20 Responses to “If you don’t believe in God, you better be right.”

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1. ~J~ Says:

   May 29th, 2007 at 1:54 pm
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   And if you believe it you’d better really believe it and accept God’s conditions for eternal life. Accept Jesus’ virgin birth, perfect life, no sin, death, burial, resurrection and the fact He is the only Begotten Son of the only True God. Confess your sins and repent of them. That means turn away from them. You’ll fall at times, but God’s grace will forgive you of any sins.

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2. John Foust Says:

   May 29th, 2007 at 3:27 pm
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   Assuming that everyone on Earth has equal access and inspiration to “general revelation” via nature, and knowing that there are hundreds of “special revelations” found in human history, how does one choose? How can you judge the sincerity or validity of one revelation over another?

   Should you choose the special revelation of one religion because it promises more than others, and therefore you’d have the most to gain if you’re right? Should it be based on popularity throughout the Earth’s population?

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3. ~J~ Says:

   May 29th, 2007 at 9:25 pm
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   John,
   I know you are asking this in all sincerity and not just for the sake of argument, so that’s the tack I’m going to take with your question.

   I believe Jesus is the only way to Heaven and not a way to Heaven. I believe this because Jesus said it Himself. “I am the way, the truth and the light. No man cometh to the Father but by Me.” He also said, “I and the Father are one.” The Father being God the Father.

   So, I don’t believe there are multiple ways from which to choose. I do believe God reveals Himself through the Holy Spirit. Jesus said, “Ask and it shall be given unto you. Knock and it shall be answered. Seek and you shall find.”

   You appear to be seeking. Maybe I’m mistaken.

   One doesn’t wake from ignorant bliss one day and decide to be a Christian. One has to hear the message of the Gospel to have the awareness of that something he is seeking. This is why born-again Christians are so adament in telling others the Good News. That God made provision for our sins to be forgiven once and eternally through the blood shed by His only Begotten Son Jesus Who became sin while He was on the cross. He paid your sin debt, mine and anyone else’s who will accept Him as their Savior on the cross of Calvary to the point God the Father couldn’t bear to watch it and turned His back on Him during those hours He hanged on that cross. He cried out in despair when He realized He had no comforter at the time, “My God! My God! Why hast thou forsaken me?” For the first and only time since eternity past Jesus was not in the presence of God the Father because He was taking the sins of the world upon Him and the Father couldn’t bear to watch that from Heaven.

   But they both knew it had to be done or there would be no hope of redemption for mankind.

   It is my firm belief you should choose Christianity and do it for real as I posted above because it is the only faith that offers not just hope but promise.

   But God also knew in His foreknowledge not everyone would accept His offer of salvation offered so freely and with such sacrifice. Jesus was God in the flesh and knew He would rise again, but that did not take away one ounce of the pain He felt while being tortured and crucified because of His fleshly part. His incarnation as a human being.

   So the One True God, Whom I worship, cared enough for His creation of man that He became man to experience all the feelings and emotions of man. He knows how we feel in every situation and He cares for you and for me and everyone else.

   He left all the Glory and Majesty of Heaven, willingly, so He could live a life of poverty, show us how God wants us to live and gave His blood and His earthly life so we can escape eternal death and damnation.

   I can’t see the air I breathe but I know it’s there because I breathe it. I hope and pray others can “see” Jesus in me, in the way I live and talk and look, and they want some of that “peace that passes understanding” that can only come when you yield your life over to Christ.

   When He died that wasn’t the end of it. It was the end as far as paying our sin debt, but He is the Only One to rise from the dead and not die again as Lazarus and others he raised from the dead did.

   I’m sorry this is so long, but to me there is no other choice. Jesus said narrow is the gate and strait is the walk of those who choose Him because in His foreknowledge He knew not everyone would believe and He gives us that free choice. My command is to tell you so you make an informed choice because once you draw your last breath it is too late. No one but you can make the choice for yourself and you can’t choose anything when you are dead.

   But, beyond believing because you don’t want to go to hell, you should love God because He loves you more than any of us know.

   I pray this answers your question and puts you on that search to Eternal Life with our Lord and Savior where there will be no more wars or strife, but only love and peace and worship due to the Father, Son and Holy Ghost Who gave so much.

   It takes the simple faith of a child and not your intellect to try to “figure out” God. Just be sincere in your search and you will find Him. He’s right there beside you. Start by getting a Bible or New Testament and read any of the four Gospels, Luke or John if you want to read only one and then read the book of Romans, a letter written to the Romans by one of the very men who opposed Christianity, the Apostle Paul.

   One note of caution: If you feel the call of the Holy Spirit to accept that wonderful gift offered to all of us, don’t put it off. God says at some point a man’s heart will be hardened and then you will never accept that offer. I don’t know what that point is with anyone because I yielded over my life before that point. I had to because the Holy Spirit was really nagging at me. I’m glad He did.

