A Long Pause....

   I have not done anything in the last month here, which I regret. Life gets in the way as well as pure laziness. I hope to get back to posting (and studying) more very soon. We are currently studying Romans in Sunday school and I want to do some studies on that book as well because of the incredible content it holds.
 
   In the mean time I am currently listening to a really good lecture series on apologetics by Douglas Groothuis. This is a very good series to go through if you are a Christian and want to really learn how to present reasons for your faith per 1 Peter 3:15.

"but sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts, always being ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you, yet with gentleness and reverence;" 

   If you are not a Christian it is a good series to listen to and see a much better view of how we as Christians should be engaging you and discussing these issues with you in a manner that is 180° from the stereotype you are used to seeing in the media.

I am only part way through, but so far it is really great material.

http://www.relyonchrist.com/lecture.htm

Scholars You Can Trust

I thought this was a good article to share...

http://www.reclaimingthemind.org/blog/2011/09/how-i-find-scholars-i-can-trust/

True Humility

Luke 15: 11-32

The Prodigal Son

 

11 And He said, "A man had two sons.

 12 "The younger of them said to his father, 'Father, give me the share of the estate that falls to me.' So he divided his wealth between them.

 13 "And not many days later, the younger son gathered everything together and went on a journey into a distant country, and there he squandered his estate with loose living.

 14 "Now when he had spent everything, a severe famine occurred in that country, and he began to be impoverished.

 15 "So he went and hired himself out to one of the citizens of that country, and he sent him into his fields to feed swine.

 16 "And he would have gladly filled his stomach with the pods that the swine were eating, and no one was giving anything to him.

 17 "But when he came to his senses, he said, 'How many of my father's hired men have more than enough bread, but I am dying here with hunger!

 18 ~'I will get up and go to my father, and will say to him, "Father, I have sinned against heaven, and in your sight;

 19 I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me as one of your hired men."'

 20 "So he got up and came to his father. But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt compassion for him, and ran and embraced him and kissed him.

 21 "And the son said to him, 'Father, I have sinned against heaven and in your sight; I am no longer worthy to be called your son.'

 22 "But the father said to his slaves, 'Quickly bring out the best robe and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand and sandals on his feet;

 23 and bring the fattened calf, kill it, and let us eat and celebrate;

 24 for this son of mine was dead and has come to life again; he was lost and has been found.' And they began to celebrate.

 25 "Now his older son was in the field, and when he came and approached the house, he heard music and dancing.

 26 "And he summoned one of the servants and began inquiring what these things could be.

 27 "And he said to him, 'Your brother has come, and your father has killed the fattened calf because he has received him back safe and sound.'

 28 "But he became angry and was not willing to go in; and his father came out and began pleading with him.

 29 "But he answered and said to his father, 'Look! For so many years I have been serving you and I have never neglected a command of yours; and yet you have never given me a young goat, so that I might celebrate with my friends;

 30 but when this son of yours came, who has devoured your wealth with prostitutes, you killed the fattened calf for him.'

 31 "And he said to him, 'Son, you have always been with me, and all that is mine is yours.

 32 ~'But we had to celebrate and rejoice, for this brother of yours was dead and has begun to live, and was lost and has been found.'"

