cannot find a thing without first seeking
it: "Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will
find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who
asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks
it will be opened." [Matthew 7:7-8] The atheist's greatest
obstacle to God is pride -- pride in his own intellect and
understanding, whereas the word of God says, "Trust in the
LORD with all your heart, and lean not on your own
understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He
shall direct your paths." [Proverbs 3:5-6] Does this mean
that a man should yield up his intellect and blindly follow
God? No. It means that when you are in doubt, trust God.
The Malleable God: The god of atheism is silent; he has
never spoken, and never will speak. The god of atheism is
the god of convenience, for he is whatever one wants him
to be; in other words, the god of atheism is one's own
opinion. An atheist may claim that he believes neither in
the existence of God nor in the non-existence of God, but
simply keeps an open mind on the matter. This argument,
however, is illogical: The word "atheist" is the negation
(opposite) of the word "theist". Both atheists and theists
uphold illogical arguments, for neither can prove their
conviction. One man, having discovered God, cannot prove
His existence to another man, since the discovery of God
is a personal journey -- a journey we either choose to take
or choose not to take.
Agnosticism: "An agnostic is a person who believes that
nothing is known, or can be known, of the existence or
nature of God or of anything beyond material phenomena; a
person who is uncertain or non-committal about a certain
thing." [Oxford Dictionary] Thus, an ideal agnostic is
a person who possesses an open mind which holds neutral
thoughts. Since humans filter all information through a
pre-existent belief system, it is doubtful that a sentient
agnostic has ever lived. Ideally, an agnostic holds
neutral positions on all matters of spirituality, claiming:
"Agnosticism is the default position until objective
evidence is presented." As you can see, an agnostic spends
his entire life sitting on the fence which divides life
from death; then, when he dies, he falls into the default
side -- death eternal. In my opinion, agnostics choose
neutrality for fear of appearing foolish in the presence of
men -- fearing men more than God. The man who chooses to
believe in God makes himself a fool in the eyes of men, for
he knows he cannot prove the existence of God, since the
discovery of God requires a personal encounter with Him.
The Lazy Agnostic: We are all swimming in the sea of the
knowledge of good and evil -- of God and the Devil, yet the
lazy agnostic exclaims, "I went for a swim in the sea, but
I did not get wet!" The existence of good and evil is plain
to see -- all you have to do is open your eyes. It is the
duty of each man to discover God for himself. But the lazy
agnostic calls upon others to prove to him the existence of
God. Why? Does the agnostic not possess the same faculties
as other men? Thus, there is no excuse for ignorance of
God, as it is written: "The heavens declare the glory of
God; and the firmament shows His handiwork. Day unto day
utters speech, and night unto night reveals knowledge.
There is no speech nor language where their voice is not
heard. Their line has gone out through all the earth, and
their words to the end of the world." [Psalm 19:1-4]
Wrestling With God: How can I believe in God, when I have
not observed Him with my physical senses? There's the rub.
You can observe God's creation with your physical senses,
but God Himself must be observed through the spirit, for
God is Spirit. If you truly want to discover God, do as
Jacob did: Wrestle with Him. One of the most convincing
ways to discover God is to spiritually wrestle with Him
through the process of deep contemplation. After you have
wrestled God, completely exhausted yourself, and come to
the realization that God is reality, you will exclaim to
yourself: "It would have been so much easier to simply
believe." Nevertheless, man is ever stubborn and
self-willed; therefore, let the wrestling match commence.
Calling And Conversion: Those who seek to "convert" others
to their faith merely betray their own insecurity and lack
of confidence in same. Consider the following Scriptures:
"The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count
slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that
any should perish but that all should come to repentance."
[2 Peter 3:9] "No one can come to Me unless the Father who
sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up at the last day."
[John 6:44] If God is not willing that any should perish,
and no one can come to God except through His calling, then
it is incumbent upon God to call each person to life.