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4. John Foust Says:

   May 29th, 2007 at 10:05 pm
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   Thank you for your kind response. History is full of “special revelations” and like Christianity, they offered hope and promise - but all are based on faith, not facts or percentages of probability.

   I don’t think Pascal’s Wager makes much sense either for the religious or the non-religious. If you really believe in the efficacy of Pascal’s Wager, shouldn’t you examine all the world’s religions and pick the one with the biggest payoff?

   Don’t you think that fervent believers in other religions are just as sincere and feel just as blessed and confident as you do? They too have moments of doubt, too.

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5. ~J~ Says:

   May 29th, 2007 at 10:24 pm
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   You know, John, I’ve heard of other areas of the world that worship many gods and when they are told of the One God they say something to the effect of “Fine. I’ll take it. Another god can’t hurt.”

   Do you know of any other faith that writes about a resurrection of their god? Written by witnesses to the actual event who believed what they were saying was so true they went to their own horrible deaths rather than deny it?

   That’s not a false faith, my friend. They knew Jesus and lived with Him, but I am sure they would not have gone to execution themselves for the sake of perpetuating a lie.

   I believe others are fervent but I’m not sure what they actually believe. I don’t know of their doubts or their assurances, but I settled any doubts I had over 45 years ago.

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6. ~J~ Says:

   May 29th, 2007 at 10:34 pm
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   John, you bring up an interesting point when you talk of percentages and probability. I think Jesus had someone like you in mind when He told the story of Lazarus and the rich man.

   Lazarus (not the one He raised from the dead) was a poor beggar who sat at the feet of the rich. Dogs licked his sores and he ate whatever scraps were available to him from the rich.

   The rich man and Lazarus both died. The rich man ended up in hell and could see across the divide into Heaven, where he saw Lazarus in the arms of Abraham. He called out to Abraham asking if he would send Lazarus to him with a sip of water because his thirst was so strong. Abraham told him no. He then asked if Abraham could send Lazarus back to earth to tell his brothers of the place the rich man was so they wouldn’t suffer his fate, but Abraham told him they had Moses and the prophets and still didn’t listen. Lazarus wasn’t going to convince them either.

   Jesus didn’t call this a parable; a story told to make a point. He said to listen to the story of Lazarus and the rich man, and many of us do believe this literally happened.

   I’m sorry, but I can’t help you with head knowledge trying to figure out the best way. I have told you what is in my heart and I know no other words to tell you that can answer your questions.

   I reject other religions and if I had a chance to sit down and talk to you I could give you examples in my own life that you would consider to be miracles, but I won’t go into all that here.

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7. ~J~ Says:

   May 29th, 2007 at 10:39 pm
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   I don’t put any credence in Pascal’s Wager either because he seems to be telling people to have the head knowledge but not the heart knowledge. IOW hedge your bets.

   I have been known to say on this blog, if I’m wrong what have I got to lose? If you’re wrong what do you have to lose?

   I suppose that’s a takeoff from Pascal although I had never heard of him before.

   Don’t hedge your bets. Either go for it full-force or don’t. You have the freedom of choice. I have confidence in my afterlife. What can you say about yours?

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8. Andrew Schlewitz Says:

   May 30th, 2007 at 8:59 am
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   “You know, John, I’ve heard of other areas of the world that worship many gods and when they are told of the One God they say something to the effect of “Fine. I’ll take it. Another god can’t hurt.”

   There is this cultural process called syncretism–when one faith tradition encounters another, they blend, though one typically remains dominant. Our celebrations of Christmas and Easter are the result of this sycretism, Christianity adopting the ‘pagan’ customs of Saturnalia and rites of Spring. There are Mayans in Guatemala and Southern Mexico that combine their Catholic Mass with native religious customs.

   I think we can be more careful in comparing religions. Not all non-Christian religions are polytheistic–Islam and Buddhism are two big examples. Also, lots of people have died for their faith, or in the name of their faith (or killed in the name of their faith), whether Christian, Islam, Shintoism, Ba’hai, etc. I don’t think sincerity of belief is what sets Christianity apart. It’s particular beliefs and practices are what make it different.

   “Do you know of any other faith that writes about a resurrection of their god? Written by witnesses to the actual event who believed what they were saying was so true they went to their own horrible deaths rather than deny it?”

   Resurrection myths, not to mention virgin birth myths and the trinity doctrine, predated Christianity. The Christian C.S. Lewis knew this and thought that humans were somehow unconsciously predicting what was to come. But the standard secular explanation is that Christianity, like all religions, is a gathering of customs, rites, and beliefs that over time become traditions, and then facts to its believers.

