Reason Rally and Religion

Over the past week or so I have been reading a lot of articles about this reason rally atheists attended in Washington DC, and it has got me thinking about a few things.  The fact that atheist have to have a rally to celebrate believing in nothing is not only absurd but funny.  Their battle cry is religion is wrong and reason is right, but how do they know that?  How can you, with absolute certainty, say that religion is wrong?  Richard Dawkins the “leader” of this atheist movement said he wasn’t 100% sure that religion was incorrect.  If you aren’t 100% sure then you can’t say something is wrong, right?

Richard Dawkins and his claim to fame was getting atheists to come out and confess their belief in not believing.  I do agree that atheist get a bad rap when it comes to them confessing their unbelief.  People assume that if you don’t believe in anything you are immoral and bad, but that can’t be further from the truth.  I would go as far to say that some atheists behave better than some so called Christians.  But I think the perception about atheists is the product of their own doing and this reason rally only made things worse.

Rallies are usually about getting jazzed up about a specific topic and for knowledge.  I am not saying this didn’t occur at the rally, but it’s rare that rallies include a hate rally by their so called “leader”.  When Martin Luther King formed rallies for civil rights, he didn’t speak about hating and ridiculing, he spoke about love and freedom.  You can’t make things better with hate, you only make things worse and Richard Dawkins doesn’t understand that.  A man of reason isn’t reasonable, go figure.

During this past weekend’s rally Dawkins communicated that atheist should ridicule Christians and others of faith with hatred and contempt.  If that isn’t the most boneheaded thing to say when atheists are trying to clean up their perception, I don’t know what is.  True believers in faith don’t ridicule non-believers, we try to help them see our side of the story for Jesus.  If they don’t see our side then it’s up to God to change them because we cannot do it ourselves.  The fact the Dawkins wants to “hunt down” and test believers faith is a testament that he is no better than the people he is trying to protect atheist from today.  And I know some atheists will say that he is a radical and doesn’t speak for everyone, but why have him speak if you know that’s how he feels? 

I am not against someone being an atheist, but I do believe the reasons why people become atheists are not the most convincing.  Reasons ranging from: I was too burdened as a believer; my life was too terrible for a God to be in control; how can God allow these bad things to happen in the world; religion is just a piece of American culture; and my favorite, if there was a God he would have presented himself to me.  No one thinks about the fact that we have turned our back on God and we rightly deserve all that is given to us. 

Yes it’s hard to understand why family members are taken from us, but that is life, what would we look forward to if everything was perfect now?  Yes God could stop all the bad things from happening, but He’s not going to right now.  Would you help a friend who has disobeyed, lied, sinned, hated, and hurt you?  You may say, well they weren’t your friend, but we all have had those friends in life and we’re probably not their friends anymore.  We have to understand that we are not paying for just our sins against God, but everyone else’s.  Just because we are believers doesn’t keep us from the horrors in life due to non-believers. Look at most of the apostles, not many lived a long and glorious life, and most were executed or murdered.  It’s safe to say their belief was more than likely greater than ours so why should we deserve any different outcome or life? 

Being a Christian isn’t a cake walk, but it’s more difficult when you encounter people like Dawkins.  As a Christian I don’t feel burdened as if I should have to live my life a certain way.  Jesus’ death got rid of the Law so that I could live by grace.  I allow Jesus to lead and I follow and it hasn’t taken me to a place I cannot handle, and no my life hasn’t been easy and perfect.  But my disobedience led to those hardships, but I have learned more from the hardships than the rewards. 

The definition of reason is sound judgment and good sense but nowhere does it state absolute certainty.  Just because you don’t have proof of something doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist.  If I were to ask you to prove to me that Alexander the Great existed, you could only show me writings and history books.  There isn’t a real photograph or him, only some painting of what he may have looked like.  But we would all agree that he existed?  How is that any different than Jesus?  There is no photo of Jesus, but there is historical reference in the bible.  We have to remember that Jesus, back then, was a nobody to the Romans, so why would Jesus make it into the history books?  When you die is there going to be a history book about your life to prove you lived?  Two thousand years from now you will be forgotten, but the Son of Man, who lived two thousand years ago, wasn’t written into a history book, had no picture taken, and didn’t have technology to save His historical account is revered and remembered by a third of the world.  Coincidence, that would be unreasonable to say so.