   In church on Sunday the guest speaker preached on the three parables in Luke 15. It had been a while since I had actually read the parable of the prodigal son, so I went back and re-read it. I have been wanting to do a post about humility since I think it is a vital part of the Christian lifestyle and an essential part of becoming a Christian to begin with.
   Verses 17-19 jumped out at me when I re-read the parable and screamed of perfect humility. In the preceding verses you read of the son who had essentially demanded his inheritance early so he could strike out on his own to have fun. He lived a "loose life" and spent all of his money until he had nothing and no one to turn to. Not to say that this is the general case for someone who is homeless, but I liken this to someone who set out with pride, spent all of their money on a sinful lifestyle and lost it all. He is on the streets begging for the smallest scraps to eat and people just walk on by like he is not even there. Coming back to the verses, the prodigal son has hit rock bottom and his options are limited. He could turn to a life of crime in order to get what he needs or he can swallow his pride and try to go back home. He realizes the wrongs he has done and that he is suffering the consequences of those actions. He realizes that he has lost the right to be called his fathers son and in an attempt to regain a fraction of his father's acceptance, he decides that he will go back and ask to become one of his workers instead.
   The verses that follow tell the rest of the story of how the father rushes out to receive him back. He doesn't even give him the chance to ask about becoming a hired man! He is immediately re-established as his son as if nothing had even happened to sever the bond.
   Although this is not part of the lesson of this parable, God does call on us. He wants us to turn from our sinful ways and humble ourselves before him. We are all born into sin and our lives, whether or not we want to admit it, are filled with our selfish desires to carry out and fulfill all of the sinful pleasures that entice us. We desire to live that "loose life" and sometimes we have to reach rock bottom before we realize how lost we are.
   When you hear God's call, will you ignore it or will you humble yourself before Him and seek His forgiveness? He is looking for you and he has pretty good vision and can spot you from miles away. He will rush out to you and receive you back into a righteous relationship with Him, no questions asked.

Beware False Prophets

Lamentations 2:14-15

14. Your prophets have seen for you

      False and foolish visions;

      And they have not exposed your iniquity

      So as to restore you from captivity,

      But they have seen for you false and misleading oracles.

15. All who pass along the way

      Clap their hands in derision at you;

      They hiss and shake their heads

      At the daughter of Jerusalem,

      "Is this the city of which they said,

      'The perfection of beauty,

      A joy to all the earth'?"

  These verses refer to the false prophets in Judea during the prophecies of Jeremiah. Jeremiah (who is also commonly thought of as the author of Lamentations) was called by God to be His prophet to the people of Judea. His instruction was to tell the people of God's imminent destruction of their land and the conquering of their people because of their great sins and their turning away from Him. Jeremiah was not received very well as could be expected. There were false prophets preaching against Jeremiah's warnings saying that all was good and there was nothing to worry about. The people continued in their ways, did not repent, and eventually fell as God warned.

  These verses can be applied today as we make decisions about what church to attend and which people to listen to regarding the Word of God. We must be on our guard against false teachings and false doctrine so we do not get entangled in sinful practices that we think are holy. There are the extreme examples like Waco's Branch Davidians , Westboro Baptist and the recent embarrassment of the eBible Fellowship's rapture predictions. We have to be on the lookout for the more subtle teachings and doctrines that might seem right at first glance, but are completely unbiblical once they are tested against scripture. The teachings of the Mormons and Jehovah's Witnesses are prime examples.(not going into detail on this topic at this time...there is plenty of info that can be found online).

  Find a church and good teachers that know their Bible, and are not afraid to preach on difficult topics that might convict you of sin in your own life that you need to turn from. Be wary of churches and teachers that preach like motivational speakers. Be wary of those that teach that prayer is like a magical formula for getting things from God.

  Read and study the Bible, pray for understanding with a humble heart and God will help you make the right decisions. He will give you discernment regarding the teachings of others on His Word so that you will know the truth when you see it.

A Slightly New Direction...

It has been too long since my last post...

   I have been struggling with how to proceed with the blog and what to post next. I have been listening and reading about the validity of the Bible and evidence for the existence of God in an effort to write a post about these topics (I will post some links below to my sources). The struggle I have encountered is this: How do I take what I have read and heard and put it into my own words, or should I even try? The more I listen to and read lectures and articles by people who are much more educated in these topics and who have been doing this for some years now, the less I feel that I could do justice to those studies. They are very in-depth and informative and I would simply be watering down their studies in the process.

   I had originally intended this to be more of a dialog with people on their beliefs, but it just hasn't worked out that way for the most part. I believe that this is God's way of telling me to take this in a slightly different direction. I really want this blog to be in my own words as much as possible, so I will mainly be using this as a Bible study journal of sorts in an effort to keep me on track with my personal growth as a Christian. I will let you know when I post something and I invite you to come read, ask questions & follow any links to videos or articles I think are useful.