   The “written by witnesses” brings up another issue. It’s as if to have faith in God one must make two other leaps of faith. First, one must believe the Bible to be the literal, inerrant word of God. Second, one must believe a particular interpretation of that word–a relationship with God comes through acceptance of Jesus Christ as one’s personal Lord and Savior.

   Put another way, people cannot truly have faith in God without having faith in the Bible and one Christian group’s interpretation of that Bible.

   Finally, Pascal’s gambit is really just a scientist’s version of the fire and brimstone argument. You’ll go to hell, to eternal damnation, unless you believe. This is not a 50% choice. The risk of not believing vastly outweighs the benefits. Oddly, now one has to faith there is such a thing as eternal damnation in order to have faith in God. We believe in hell in order to believe in heaven? (Now I’m guilty of a word game, J).

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9. ~J~ Says:

   May 30th, 2007 at 9:13 am
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   Andrew, please forgive me but I’m too tired to engage you in this conversation at this time. Let me get my mind a bit sharper and we’ll talk.

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10. ~J~ Says:

    May 30th, 2007 at 12:53 pm
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    Andrew,

    I have read your comment again and I see no point in saying anymore to you on this topic. The reason? You know where I stand and you know what I believe. There is no more that would be new information to you.

    Except to say this: virgin birth “myth” and resurrection “myth” predated Christianity why? Could it be because God revealed what was going to happen to the prophets so they could tell?

    There are none so blind as those who will not see.

    There comes a certain point when trying to discuss something leaves nothing to discuss. I think you and I have reached that point.

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11. Andrew Schlewitz Says:

    May 30th, 2007 at 2:57 pm
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    I understand. A debate would be a waste of time.

    And looking back at my comment, I regret sounding like such a materialist–as if religion is a product only of environment and human imagination.

    But there are some people, including Christians, who come to their faith in God without believing the Bible to be the literal, inerrant word of God. For all the references in the Bible about the mysteries of God (e.g., Ecclesiastes, Lamentations, and various Psalms, for starters), its odd that some Christians would claim to have erased all mystery–salvation rests on A, B, C, and nothing else.

    Also, unfortunately, we’re too good at stereotyping or caricaturing faiths, or ideologies, or whatever, other than our own. I know I’m guilty of it. Americans already have a global image as bigoted yahoos–it would be good if we worked harder to prove that wrong. To be right doesn’t have to depend on everyone else being wrong.

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12. John Foust Says:

    May 30th, 2007 at 5:25 pm
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    Yes, I’m not religious. No, I don’t worry about the afterlife.

    Yes, of course there are many religions that incorporate resurrection, corporeal or not.

    As for quality of evidence, do we agree that the New Testament wasn’t written down by the Apostles? That it was written down well after their deaths?

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13. ~J~ Says:

    May 30th, 2007 at 5:54 pm
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    I can’t say I do agree with you about the apostles not writing the New Testament.

    We know some authors are unknown, we know one or possibly two of the Gospels were not written by disciples, Mark and/or Luke.

    Paul wrote a lot of the New Testament, the Apostle John wrote the books under his name and the Book of Revelation, Titus wrote his book, Timothy wrote his epistles, Peter wrote his epistles etc.

    However, I happen to believe all of it is inspired by God and is His Word.

    Show me what links you have for your theory and I’ll be glad to check them out as well as check my study Bible which is as accurate as I can get on what the scholars thought about who wrote which books if they knew. Some they didn’t know.

    Remember, these guys had a lot of time in prison to write their books and I do believe they were divinely inspired.

    You, of course, have a right to disagree with me.

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14. newton Says:

    May 30th, 2007 at 7:53 pm
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    You know, I can tell the difference between those who believe in God and those who don’t.

    At funerals.

    Just last Saturday, the sig.other and I attended the funeral of a lady at out church who - at age 42, the single mother of three children, and a flourishing career as a nurse - had a massive stroke that left her with no brain activity. On the Tuesday evening after the stroke, her kidneys and liver were harvested for transplant purposes.

    Yes, there was mourning for the life that was gone from among us. Yes, the children were in pain for the loss of their mother - who, BTW, I think of as a saint. The difference was, not on the way she was mourned or remembered, but on the assurance that everyone in that sanctuary held, including us: that we all know where she is now.

    I didn’t have that kind of assurance when my father died. At his funeral, the hopelessness on the part of everyone was evident. Mind you: not everyone there was a Christian. I still have doubts as to where he actually is. I know where his remains are, though.

    A Christian has the assurance of hope - the hope of an eternity with the Father. That is something those who don’t believe Him don’t have. I wouldn’t give that up for anything in the world.

    And no, don’t try to convince me with cunning words and slithering, sophisticated arguments. Go with that bone to another dog. I won’t bite.

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15. ~J~ Says:

    May 30th, 2007 at 9:16 pm
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    newton, picking up on what you said: You can also pretty much tell when a person is dying also. Those who are saved always seem to have a peace about them. My neighbor died in March of lung cancer. The day she came home from the hospital she was still very lucid but weak. She smiled as she told me we would be in Heaven together and that was as a result of me asking her if she knew and loved Jesus.

