Perpetuation of Lucubration

Tonight we have had our second installment of our Monday night Bible study. Last week if you'll remember, we spoke about facts that we can use to justify the existence of God (see previous post). In class, for the sake of moving along with our material, we proceeded assuming we all believe that there is a God. Tonight, we discussed whether we can believe that the Bible is truth, and that it is not fallible. Here are the arguments:
1. Unity of the Bible - 66 books, written over 1600 years, by 40 different men, in 3 different languages. No actual contradictions.
2. Accuracy of the Bible - for example, in the book of Acts, 32 countries, 54 cities, 9 islands, and 95 people were mentioned, all of which have been confirmed historically accurate by extrabiblical sources.
3. Detailed prophecies and perfect fulfillments - over 300 prophecies were written years before Christ was born about the coming Messiah. Mathematician, Peter Stoner, applies modern probability science to the chance of fulfilling a specific 8 of those prophecies (mainly the non-controllable prophecies like birthplace) and the probability is 1 in 10^17. Basically, this means it is impossible, unless planned by a higher power.
4. Scientific foreknowledge - Many scientific "discoveries" were previously mentioned in Scripture (i.e. spherical shape of earth, sea currents, earth suspended without support.

You may be reading this thinking "I know the Bible is the truth and that it's never been proven wrong." But the implications of these 4 points are quite significant. If you subscribe to the fact that the Bible is the infallible truth, certain implications must be made. Let's talk about one: The Bible itself purports that it is the actual word of God (II Tim 3:16-17). Thus, if we believe that it is truth, we must treat it as our authority for everything we do. That means any religous practice we participate in should be able to be backed by "book, chapter, and verse". Whether we are trying to figure out how salvation is obtained, how often we should observe the Lord's Supper, when we should worship, how we should worship, or who should lead worship, we should follow the commandments and examples given in the Bible. Many will say that this idea makes the practice of Christianity too legalistic, that Christianity is a religion of love, quoting John 3:16. Here are my two responses to that argument:
1. It's not a legalistic approach, it's the practice of submitting to His Word, knowing "His way is higher than our way" - Isaiah 55:8-9
2. It's not a legalistic approach, it's the practice of love "If you love me, you will keep my commandments." - John 14:15

Next installment in 2 weeks

Postulation on Verification of Creation

Last night we had a great class at our "Monday Night for the Master" program. The program is basically a time set aside that we as a congregation work together to evangelize to our community. We've started classes during that time, so that we can advertise and possibly get people to come to a non-threatening atmosphere, and when it won't conflict with the schedule of their home congregation.

Last night we discussed the arguments one can use to prove the existence of God. We listed 3 arguments: 1. Cause and effect - universe is the effect, what is the cause? 2. Design - where there is a design, there must be a designer, and 3. Morality. While the first two points are probably well known to us because of all the attention scientific arguments against creation have been given, the third may not be so well known. Here's the gist of the argument.... Is there such a thing as morality (right and wrong) if God doesn't exist? If there is no God, doesn't that allow each of us to determine individually what right and wrong is? If that's the case, rightness may be to rape, pillage, and burn. And if there is no God, we have no right to say that raping, pillaging, or burning is wrong. The point of this is that no matter how staunch an atheist a person may claim to be, they are going to have a sense of right and wrong (especially when it comes to wrong being done to them or their families). Which can be used as a good point when arguing/debating with one. I believe that not only is God the standard by which we determine what is right and wrong, but that He created us in His image with an innate sense that their is right and wrong. However, just the sense that their is right and wrong doesn't mean that we innately know what is right and wrong. That only comes through studying the Bible. So, to answer this atheists will say that morality is not from God, but develops from a group of people (community) who decide what will be considered right and wrong.....Interesting, I think the Nazi's were a group of people who decided what would be right in their community. Again, this is a great argument for discussing the existance of God with someone. But beware, this might bring them to realize they are being hypocritic with their atheism, renounce all forms of morality, and start practicing in regards to you lying, cheating, stealing, etc.

Irritation Alleviation

Some of you may know, some not, but I am an avid reader. As such, I'm willing to try anything to make my reading more pleasurable. So, for my 25th birthday, I asked for some special glasses that I saw in the movie "Bucket List". Amy was quite skeptical about their effectiveness, but I can say that I've used them every night and now my neck doesn't cramp from reading in bed anymore.

As for what I read. I'll read pretty much anything, but like to spend most of my time reading fiction, mainly fantasy and some sci/fi. Most often I lean towards fantasy series. While some may find this genre to be a little juvenile or think that they would not like it, I find it to be the best type of fiction. I was into action/thrillers for a while, but then I realized I couldn't remember the plot of a book I read 2 months ago. With fantasy that rarely happens, almost all the books/series I've read I can still remember the plot and characters. So, if you want some good books to read, here's a list of my favorite fantasy series (listed by first book in series with author).

1. Game of Thrones - George RR Martin

2. Ender's Game - Orson Scott Card

3. Assassin's Apprentice - Robin Hobb

4. Eragon - Christopher Paolini

5. Harry Potter - JK Rowling

Happy Reading.