By JRSD ~
While doing some research I stumbled across your site and took the time to read your article on turning away from God and was surprised by some of the comments that you made. I don't know who led you to Christ originally or where you went to church but in all of the years that I have known Christ I have never heard a pastor say that I should simply trust him and not explore or question his sermons and their biblical accuracy.
One of the tenets of true Christianity is a life of continuous searching for a deeper understanding of God's word as revealed in the Bible. To obtain that understanding one must question what they read, not necessarily from other men/women of faith, but from the teacher that is sent to us as part of our walk with Christ. Through prayer, study, meditation, and more prayer I have continuously gained a deeper understanding of scripture. I have learned that while allegorical stories are often used in scripture the principles that teach are timeless and relevant to all of our lives.
You mentioned that miracles as performed by Christ were non existent today and yet there are numerous first hand accounts of healing that are occurring throughout regions of the world where the gospel continues to spread and faith is stronger and less stifled than it has become in Western Civilizations. There have been documented incidents of real cases where listeners have heard the gospel preached to them in English without a translator and yet was understood in their own language. This is the true manifestation of speaking in tongues that was described in Acts on the day of Pentecost. it is not some gibberish that no one understands but rather the God given gift of communicating across the language divide that exists as a result of man's arrogance at Babel.
Some of the commenters to your story posted statements regarding God's inability to take a few moments to stop by their home and alleviate their doubts, but a true conversion to Christ does not leave doubt it only leaves a hunger for knowledge. Paul knew beyond any doubt that he had met Christ on the road to Damascus, it did not make him perfect, it did not immediately answer all of his questions but it left him willing to follow, learn, and share what he had been given by Christ that day. That is the true depth and meaning of a relationship with Christ. Sure God could take the time to stop and visit everyone but He manifested Himself in creation, providing ample proof that He is there. We can either believe by faith from having witnessed these wonders or we can choose to remain in ignorance. His purpose is prompt us to make a choice even while He already knows which way we will choose. He did not rebel against us we rebelled against Him so it is up to us to make the effort to accept the gift of reconciliation that He provided through Jesus Christ. If you cannot be convinced of God's existence by wonder of creation then what good would a visit be? How much more difficult would it be to accept a heavenly manifestation of God than to accept that a bumble bee is a violation of the laws of physics or that a humming bird must have some form of internal dampening system that allows them to go from a dead stop to high speed flight instantaneously in a move that would provide enough G force on a human to crush all of your organs! These are manifestations of some obscure theory of evolution but rather are a testimony to the magnificence of creation.
Finally as to 900 year old men and modern disease you fail to take into account that it was never God's intent that we should die. We were created in perfection with no flaws in our genetic structure. The early patriarchs lived such long lifespans because they were close to the fall of man and thus their genetic code had not yet been as corrupted as ours is today. The corruption of our DNA is the result of rebellion against God imputed to us by Adam and the further we get from that pivotal event in history the more mutations occur in our DNA causing more and more corruption which leads to more and more issues related to our health. On top of that we have corrupted the way we were intended to live and in doing so have created poisons that further mutate our genetic code and cause more health related issues. The only ray of hope is the promise that God will correct this in accordance with His plan to redeem man from the fall and as a Christian I rejoice that we are probably getting closer and closer to that final act of redemption.
Rather than listen to those who told you to trust them I would suggest that you bury yourself in scripture and trust that if you truly want to know the truth God will send His teacher to you and open your eyes.
One of the tenets of true Christianity is a life of continuous searching for a deeper understanding of God's word as revealed in the Bible. To obtain that understanding one must question what they read, not necessarily from other men/women of faith, but from the teacher that is sent to us as part of our walk with Christ. Through prayer, study, meditation, and more prayer I have continuously gained a deeper understanding of scripture. I have learned that while allegorical stories are often used in scripture the principles that teach are timeless and relevant to all of our lives.
You mentioned that miracles as performed by Christ were non existent today and yet there are numerous first hand accounts of healing that are occurring throughout regions of the world where the gospel continues to spread and faith is stronger and less stifled than it has become in Western Civilizations. There have been documented incidents of real cases where listeners have heard the gospel preached to them in English without a translator and yet was understood in their own language. This is the true manifestation of speaking in tongues that was described in Acts on the day of Pentecost. it is not some gibberish that no one understands but rather the God given gift of communicating across the language divide that exists as a result of man's arrogance at Babel.
Some of the commenters to your story posted statements regarding God's inability to take a few moments to stop by their home and alleviate their doubts, but a true conversion to Christ does not leave doubt it only leaves a hunger for knowledge. Paul knew beyond any doubt that he had met Christ on the road to Damascus, it did not make him perfect, it did not immediately answer all of his questions but it left him willing to follow, learn, and share what he had been given by Christ that day. That is the true depth and meaning of a relationship with Christ. Sure God could take the time to stop and visit everyone but He manifested Himself in creation, providing ample proof that He is there. We can either believe by faith from having witnessed these wonders or we can choose to remain in ignorance. His purpose is prompt us to make a choice even while He already knows which way we will choose. He did not rebel against us we rebelled against Him so it is up to us to make the effort to accept the gift of reconciliation that He provided through Jesus Christ. If you cannot be convinced of God's existence by wonder of creation then what good would a visit be? How much more difficult would it be to accept a heavenly manifestation of God than to accept that a bumble bee is a violation of the laws of physics or that a humming bird must have some form of internal dampening system that allows them to go from a dead stop to high speed flight instantaneously in a move that would provide enough G force on a human to crush all of your organs! These are manifestations of some obscure theory of evolution but rather are a testimony to the magnificence of creation.
Finally as to 900 year old men and modern disease you fail to take into account that it was never God's intent that we should die. We were created in perfection with no flaws in our genetic structure. The early patriarchs lived such long lifespans because they were close to the fall of man and thus their genetic code had not yet been as corrupted as ours is today. The corruption of our DNA is the result of rebellion against God imputed to us by Adam and the further we get from that pivotal event in history the more mutations occur in our DNA causing more and more corruption which leads to more and more issues related to our health. On top of that we have corrupted the way we were intended to live and in doing so have created poisons that further mutate our genetic code and cause more health related issues. The only ray of hope is the promise that God will correct this in accordance with His plan to redeem man from the fall and as a Christian I rejoice that we are probably getting closer and closer to that final act of redemption.
Rather than listen to those who told you to trust them I would suggest that you bury yourself in scripture and trust that if you truly want to know the truth God will send His teacher to you and open your eyes.
COMMENTS