   My prayer for you is that, if you are a Christian, God might use me to show you something new through all of this. If you are not a believer, I pray that you are here because God is drawing you closer and working on you so that you might understand the truth of Jesus Christ. Come at this with a humble heart and I pray that God will reach out to you and start to convince you about who He really is.

   My job is to spread the gospel of Jesus Christ to all the world, or at least my small corner of it...I hope and pray that I can do this in a way that is pleasing to God and is a benefit to you as well as myself.

Sincerely,

Mark "ClydeFrog" Ritter

Here are the links to the studies I have been listening to. they are pretty long series of lectures and articles, but very well though out and very worth going through. 

•  Dan Oliger Apologetics Audio Feed
•  Affirming the Bible's Reliability

Statement of Faith

   I wanted to provide a statement of faith like I have seen on other apologetic websites, so here it is. I tried to do this in a slightly different way than I have seen on other sites so I wasn't simply copying information. These are the core beliefs of the Christian faith as best as I can present them:



The God of the Bible is the one true God.

Isaiah 43:10 
10 "You are My witnesses, declares the Lord, And My servant whom I have chosen, in order that you may know and believe Me, and understand that I am He. Before Me there was no God formed, and there will be none after Me."

Isaiah 44:6
6 "Thus says the Lord, the King of Israel and his Redeemer, the Lord of hosts: "I am the first and I am the last, and there is no God besides Me."

Isaiah 44:8
8 "Do not tremble and do not be afraid; have I not long since announced it to you and declared it? And you are My witnesses. Is there any God besides Me, or is there any other Rock? I know of none."

Isaiah 45:5
5 "I am the Lord, and there is no other; besides Me there is no God."
John 17:3

3 "This is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent."

God is the Creator of all time and space. He created the heavens and the Earth. He existed before time and is outside of time. He is omnipresent, omniscient, all-powerful yet loves each and everyone of us individually.

Colossians 1:16-17
16 For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities —all things have been created through Him and for Him.
17 He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together.

Genesis 1:1 
1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.

Psalm 139:7
7 Where can I go from Your Spirit? Or where can I flee from Your presence?

Jeremiah 32:17
17 Ah Lord GOD! Behold, You have made the heavens and the earth by Your great power and by Your outstretched arm! Nothing is too difficult for You, 

 Luke 15:3-7
3 So He told them this parable, saying,

4 "What man among you, if he has a hundred sheep and has lost one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the open pasture and go after the one which is lost until he finds it?

5 "When he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing.

6 "And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and his neighbors, saying to them, 'Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep which was lost!'

7 "I tell you that in the same way, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance."

 
He is one God in three persons: God the Father, God the Son & God the Holy Spirit.

Matthew 28:19

19 "Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit,"

Luke 3:21-22
21 Now when all the people were baptized, Jesus was also baptized, and while He was praying, heaven was opened,
22 and the Holy Spirit descended upon Him in bodily form like a dove, and a voice came out of heaven, "You are My beloved Son, in You I am well-pleased."

1 Corinthians 12:4-6
4 "Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit.
5 And there are varieties of ministries, and the same Lord.
6 And there are varieties of effects, but the same God who works all things in all persons."

2 Corinthians 13:14 
14 "The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, be with you all."

He created mankind in His own image, starting with Adam and Eve, as physically temporal, spiritually eternal beings.

Genesis 1:26-27
26 Then God said, "Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; and let them rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over the cattle and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth."
27 God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.


He granted us free will to decide between right & wrong and good & evil. Because of the disobedience of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, all mankind was corrupted and we inherit that sin nature upon our physical birth.