We live in an age of technology and information, and because of this we have to see things with our own eyes to believe it.  From my statement about Jesus above, reason would conclude that Jesus did live and is God.  Reason for atheist is to tear down religion, to make everyone be like them, but yet they fight so hard to make themselves different from everyone else.  To me that is a cause without a cause, reason without logic is just hearsay.  But the reason rally did have one great outcome, the rally showed me that atheists want to believe in not believing.  So it tells me they want to believe in something, they just haven’t figured it out yet.

In conclusion, we all won’t know who is right or wrong until we pass away.  Without God, if I only have to look forward to the life given to me right now, then I am great with where I am at…no regrets.  With God, if only have to look forward to this life and the one to come after, then again I am great with where I am at…no regrets.  I am not looking forward to the promise of heaven, I am looking forward to the promise that my Savior and Creator will raise me from the dead so I can be with Him.  To look around and believe all this is by chance is unreasonable.  To put your faith in science, who has been wrong numerous times in the past, is foolish and unreasonable.  But to love and support one another is reasonable.  To live for Jesus because he died for you is honorable and perfectly reasonable.

Glory always be to Jesus!

To Live in Humility

When people think of humility they often think of humiliation.  Although they go together, they have completely different meanings.  To be humiliated is to be shamed or dishonored, but to live in humility means to be humble and to live in total confidence of Christ’s love.  When we are humiliated we often become upset or seek revenge, but to live in humility allows us to look past the judgments and know that we don’t have to base our identities on what others think.  The tricky part is knowing when someone is being honest and trying to make us better, or if they are just trying to hurt us.  It’s one thing to be humiliated, but it’s another thing to humiliate yourself.

When I was 8 or 9 years old my parents decided to take a trip up to see family in Maryland.  The trip was coming to an end so we all decided to have a crab boil.  Numerous crabs were bought and the water was seasoned and before long I was going to have some crab because I LOVE CRAB!  Right before it was time to eat my parents decided they wanted to go take a tour of their cousin’s new home, and guess what I had to go too.  That meant I was going to miss out on some of the delicious crab. 

Well we got to the cousin’s house and completed the tour, which I showed no interest because I only had crab on the mind, and we started to head back to the crab boil.  While we were out taking the tour, my uncle decided to put up a screen door he just bought to keep the bugs from getting in the house.  He just finished hanging the screen door when we arrived, and I jumped out of the car screaming save some for me.  As I began to run inside to get a plate I felt my momentum slow and a fabric push against my face.  Seconds later I lay in the floor with the screen mesh wrapped around me, I just ran right through the screen door my uncle put up.  It was humiliating but at the age it lasted 30 seconds and I was eating the crab I so desperately wanted.  By the way, I just pulled the screen out from the door and didn’t rip it, so it was easily repaired.

But I am not talking about that humiliation, I am talking about when people call us out on things that we do.  Because it’s hard to see our own faults, consciously and subconsciously, sometimes people have to point them out for us.  This is very tough to deal with even when you are aware of the problem.  We can feel attacked and get defensive, but it’s all about whom and how these opportunities are presented that determines how we act upon the comments.  From life’s experiences, most criticisms come from dislike or misperceptions from others we don’t consider close friends or family.  These are the instances when we should look away and not worry about what those individuals say.  But then there are times when our close friends and family point these opportunities out, and at that point you have to decide are they doing this for your best interest or not?

When our friends and family are being honest, they are bringing up these opportunities out of love because they want to see you overcome that sin or negative character trait.  And if they don’t tell you they feel they may lose you as a friend or they have failed you as a friend by not trying to help you overcome a sin.  But if we live in humility we can take those hard discussions and get better from them rather than living in false humility.