Nevertheless, a man may use his freewill to ignore the call
of God. Trying to forcefully convert someone to your faith
is a sure way to drive him away from that faith. The best
you can do is plant a seed and let God do the rest, for God
alone must play the key role in the "conversion" of each
person, that He alone may receive the glory; and that no
man may glory in the presence of God, lest he be guilty of
pride.
The Wise And The Foolish: God has chosen the foolish things
of the world, that He may confound the wise. Why did God
choose the foolish over the wise? The foolish are
teachable, but the wise already know all things, and,
therefore, cannot be taught anything new; only the foolish
can possess faith in God, but the wise know better. One
must make himself a fool in the presence of men, that he
may be accepted of God, for: "...without faith it is
impossible to please God..." [Hebrews 11:6] Why does God
desire believers to make fools of themselves in the presence
of men? It is a test of faith. Those who fear God seek to
please Him; those who fear men seek to please them.
Taking Your Stand: After Adam and Eve sinned against God
by partaking of the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of
good and evil, He asked them, "Where are you?" God was not
desiring to know their physical location, for He knows all
things; God was asking Adam and Eve, "Now that you know the
ways of good and evil, where do you stand?" And so it is
that God asks this question of each one of us. Joshua
answered the question thusly: "As for me and my house, we
will serve the LORD." [Joshua 24:15] The time is at hand
for the fulfillment of this prophesy: "Multitudes,
multitudes in the valley of decision! For the day of the
LORD is near in the valley of decision." [Joel 3:14] God
is absolute and unchangeable; we cannot change God to suit
our desires. Therefore, each one of us must either choose
or refuse God, for: "He who is not with Me is against Me."
[Matthew 12:30] If you do not choose God, you automatically
choose Satan the Adversary -- there is no neutral ground.
God gives life; Satan brings death. Choose carefully, for
your eternal destiny depends on your decision.
Choosing Life: If you would like to choose life eternal as
prescribed by God, do these three things: First, speak this
request (or something similar) with your mouth, "LORD God,
from this day forward I will keep Your Ten Commandments that
I may inherit life eternal in Your presence." Second,
strive to keep the Ten Commandments from now until your
death. If you happen to sin, repent immediately; but do
not use the gift of repentance as a licence to sin. Third,
study the word of God daily. I recommend that you read the
word of God for thirty minutes before going to sleep and for
thirty minutes when you awake; if you cannot spare thirty
minutes, try twenty; if you cannot spare twenty minutes, try
ten; if you cannot spare ten minutes, read one chapter. If
you are new to the word of God, I recommend reading these
books and/or passages first: Matthew, Proverbs,
Ecclesiastes, Psalm 23, Genesis 1-9, Revelation. After
these, try reading the Bible cover-to-cover; if you get
stuck, skim the difficult passages -- but keep moving. You
will probably not grasp the deep things of the Sciptures
the first time you read it. And whenever you read the word,
ask God to send His Holy Spirit to be your guide and to
"unlock" the hidden treasures of His word. Be aware:
Unless you study the word of God with a pure heart and an
open mind, the true character of God will not be disclosed
to you, since your mind is tainted by preconceived notions
of God. "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see
God." [Matthew 5:8]
Jews And Christians: (Note: the term "Jews" is used
generically to refer to the faithful keepers of the
Torah/Law; the Torah was given to the twelve tribes of
Israel/Jacob, however, over time, only the tribe of Judah
(the Jews) kept their identity and remained loyal to the
LORD God.) God gave the Jews the key to life, as it is
written: "You shall therefore keep My statutes and My
judgements, which if a man does, he shall live by them:
I am the LORD your God." [Leviticus 18:5] God also gave
the key to life to the Christians, saying: "Jesus said to
them, 'I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes
to the Father except through Me.'" [John 14:6] Did God
give man two separate keys to life eternal? Does God have
a double standard whereby different persons may obtain life
eternal through different means? Of course not. There is
only one Standard through which men may obtain life eternal
-- the Ten Commandments. God gave the Ten Commandments to
the Jews in stone; God gave the Ten Commandments to the
Christians in flesh -- in the person of Jesus, who served
as a living example to men and also destroyed the work of
Satan the Adversary. The above Christian Scripture can be
rendered thusly: "I am the way, the truth, and the life.