Romans 5:6-21
6 For while we were still helpless, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly.
7 For one will hardly die for a righteous man; though perhaps for the good man someone would dare even to die.
8 But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. 
9 Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from the wrath of God through Him.
10 For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life.
11 And not only this, but we also exult in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received the reconciliation.
12 Therefore, just as through one man sin entered into the world, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men, because all sinned — 
13 for until the Law sin was in the world, but sin is not imputed when there is no law.
14 Nevertheless death reigned from Adam until Moses, even over those who had not sinned in the likeness of the offense of Adam, who is a type of Him who was to come.
15 But the free gift is not like the transgression. For if by the transgression of the one the many died, much more did the grace of God and the gift by the grace of the one Man, Jesus Christ, abound to the many.
16 The gift is not like that which came through the one who sinned; for on the one hand the judgment arose from one transgression resulting in condemnation, but on the other hand the free gift arose from many transgressions resulting in justification.
17 For if by the transgression of the one, death reigned through the one, much more those who receive the abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ.
18 So then as through one transgression there resulted condemnation to all men, even so through one act of righteousness there resulted justification of life to all men.
19 For as through the one man's disobedience the many were made sinners, even so through the obedience of the One the many will be made righteous.
20 The Law came in so that the transgression would increase; but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more,
21 so that, as sin reigned in death, even so grace would reign through righteousness to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.


God is pure good and sin cannot be a part of Him. We must be cleansed of that sin in order to return to Him and in order to dwell eternally in His presence after death. Through Jesus Christ, God provided the one and only true sacrifice and payment for our sin debt. Jesus Christ lived as both fully man and fully God, He lived a sinless life and freely gave his life through death on the cross as the blood sacrifice for our sins. He was buried, rose from the grave on the third day, and ascended into Heaven where He is at the right hand of God until the day He returns.

John 3:16

16 "For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life."

2 Corinthians 5:21
21 "He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him." 

1 Peter 2:24
24 "and He Himself bore our sins in His body on the cross, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness; for by His wounds you were healed." 

Romans 8:3-4
3 "For what the Law could not do, weak as it was through the flesh, God did: sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and as an offering for sin, He condemned sin in the flesh,
4 so that the requirement of the Law might be fulfilled in us, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit."

Phillipians 2:5-8
5 Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus,
6 who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped,
7 but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men.
8 Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.


John 20:9-18
9 For as yet they did not understand the Scripture, that He must rise again from the dead.
10 So the disciples went away again to their own homes.
11 But Mary was standing outside the tomb weeping; and so, as she wept, she stooped and looked into the tomb;
12 and she *saw two angels in white sitting, one at the head and one at the feet, where the body of Jesus had been lying.
13 And they *said to her, "Woman, why are you weeping?" She *said to them, "Because they have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid Him."
14 When she had said this, she turned around and *saw Jesus standing there, and did not know that it was Jesus.
15 Jesus *said to her, "Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you seeking?" Supposing Him to be the gardener, she *said to Him, "Sir, if you have carried Him away, tell me where you have laid Him, and I will take Him away."
16 Jesus *said to her, "Mary!" She turned and *said to Him in Hebrew, "Rabboni!" (which means, Teacher ).
17 Jesus *said to her, "Stop clinging to Me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father; but go to My brethren and say to them, 'I ascend to My Father and your Father, and My God and your God.'"
18 Mary Magdalene *came, announcing to the disciples, "I have seen the Lord," and that He had said these things to her.

Acts 1:9-11
9 And after He had said these things, He was lifted up while they were looking on, and a cloud received Him out of their sight.
10 And as they were gazing intently into the sky while He was going, behold, two men in white clothing stood beside them.
11 They also said, "Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into the sky? This Jesus, who has been taken up from you into heaven, will come in just the same way as you have watched Him go into heaven."




Our salvation is through God's grace and mercy, through the blood of Jesus Christ shed on the cross. All we simply have to do is accept, believe and confess Jesus as Lord and we shall be saved.

Romans 10:9-13
9 that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved;
10 for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation.
11 For the Scripture says, "WHOEVER BELIEVES IN HIM WILL NOT BE DISAPPOINTED."
12 For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, abounding in riches for all who call on Him;
13 for "WHOEVER WILL CALL ON THE NAME OF THE LORD WILL BE SAVED."



Once we are saved, God provides the Holy Spirit in us to lead us, teach us, convict us and provide a direct line to God


John 16:5-15

5 "But now I am going to Him who sent Me; and none of you asks Me, 'Where are You going?'