False humility is when you falsely accept what others have told you and you do nothing to try and fix the opportunities in your life.  You acknowledge that you have the opportunities and on the outside you are putting on a show for everyone, but on the inside you are still living in sin.  I think we all battle with this, including myself.  It’s tough when someone calls you out for something that you had no clue you were doing, or you knew it was occurring you just didn’t realize it was hurting the people you love the most.

When I was a child I had a huge problem with lying.  I would lie about doing my homework, cleaning my room, and if I took some cookies from the cookie jar.  When you are young you often don’t see the big picture and lying is just a way for you to stay out of trouble at that point in time.  The concept of you losing someone’s trust never crosses your mind at that age.  When I was called out by my parents for lying, I would lie about being a liar.  But as I grew I began to realize that those lies I told affected my relationship with my parents.  They always had to check up on what I said I did: cleaning my room, completing my homework, and where I was going.  Then I would get upset every time they checked up on me because I felt they didn’t trust me, and for the longest time it never clicked why.

On the other side of humility is being humble when complemented because we all know it feels great to get complements!  When you are told that you have done something right or well, it feels great because there is a sense of accomplishment.  YOU feel like YOU have done something right and if YOU wouldn’t have done it, the job would have never gotten done.  If you notice there are a lot of YOU’s in that sentence, but it’s to show that when you take pride in getting complements it becomes more about you than Jesus.  When you live in humility you know that Jesus gave you the talents to complete those tasks, and when you receive your praise you should humble yourself to Jesus. 

When we take pride in the complements we receive we begin to think more highly of ourselves that we ought, and then we start to become prideful, conceited, and arrogant.  We all know what that person is like, sometimes it is ourselves at times, but what we don’t realize is that if we take those complements as rewards now that will have been our reward for eternity.  Jesus makes a great point about this in Matthew 7 when false disciples were casting out demons and performed many miracles and wanting to enter in the Kingdom of Heaven.  What those false disciples didn’t realize was that they were performing these acts for themselves to get praise and recognition.  They weren’t doing it for Jesus, and the reward they received were the praises they received on earth, but they will spend eternity in hell.

In conclusion, if we should boast in anything it should be in Jesus Christ who gave us life and hope.  Living a life of humility isn’t living a dull life with no positives, living a life of humility keeps your head on your shoulders and allows you to grow spiritually and mentally.  If we were all perfect we wouldn’t have needed Christ, then we could boast in ourselves.  But we are not perfect, so listen to those who love you when they point out the opportunities in your lives.  Most of all don’t praise yourself too much, what you accomplish is because of Christ working in your life, not your own doing.  Love on one another and don’t be afraid to speak up to your friends and family when they are in the wrong as well.  We owe it to Christ and ourselves to make each other better so not only can we spread the good news, but to also show what Christ can do while working through us.

Praise always be to My Savior, Jesus Christ!

The Search for Life or the Proof that God does not Exist?

Over the past few weeks I have been reading quite a few science articles to help pass time and grow my knowledge base.  Most of the articles I read deal with space and quantum physics because they both influence astronomy and everyday life.  You may say that sounds boring but it's really interesting stuff when you dive into the topics that have been published.  They write about parallel universes, the medium our universe sits in, and how particles behave in mysterious ways.

Earlier this year I wrote a blog called, “Can Science prove God?” and I talked about particle duality and how it could potentially prove God’s existence.  Over the past few weeks most of the articles I have read have been about the discovery of new planets outside our solar system and will there be life on those planets?  And if there is life what does that mean for religion here on earth?

It’s hard to put in perspective how large and vast the universe is today.  Scientists estimate that the universe is roughly 13.7 billion years old (+/- 0.8%), but in all honesty I don’t think they know.  In my opinion, I think the universe is much larger…we just can't see anything beyond 13.7 billion light years because it’s either too faint or too far away.  What is interesting is that scientists can only see 13.7 billion light years in any given direction from earth, so to assume the universe is 13.7 billion years old would assume we are located in the center of the universe?  It is the same logic people had thousands of years ago, just because that is as far as you can see doesn’t mean it ends there.  People thought they would fall off the earth because they thought the saw the edge of the earth, but it’s all a matter of perspective from where you are located.  Also, the limitations of the speed of light can skew observations and perspectives of the universe.

