Are we solely products of our environment?

I recently received this email and thought it would profit more then the sender. Here is the email in its entirety:

I have a very intriguing question and no one has ever given a satisfactory answer. Will you please?

“Are you born by own will? Not certainly. I am a Muslim because I have been born among Muslims and those who have been born among Christians, Jews, and Hindus etc. become what ever teachings and knowledge they get from their parents, teachers or society.

It is a common belief among Muslims, Jews, Christians and Hindus that only members of their sect will be rewarded by God and people of other religions will go to hell. When a person does not have any control on birth and adopts religion where he has been born by God, why God will punish or reward on the basis of religion?

Kindly guide me. Thanks.

what makes you so special…God?

Stephen F Roberts:

“I contend that we both atheists. I just believe in one fewer God than you do. When you understand why you dismiss all the other possible Gods, you will understand why I dismiss yours.”

Throughout the last few months I have come across this quotation several different times and would like to respond to it here. Usually this quotation is given with a barrage of various pagan, Norse, Greek, Roman, and various Mythological gods and at the end of the list is “Yahweh.”

At first, the quotation and the list of gods seem like something of a powerful case against theism. We readily dismiss the existence of Thor, Apollo, Shiva, and many other contrived beings, and yet Christians are willing to devote their lives to this one specific God. The questions remains, what makes Yahweh so special?

When I come across people who hold, “when you understand why you dismiss all the other possible Gods, you will understand why I dismiss yours.” In response, I dismiss all these other gods because simply there is no evidence for them. That’s what it all comes down to, evidence. There is historical, personal, ontological, teleological, cosmological, and axiological evidence that is extended to Yahweh and Yahweh alone.

The God of Christianity is the only being that meets all of the areas of evidence I just listed. So, Mr. Roberts, I cannot dismiss my God for the reason I dismiss these gods, because the evidence is just to compelling. Yahweh truly is the King of Kings and LORD of LORDS. He is the only being worthy of worship.

“Scientists create life. We are God” part 2

On to the content of the news story I mentioned in my last web entry. Is this indeed an act of creating life or even a precursor for artificial intelligence? The answer to both of these questions is no. First of all, AI has already been demonstrated to be untenable, John Searle demonstrates this with his famous thought experiment on the subject:

“Scientists create life. We are God”

On an atheist forum, this article was posted with the title, “Scientists create life. We are God.” Before examining the content of this article, let us consider some current trends in atheism (as evidenced by this title) as well as problems with this title.

One of the current trends in atheism is to either take anything that is somewhat of a breakthrough in a field of science and claim “this is an amazing breakthrough, therefore God does not exist.” Or use obscure religious beliefs or fringe cult members as evidence that God does not exist or the religious are merely mentally deficient. The first trend is really done without realizing it (or at least it seems most atheists don’t realize it) and therefore I am forced to go to these various atheist forums and make comments like “atheism?” or “why is this subject being discussed under the guise of atheism?”

a time to sow…and a time to tear

What is the demarcation between orthodoxy and heresy? Or that, when believers disagree about various dogma and doctrine at what point does one claim “heresy” and discontinue fellowship? Before answering this question, it must be stated that the idea of dis-fellowship should only be applied to believers. If this standard was applied to unbelievers or people who have no consistent and reliable information about Jesus and the Bible, why would we suppose them to be anything less then heretics? Further, if there was no fellowship with such people, how would they learn and know the truth? Thus, if a unbeliever holds to an errant view of Jesus it should not be faulted on that person, but rather, with meekness and fear correct the view.

Thanksgiving

Do you think you are a thankful person? How thankful are you when you give thanks and pray over a meal? Trying giving thanks for  meal after fasting for 3 days and you will come to realize that your thanks will be much different. How many Christians out there have not only never fasted, do not know to fast, or have never partaken in an extended fast? I would be shocked if more then 1% of all believers (in North America) could satisfy all three of these criteria. Most Christians know what fasting is, but do not understand its function, purpose, or power. Then there are the people who know about fasting and its importance yet do not recall the one rule Jesus had about fasting, people do not know you are fasting. How do I know people are breaking this rule? Because they tell me they are fasting. Then there is the rare group of people that know how to fast, partake in it, but only do small 12 hr or 24 hr fasts. Don’t get me wrong, when you have never fasted before 24 hours is quite daunting, but if one has become comfortable and accustomed with such a fast she should challenge herself to something longer and more difficult. If you want to know more about fasting, go to my audio page and listen to my sermon on it. If you truly want to be thankful during this holiday season, spend some time fasting!

Christ the Rock

In the mist of my morning studies as I was reading a book concerning the resurrection of Christ I realized how Christian view of Christ (and more importantly Christ himself) has not waivered for 2,000 years. The early followers of the resurrected Christ were put to death and tortured because they would not cry “Caesar is LORD” but rather maintain, “Jesus is LORD.” For the initial 250 years of Christianity two things were certain, the Christians would not think of Christ as anything else other then God, and they were willing to die for this belief.
Some early disputes arose concerning the deity of Christ and the bodily resurrection of Him among early believers but they were quickly refuted by eye witness accounts. As latter disputes arose, once the eye witnesses were dead, the apostolic fathers (the disciples of the disciples) were likewise easily able to refute claims that Jesus was not God.

Godly dependence

For the longest time I had considered myself in a way that was not biblical. It wasn’t an overt or intentional evil, but rather pride mistaken for strength.  If you’ve ever seen the movie About a Boy, you know that protagonist is playboy with Peter pan syndrome who is not only incorrigible but believes himself to be a pillar of strength and independence. When questioned about the futility of trusting in himself he claims, “Some men are Islands, I am a bloody island!” But throughout the course of the movie he comes to realize his need for others, and eventually learns to love and trust.

True Rest

There is a difference between sleep and rest. You can easily be rested but not have sleep. Further you can sleep but not feel rested. While a healthy body requires both of these factors to flourish, there is something else that the human requires. She requires a “rest” that does not come about through sleep or from relaxing sore muscles and bones. This rest is found in complete surrender and trust in the LORD. This is true rest. Augustine said it quite perfectly; “You stir men to take pleasure in praising you for you have made us for yourself. Our hearts are restless oh Lord, until they rest in you.”

The Risen LORD

Since we recently celebrated the resurrection of Christ, it is fitting to write a few things about it.

People often ask me about the origins of Easter, why a rabbit is a symbol. Much like Christmas, Constantine in the 4th century changed the celebration days of the birth and resurrection of Christ to correspond with pagan holidays.