6 "But because I have said these things to you, sorrow has filled your heart.

7 "But I tell you the truth, it is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I go, I will send Him to you.

8 "And He, when He comes, will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment;

9 concerning sin, because they do not believe in Me;

10 and concerning righteousness, because I go to the Father and you no longer see Me;

11 and concerning judgment, because the ruler of this world has been judged.

12 "I have many more things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now.

13 "But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth; for He will not speak on His own initiative, but whatever He hears, He will speak; and He will disclose to you what is to come.

14 "He will glorify Me, for He will take of Mine and will disclose it to you.

15 "All things that the Father has are Mine; therefore I said that He takes of Mine and will disclose it to you.

My Faith

I wrote this back in 2009 and I figured I would re-post it on this site. I will be following this up with a more structured "statement of faith" in the next post.


(note: I am not a writer and tend to ramble, but bear with me and hopefully this can be helpful to someone. The message is the main thing, but any writing criticism is welcome as well.)

"I am a Christian"

   Making that statement to someone can bring all sorts of reactions. Some acknowledge the statement from the perspective of "Hey, that's great, me too!" Still others may react with sarcasm or disdainful statements like "Oh...you're one of those types." Fortunately, most are pretty polite about it, even if they are apathetic towards the whole thing. I usually try to simply live my life in a Christian manner and don't just offer the statement up unless it fits the conversation.

   These days, Christianity can be synonymous with religion in its negative connotations, which is unfortunate. Christianity is really more about a relationship with Jesus than it is about religion and denomination. Some of the worst portrayal of Christianity is found in the media, as can be expected. Groups like the KKK and Westboro Baptist Church are prime examples of the extremes people go under the name of Christianity. If you are reading this, please...please don't think that things like this represent what we are all about,

   I wanted to write this in order to share my faith in Jesus to all who care to read. I want to try and explain why and how I believe and how I try to share this through my life. I am not a "bible-thumper" and would never try to force anyone to believe in God & Jesus. It isn't possible to force anyone to truly believe in anything...you have to prove it to yourself.

   I have not lead a perfect life by any means, nor have I always done what I should to "be a Christian." We are all human, and we have all been given free will by God to choose what we believe in and what we do with our lives. God wants us to love Him, and to choose good over evil. He sent his Son to die on the cross so that he would be the ultimate sacrifice for us in our sinful nature.http://www.carm.org/christianity/christian-doctrine/jesus-saves This link gives the basics and is what I believe. I actually hesitated to put this link in because it is stated very matter of fact and serious, which it is. I hesitated, because even though what is said is true, to most it will come across as very harsh and unfeeling/clinical. I urge you to read it and take it to heart though. it is a very serious matter. When I share my faith, I try to explain the same truths, but people have to be talked to in a way they understand, and they have to see the example in how you live your life. Even writing this, I have to stop and think..."does this come across wrong", or "are people going to take this the way I mean?"

   I feel like the bottom line is this: where do you want to spend eternity? We all die, and I cannot conceive of non-existence. Therefore, through the evidence of the world and from what I read in the Bible, I see two classic forces at work, good and evil. I certainly want to spend eternity with God in Heaven, rather than with Satan in Hell. Those are the two choices...that is it. I know, this is a product of my upbringing and my faith and some may think it narrow minded, but it makes sense to me. Accepting that Jesus is God's son, that he was sent to die for our salvation, and turning away from your sinful nature, is what will save you from eternal damnation. God asks nothing for this but your faith, love and acceptance.

   Once you become a Christian...you will have no more problems and all will be great! Yeah, right. The old cliche' of "Christians aren't perfect, just forgiven" really has a lot of truth to it, even if it can come across as a little condescending. Yes, we are forgiven...but that doesn't mean that we have a free pass. Like I have said before, we are all human and we all make mistakes. Please don't let any one individual's or group's actions or words cause you to have a bad taste about Christianity. It comes down to you and God. Search out the truth yourself, even ask God to reveal Himself to you...he will listen. If you don't know what you believe, or you don't believe and want to challenge God...ask him to reveal His truth to you and I bet you will be surprised. Be willing to know the truth and it will be revealed to you.