    OTOH, I watched my father-in-law die. I would say he was an atheist. He started talking about smelling smoke and people dismissed it because I had been outside smoking a few minutes before, even though I was at least 12 feet from his head.

    He mentioned smoke for a couple of days and said he was on a train waiting for the “big man”. My husband, his only survivor besides our children, released him to die. His father said he thought he’d stay around awhile.

    Then he said he smelled smoke again but this time he said he saw fire and “they” were calling his name. You’d better believe that put a fire under me to go over to him and try to pray the sinner’s prayer with him. I won’t know until I get to Heaven whether or not he accepted it or even knew, but I do know for a fact he was an atheist and never attended church. His family was not religious in any way, and yet he described what sounded like a vision of hell to me.

    I had an aunt die when she was 23 and I was 14. I was in the next room when she died and can tell you her last words were: “It’s so beautiful!” and she died with an impish smile on her face. My father-in-law looked angry.

    My aunt had described a beautiful field of flowers to me the day before she died. She saw her father, her beloved grandmother and brother and sisters who had died before her. She said they called to her to come with them but she told them she had to wait just a bit longer.

    Some die in peace while others fight it. How to explain it? How to explain the smoke and fire being seen by a man who completely rejected even the idea of God? Someone tell me.

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16. Andrew Schlewitz Says:

    May 30th, 2007 at 10:14 pm
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    Regarding the authorship of the Bible:

    The New Oxford English Bible (revised standard version) introduces each book of the bible with a summary of the latest scholarship on the authorship of the book.

    But there are lots of histories of the Bible, and one can likely find one that already fits his or her own belief.

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17. Andrew Schlewitz Says:

    May 30th, 2007 at 10:39 pm
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    Regarding the assurance of an afterlife:

    If personal experience is evidence, if it is the proof of hell and heaven, would you accept the personal experiences of people who don’t believe exactly the way you do?

    If they are not like you, would you automatically consider their experiences to just be “cunning words and slithering, sophisticated arguments?”

    I ask because I’ve not experienced what you have. I have helped bury some friends, grandparents, and other close relatives. I saw two young men from my building, different times, die violent deaths when I lived in the Lower East Side of NYC. The afterlife has not been the issue for me in these experiences; it was more about the circumstances of the death, and how those around were dealing with the loss.

    My wife worked for a few years in a nursing home and told me tales of deaths that were calm, dignified, even planned; and others that were unhappy, dragged out. The difference was not between Christian and non-Christian, but between those who made peace with their mortality, and those who hadn’t. Not all avowed Christians were reconciled to their mortality; not all non-Christians were fearful of death.

    It may be the case that since you believe in hell, you will see things in the death of a non-Christian that confirm that belief. And because I don’t believe in hell, I won’t find any evidence of it.

    Earlier J said: “There are none so blind as those who will not see.” We could also say: We see what we want to see.

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18. newton Says:

    May 31st, 2007 at 12:39 pm
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    Careful: you may very well find evidence of a hell… when it’s too late.

    I pity you. I truly do.

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19. Andrew Schlewitz Says:

    June 4th, 2007 at 6:25 am
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    There is a very interesting story about a megachurch pastor and his decision to reject the theology of hell. It’s at “This American Life.” You can listen to it at http://www.thislife.org/Radio_Archive.aspx?year=2005.

    Here’s the intro at the website:

    12/16/2005. 304: Heretics
    The story of Reverend Carlton Pearson, a renowned evangelical pastor in Tulsa, Oklahoma, who cast aside the idea of Hell, and with it everything he’d worked for over his entire life.

    Prologue.
    Carlton Pearson’s church, Higher Dimensions, was once one of the biggest in the city, drawing crowds of 5,000 people every Sunday. But several years ago, scandal engulfed the reverend. He didn’t have an affair. He didn’t embezzle lots of money. His sin was something that to a lot of people is far worse: He stopped believing in Hell. (2 minutes)

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20. ~J~ Says:

    June 4th, 2007 at 7:25 am
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    I listened to the 30 minute segment and part of the hour segment.

    Each person is capable of making his own decisions. Just because a man proclaims himself to be a minister of the Gospel doesn’t necessarily make it so.

    I know what Revelation says about the sheep (saved) and the goats (unsaved) and that Jesus tells the goats to depart from Him because He never knew them.

    Why bother to have a Heaven if sin is allowed in there? It would be the same as earth forever and ever.

    While we should tell others about Hell I believe we have a larger responsibility to tell others about the Love of God to keep us out of hell.

    Remember the story of Lazarus and the rich man that Jesus told. It seems to me He was talking of the rich man being in a literal Hell.