No one comes to the Father except through the Ten
Commandments." Thus, we see that God has only one Standard
whereby men may obtain life eternal. Whether in stone or
in flesh, the word of God delivers from death: "He sent
His word and healed them, and delivered them from their
destructions." [Psalm 107:20]
One Or Two Saviours: The Saviour is the one who saves His
followers from death eternal by granting them life eternal
in His presence. But who is this Saviour? According to
Jewish Scripture: "I, even I, am the LORD, and besides
Me there is no saviour." [Isaiah 43:11] According to
Christian Scripture: "Jesus said to him, 'I am the way,
the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father
except through Me.'" [John 14:6] There are only three
ways to reconcile these two verses of Scripture: Either
the LORD has spoken falsely, Jesus has spoken falsely, or
the LORD and Jesus are one. "I (Jesus) and My Father are
one. And he who sees Me sees Him who sent Me. If you had
known Me, you would have known My Father also; and from
now on you know Him and have seen Him. He who has seen Me
has seen the Father." [John 10:30, 12:45, 14:7,9]
The Deceived Christian: There are so-called Christians who
believe that they can obtain life eternal, not through the
keeping of the Ten Commandments, but by simply believing
that Jesus is the Christ/Saviour: Is this true? Satan and
his demons believe in Jesus, yet Satan has been sentenced
to death eternal, and he will die when Revelation 20:10
comes to pass. Why? Because Satan refused to keep the
commandments of God, chiefly: "You shall have no other
gods besides Me." [Exodus 20:3] Belief in God is an easy
thing, since we are all surrounded by the knowledge of God;
but the keeping of the Ten Commandments is the manifestation
of our belief in Jesus as being the Christ/Saviour, since
Jesus was the Word of God in flesh, that is, the Ten
Commandments in flesh. If you are a Christian, then you
acknowledge Jesus as your saviour -- the one who saves you
from death eternal. With this in mind, what does Jesus say
about obtaining life eternal? "But if you want to enter
into life, keep the commandments." [Matthew 19:17] Note
that Jesus did not give a new path to life eternal, but
merely reiterated the one and only path -- the Ten
Commandments. Do not permit anyone to convince you that
the Ten Commandments are no longer relevant. If the Ten
Commandments were no longer relevant, Satan and his children
would not seek to remove them from all semblances of human
society. Remember that the task of Satan is to destroy you
by removing from your sight the one and only path which
leads to life eternal -- the Ten Commandments.
The True Christian: The true Christian does not only
acknowledge Jesus as being the Christ/Saviour, but also
expresses that belief through the keeping of the Ten
Commandments, as Jesus said: "But why do you call Me
'Lord, Lord,' and do not do the things which I say?"
[Luke 6:46] What did Jesus say about obtaining life
eternal? "But if you want to enter into life, keep the
commandments." [Matthew 19:17] I labour this point
because so many so-called Christians have departed from
the simplicity of Jesus the Christ and have been led astray
by the complex theology expounded by the Apostle Paul, whose
teachings are intended, not for the newcomer, but for the
spiritually mature. In conclusion, the true Christian keeps
the Ten Commandments from the moment of his "conversion" to
the point of his death -- not grudgingly, but willingly,
realizing that they are designed for his own good, both in
the temporal world and in eternity/heaven.