   OK, I told you that I ramble...sorry. This has been on my mind and I wanted to get it out in some form or another. Those of you that know me, know I am sincere in my beliefs and wish only the best for anyone. Please post comments, I don't really want to debate things as I am not a great debater, but if you have questions you want to ask, feel free and I will try to give you as good of an answer as I can give.

Take care and thanks for reading.

ClydeFrog

  

Constructive Criticism

Hi Mark,

Good luck on the blog project! There are a couple of blog ideas of my own that I've had that have stalled at the starting line, so it is no small thing to get the ball rolling as you have.

Two observations about the project. Fostering engagement from any audience is a challenge even in topics that are light and fun. Doing so on the topic of religion is that much more of a challenge given the energy required to participate. By its very nature it is likely to turn into a kind of debate. This kind of dialog may be exactly what you are looking for, so no harm in giving it a go. I do think that you may have to populate the blog with entries that you generate on your own (without questions or prompting from others) so that the posts can be there for people to come to when THEY are ready to engage. If you gently promote blog entries through twitter etc. eventually someone will drift over to the site and hopefully get caught up in the subject, presented in your "voice."

This brings me to the second observation. I scratched my head a bit at what appears to be an over reliance on external links and references for someone to check out; links to folks who "say it better than you." As the author of the blog (of any blog) I do believe that you should write with authority. I don't mean that you should come across as having all the answers or being a "know-it-all", rather people will want to read what YOU have to say about the subject. If there is some relevant info in a link, by all means provide it, but you should always synthesize the info from external sources for your reader right in the blog entry itself, and in your voice. I understand that this may be a fine line to walk with regards to religion: speaking your mind and not putting forward the very "belligerent" tone that you are trying to combat in others. This then is the major challenge!

It is likely that you already know about both of these observations. Then my input is more about encouraging you to continue to develop "that voice" that creates content more that it passes content along.

Hope these notes are helpful. Feel free to quote any of this email--using my name if you wish--if there is anything you want to address on the blog itself.

Cheers,

Bob Mills

P.S. Here is a topic/question: As an atheist I don't hold that the bible holds any authority as a "divine" work. I routinely tune-out biblical quotes as "evidence" of the existence or will of God--not to mention the divinity of Jesus. So how does one argue about the existence of God without using a source like the bible to bolster arguments?

Bob,

     Thanks so much for your words of encouragement and honesty. I just had to smile as I read your email because, as you said, I knew exactly what you were talking about. This is really new to me and I know I am putting myself out there in doing this...makes me nervous. However, from the responses I have seen so far, I feel that this will be a great place to bring up topics on Christianity that can be discussed in a civil understanding way from both parties.

  As far as the fear that no one was seeing this blog...I guess I have gotten so used to the instant reply to online posts(especially when religion is involved) that I have been spoiled. Obviously I feel that this is a very important forum for discussion, so I guess I was a little over anxious to see some immediate results. Now that a couple of days have gone by...I see that I will have more than enough to keep me busy.

   I was a little worried about just posting links to info only. I don't want this to be just that. I am a sub-novice writer at best, but I do want to improve and to be able to put these things into my own words the best I can. Emails like yours are and will be great for me to see...I greatly appreciate it! The links are mostly to point to teachings that I think are very good and informative. There is a lot of content in them that I agree with and want to share, but at the same time I do want to do my own research and present my own arguments to the reader. A secondary reason is that I do want to show that there are many other Christians out there that are scholarly, intelligent, and are presenting in a very Christian manner, with love and respect. There is way too much hate from both sides these days and that is one of the things I want to keep well away from this blog.

  I don't know if you had a chance to read my response to Kevin, but I feel that post had a fairly good format(and hopefully some good content) followed by some relevant links.