Light travels at 186,000 miles per second in space, the fastest spacecraft humans have ever built traveled at 11 to 12 miles per second.  The universe is so vast that traveling at 11 miles per second it would still take over 70,000 human years to reach the closest star to earth.  Although the speed of light sounds really fast, it’s still pretty slow when you think about it.  It takes sun light over 8 minutes to reach the earth, which means if the sun exploded we wouldn’t know for 8 minutes after it already happened.  The closest start to the earth is 4 light years away, that mean that stars light take 4 years to get to earth.  So when you think about the objects astronomers have detected that are 13 billion light years away, that is what they looked like and were 13 billion years ago.  So to say the universe is a specific size today is a bit of a guess.

But this blog isn’t about the age of the universe and who’s right and wrong, it’s about what astronomers are looking for in the universe, extraterrestrial life. Most scientists openly admit they don’t believe in a God or any specific religion because they believe in evolution and “spore theory”.  So to prove their point, they are hoping to find life elsewhere to show that a supreme being didn’t create and place us here on this planet.  This is why I say it’s not a race to find life in the universe, it’s a race to try and prove God never existed.  Some say that if they find intelligent life on another planet, what does that mean for the bible or other religious writings?  Were we not God’s greatest creation?  Did we hurt God so badly he created something else or something better?

Even though I am a Christian, I am not saying there isn’t life out there in the universe.  I don’t know and if there was my faith would be just as strong!  To think any different would lead me to believe I was never a believer in the first place.  God never stated exactly what animals He created in the bible, but yet we have thousands of animal species on this planet.  If God allows for life to exist on other planets in the universe that’s okay with me, just because it’s not in the bible doesn’t mean it can’t happen.  My job as a believer isn’t to question God’s words and actions, but to better understand how I can serve a God who gave His life for me. 


God (Jesus) created this universe for Himself not us.  We are just lucky enough to be able to marvel at His perfect creation.  What I find interesting is that scientist admit that the universe is made up of perfect physics.  If the universe was just a billionth of a percent off in any of the four fundamental forces this universe may not exists.  If gravity was stronger by just a fraction, the universe would have never expanded to create everything we see today.  I mentioned in another blog that I do believe in the "Big Bang", Jesus created the universe from nothing as the Father instructed Him to do so.  So everything we see today is a product of His creation.  So to say that the universe is here by mere chance is just insulting. Rather than admitting that something played a role in creating a perfect universe, scientists would rather accept that it was an anomaly.  


Although the search for life elsewhere in the universe is in its early stages, some day there may be a discovery of an alien world that supports alien intelligent life.  But scientists should know that a discovery like that WILL NOT shake the foundations of religion for true believers.  It would be funny to think, if we ever made contact with aliens, that they would step out of their spacecraft and show us a holy bible that is an exact mirror of ours.  And the reason they came to visit was because the bible said that we were God's special creation.  That would truly shock the foundations of Christianity then, because no one would have a reason not to believe and more people would come to Christianity.  


In closing, the search for life in the universe should be exactly what it says it is, a search for life.  We are searching for life in the universe because we don't want to be the only living planet in the universe.  It would be like living in an area with billions of empty houses around you, pretty lonely and scary.  If Jesus created everything in the universe why would it be a surprise to Him or Christians if we found life elsewhere?  How do we not know that God didn't create other beings to exist so that we may interact with them?  God stated that we would rule over the lands, water, and sky...why couldn't that also mean the universe (sky)?  Let's marvel at what the God of the universe created and let it be what it is, His creation.  To read more into His creation would not only be wrong but a slap in the face to the creator.  


Glory always be to the Lord!

Life: The First Quarter

The first quarter is the first 25 years of your life, assuming that you live to be 100 years old, is about what most of us experience in our first 25 years of life.  It may not be the same for everyone, but some of the same experiences we have and face typically occur in those first 25 years.