The Path To Life, Reiterated: In Matthew 19:16-22, a young
man asks Jesus, "What should I do that I may have eternal
life?" Jesus answered him, "Keep the commandments." In
John 8:11, Jesus said to the adulteress, "Go and sin no
more." Since sin is the transgression of the commandments,
"Go and sin no more" can be rendered: "Go and do not
transgress the commandments anymore." In John 14:6, Jesus
said: "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes
to the Father except through Me." When Jesus said to the
adulteress, "Go and sin no more", was He showing her the
path to life? Yes. Since Jesus was the Ten Commandments in
flesh, John 14:16 can be rendered thusly: "I am the way,
the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except
through the Ten Commandments." If this is the case, why do
some so-called Christians believe that the Ten Commandments
are no longer relevant? Because the Apostle Paul, while
admonishing others not to depart from the simplicity of
Jesus the Christ, abandons the simplicity of the Ten
Commandments and gets into complex theological
dissertations, which are beneficial to the spiritually
mature but detrimental to the spiritually immature, leading
them to believe that the Ten Commandments were nailed to the
cross and are therefore no longer relevant. While the Ten
Commandments were indeed nailed to the cross in the person
of Jesus, they remain the one and only path to life.
The Free Gift: Life eternal is a free gift of God; no man
can earn life eternal, lest he should boast of his goodness.
God does not permit boasting, since boasting is pride; and
pride is not allowed in heaven/eternity. If life is a free
gift, why bother keeping the Ten Commandments? Because it
is impossible to please God without possessing faith; and
the keeping of the Ten Commandments is the manifestation
(evidence) of your faith in God: "For as the body without
the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also."
[James 2:26] If you believe in something, you must possess
some outward manifestation of that belief. The keeping of
the Ten Commandments is your manifestation of your belief
in God.
Understanding Heaven: Heaven is eternal. The eternal
must be founded on absolute, unchangeable, and infallible
laws; nothing in heaven can ever decay, die, or cause harm.
On the earth, man is free to transgress the laws of God;
however, no such liberty is granted in heaven. In heaven,
one must abide by every word which proceeds out of the
mouth of God -- without exception. The Ten Commandments is
a small sample of the word of God. If we fail to keep the
Ten Commandments for a short time on the earth, we will
frustrate ourselves to no end if permitted into eternity/
heaven. Since there is no discomfort in heaven, those who
cannot keep every word which proceeds out of the mouth of
God will not be permitted therein. In conclusion: The
everlasting (eternal) must be built on perfect and universal
laws -- anything less leads to confusion; confusion leads to
lawlessness; lawlessness leads to chaos; and chaos ends in
destruction.
Losing Interest: The earth is finite; man is finite: There
is a finite number of things a man can do on the earth.
When he has done all, what remains? Death? What then?
The Shrewd Businessman And The Bottomline: He who believes
in God cannot prove His existence; he who does not believe
in God cannot prove His non-existence. The Believer hopes
for life eternal, following judgement based on the Standard
of God; the Disbeliever expects that he originated from the
dust and will eventually return to the dust -- which is his
beginning and his end. The Believer lives his life
according to the Standard of God, expecting to be judged by
same; the Disbeliever lives his life as he pleases,
expecting death to be his final end. Both the Believer and
the Disbeliver are guilty of self-deception, for neither
one can prove his conviction. The Shrewd Businessman
observes both the Believer and the Disbeliever, and
concludes thusly: "At the end of his life, the Disbeliever
gains nothing; however, at the end of his life, the
Believer may gain life eternal." At this point, the Shrewd
Businessman may choose to make his bet in accordance with
his interest.
-----
The above is an excerpt from a currently-available book
which can be purchased at:
www.amazon.com
www.amazon.co.uk
www.amazon.ca
Search "Books" for:
TITLE: "The Teenager's Guide to the Awesome God"
AUTHOR: "Arrant Knave"
ISBN: "1413755003"
-----
Excerpt from "The Teenager's Guide To The Awesome God"
Copyright 2000 Arrant Knave. All rights reserved.
All scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are
taken from the New King James Version (R). Copyright (C)
1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights
reserved.
.
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| User: "Mark K. Bilbo" |
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| Title: Re: Guide to God, part 39/41: Labels And Clubs |
13 Oct 2006 08:10:24 AM |
|
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On Fri, 13 Oct 2006 04:08:21 -0400, Beelzebull wrote:
Atheism: Atheism is the belief that God does not exist.
Wrong.
--
Mark K. Bilbo
--------------------------------------------------
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