  The question that you posed at the end really made me smile as well. That topic was one of the main ones I wanted to start looking into because I feel that it is a very important one. It may be a while before I can comment on it because I really want to do my research. There is a ton if info out there from people who have spent years studying the validity of the Bible(so expect more links). I have some more thoughts on this brewing in my head, but they are best left until I can put together a more meaningful post on the subject.

  Again, thanks so much for showing that atheists and Christians can and do have meaningful and respectful discussions. I hope to have many more with you and others in the future.

Mark "ClydeFrog" Ritter

God's Character

  I was invited to view the following video and I invite you also to do so. I found that from my perspective, not too much was really settled on one way or the other, but that is the nature of debates. They are mostly to present two sides and the viewer is to make their judgement calls. So please watch(there are actually 4 parts to it), but also please consider also watching the other two videos below it. The other two are some videos from noted Christian Apologetic scholars. They are discussing one of the same themes brought up in the debate. That theme is the nature of God's character. The common thought is that in the Old Testament God is a vindictive harsh God and in the New Testament God is a God of love. These videos are quite long, but please take the time to watch them in their entirety and I hope that they all might shed some light on things.





 

A response to Kevin

Mostly the problem with Christianity that I, and a lot of others have can be fairly simply stated in this quote:

"I am against religion because it teaches us to be satisfied with not understanding the world." – Richard Dawkins

To the statement above I would have to partially agree.

Religion is defined(dictionary.com) as:

1.a set of beliefs concerning the cause, nature, and purpose of the universe, especially when considered as the creation of a superhuman agency or agencies, usually involving devotional and ritual observances, and often containing a moral code governing the conduct of human affairs.

2.a specific fundamental set of beliefs and practices generally agreed upon by a number of persons or sects: the Christian religion; the Buddhist religion.

3.the body of persons adhering to a particular set of beliefs and practices: a world council of religions.

4.the life or state of a monk, nun, etc.: to enter religion.

5.the practice of religious  beliefs; ritual observance of faith.

6.something one believes in and follows devotedly; a point or matter of ethics or conscience: to make a religion of fighting prejudice.

7.religions, Archaic . religious  rites.

8.Archaic . strict faithfulness; devotion: a religion to one's vow.

   Religion does not specifically mean Christianity, though that is the association a lot of people make. Many horrible things and ignorant beliefs, Christian and non-Christian, have been done/held in the name of religion.

   However, what I would ask concerning the above quote would be; Where in the Bible does it teach us to be satisfied with not understanding the world? I think that you would find that it really teaches the direct opposite. I believe that God encourages us to investigate the world and observe it in order to provide evidence for His existence and power:

Romans Chapter 1:20
 "For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse."[NASB]

This verse implies that we should have a better understanding of the world around us, because it is His creation and it is constantly showing us evidence for God.


  Also, the importance of wisdom is taught in many places in the Bible, specifically Proverbs.

Proverbs Chapter 16:16

  "Get wisdom — how much better it is than gold! And get understanding — it is preferable to silver." [NASB]

Specifically, those that oppose things like medicine, technology, science (like Evolution and the Big Bang), claiming that it's all false and a book written by desert nomads 2000 years ago somehow contains more knowledge than all of modern science.

In addition, we have an issue with those Christians that try and change the laws to suit their own personal belief systems, such as banning gay marriage, abortion, euthanasia, pornography, video games, etc. I know you mentioned to not say "Christians", but they do these things with their Christianity as support. Again, that somehow this book written 2000 years ago is smarter than all modern scientists.

This is Nivekeryas, by the way.

  All of what you have stated is actually focused on what people have done in the name of religion. This is the danger that I want people to realize and why I stated things the way I did in my post about the purpose of this blog.
  I want people to search their hearts and look into the Bible on their own. Listen to good Christian speakers/philosophers and scientists and the studies they have done. Talk to Christians who are actually living the life that Christ would want them to. Don't let bad examples overwhelm you. Look at the good examples of Christianity to provide some evidence.


I have included some links below that I feel are pretty good and related somewhat to your response. They are all good Christian thinkers that really act and speak in a way that is contrary to the Christian stereotype in the world today:


This is a definition that I think you would currently subscribe to:
http://apologetics315.blogspot.com/2010/09/terminology-tuesday-scientism.html

Some examples of past Christian Scientists:
http://apologetics315.blogspot.com/2011/07/scientists-of-faith.html


This is a fairly long series that I have not finished, but so far it has some really good stuff in it. Bear with it and listen to what he has to say.
http://feeds.feedburner.com/ScienceAndTheBible-RobertBowman

This is a shorter lecture that you may want to consider listening to first. It is Lee Strobel, a former atheist:
http://www.chcc.org/resources/1/midpoint_mp3s/chcc_midpoint_101310.mp3

The links in my earlier post are filled with talks and articles by Christians who hold to the belief that we are not to be ignorant and have blind faith.

http://clydefrogsgod.blogspot.com/2011/07/couple-of-really-good-sites.html

I hope I have given you some things to think about and I hope that you will check out the links above...they are much better at this than I am ;)

Take care and let me know what you think.

A couple of really good sites...

Just for reference...these are two really great sites that I will frequently refrence. I just thought I would share them here so you can take a look.

Apologetics 315

http://www.bethinking.org/

What is this blog all about?

The words of Paul in 1 Corinthians 2:1-5 describe my thoughts on doing this blog.


1 Corinthians 2
Paul’s Reliance upon the Spirit
1 And when I came to you, brethren, I did not come with superiority of speech or of wisdom, proclaiming to you the [a]testimony of God. 2 For I determined to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ, and Him crucified. 3 I was with you in weakness and in fear and in much trembling, 4 and my [b]message and my preaching were not in persuasive words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, 5 so that your faith would not [c]rest on the wisdom of men, but on the power of God.
Footnotes:

[a] 1 Corinthians 2:1 One early ms reads mystery
[b] 1 Corinthians 2:4 Lit word
[c] 1 Corinthians 2:5 Lit be


I am no great writer, philosopher or scientist. I come to you humbly and with a little bit of nervousness about what I am looking to do.

I am trying to study and gain a better understanding of God, the Bible and why I believe in Jesus as Savior of my life. In doing this I wish to share and use your questions as topics to study so that I might gain a better understanding of what peoples real views are and what the Bible has to say concerning them.

If you are not a Christian, I would like you to let me know what your biggest problem with Christianity is. Not what your biggest problem with Christians is...but the theology itself. There are plenty of folks out there that call themselves Christian, but are clearly not living the way they should.

If you are a Christian, please let me know why you believe. Give your testimony so that others can hear and also help me to spread the Word in a way that is consistent with 1 Peter 3:15.

1 Peter 3:15

New American Standard Bible (NASB)

15 but [a]sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts, always being ready to make a [b]defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you, yet with gentleness and [c]reverence;
Footnotes:

1 Peter 3:15 I.e. set apart
1 Peter 3:15 Or argument; or explanation
1 Peter 3:15 Or fear
Help by reading what I post and link to and let me know if maybe I am missing the point or getting something wrong..I want to always be speaking the truth with wisdom.

I will try my best to address all questions as best I can and as soon as I can, so please be patient with me. This is going to be a real learning experience for me as well.

As a Christian I am called by God to share His Word to others. I am not called to judge, force or be belligerent...I am to present the message of God so that others may hear and decide what they believe. Salvation is between you and God only. You must decide what you believe, but you must do it intelligently. Don't let the false/bad witness of some who call themselves Christians, but do not live the life turn you away from God. Also, do not let the criticism of atheists or other non-believers keep you from ever investigating the claims of the Bible for yourself. You must search your own heart and mind and make these decisions for yourself.

This blog will be my attempt to share God's Word to those that want to do just that. I will invite people to ask questions and I will try to give the best answers I can. Mostly I will probably point you in the direction of articles and audio of those that are much better than I am in explaining the Bible. I hope that you will use this as a way to start thinking about what you truly believe in.

Thanks for checking this out and I look forward to your questions & comments.
Mark "ClydeFrog" Ritter