Most of us really don’t remember our very early childhood, between the ages of birth to about 3 or 4, so to and explain that time period would be a complete guess.  But at about 5 years old we can recall situations and events that stood out to us at that time.  Maybe it was the first time we played a sport, rode a bike, got into a fight, or even found out we cannot fly.  Whatever the situation we remember those bits and pieces for a reason, they were times that we learned or did something for the first time.  Some of the experiences we remember are just happy or sad ones, but usually that is all we remember from that age.

I remember getting my very first “big boy” bike and thinking it was the best bike in the world.  I was so proud of it that I had to show it off to everyone that lived in our neighborhood.  So I began to ride my bike down the sidewalk peddling as fast as my little legs would allow.  Because I had been around the block a few times with other bikes, I knew where the cracks in the sidewalk were and how to avoid them.  But what I did forget about was the light pole set dead center in the sidewalk.  As I began to look down at the sidewalk I blacked out, only to awaken on the ground screaming.  I ran head first into the light pole, thus ending my exciting day. 

Its things like that we laugh at now, but when we were younger those types of things were so dramatic for us.  To me, I think that time in our life so instrumental in our development into our teen years and as an adult.  At that point in our lives we learn what it’s like to become responsible (chores), what friendship is about, what it feels like to have our feelings hurt, and the difference between right and wrong.  Without those essential learnings, we aren’t prepared as an individual to face the real world. 

After a few birthdays here and there you are now a teenager (14-16).  Hormones are racing and school is just an obstacle in your way of hanging out with friends and people of the opposite sex.  We are also learning people can be very rude and mean, and our best interest isn’t their concern.  We become pressured into bad situations, taking part in bad activities, and understanding what two-faced means.  Because status and popularity at that point in life are important, teenagers will do whatever it takes to stay out of or be in the limelight. 

Little do we know that after high school no one cares about who did/was what at that time.  After you graduate it’s a fresh start and being a jock, geek, or whatever in high school accounts for nothing.  Those who hold on to it after high school are the ones who never grow up and end up doing nothing with their lives.  So don’t get stressed about the whole he said she said crap that happens in high school, be who you are and that’s it.  Let God take care of those who hurt you in any way, taking things into your own hands only hurts yourself and the people who truly love you. 

Now at this point in our lives comes a crossroad.  Some go to college, work, or do nothing.  For those that go to college, it’s a time to find out who you really are as a person.  You may do this if you go down the work or nothing path, but college is a bit different.  Now mom and dad aren’t there to help guide you in your decisions.  There’s no curfew, no one to ask if your homework is done, or tell you that you shouldn’t do that.  But because college sometimes helps prolong adolescence, we find ourselves facing situations you would have never thought you’d be in at that point in your life.  Some get their first minor in possession, some get DUIs or DWIs, some drop out because they didn’t take college seriously, and some take care of business and graduate with no blemishes on their record.

At that point in your life you find out how disciplined you are and what your priorities are in life, and from what I have seen this shapes who you may become as an adult.  So have fun in college but not too much fun.  Remember why you are there because it all can be taken from you in an instant.  God blessed you or your family for you to have the means to receive a higher education, don’t throw it away by drinking, partying, or not studying.  Also know that college isn’t just about learning things for a career, it’s about learning to take the ups and downs and move past them.  It’s also about bettering yourself by improving your critical thinking skills and social skills so you can find a good job and be a better person upon graduation. 

For those who go straight into working full-time out of high school, life is much different from those who go to college.  You tend to grow up quicker, get married sooner, and have kids earlier in life…but this is good because it doesn’t allow room for prolonged adolescence, for some.  Just know that life in general is tough, all those things you took for granted growing up in your mom and dad’s house is now your responsibility.  But also know the friendships you made and maintained will be there for you when you are at your lows.  So hold on to those precious few that you can trust, those individuals don’t come along often in life.  Also, live close to family starting out because you’ll find that you need them more often than you think. 

Those who graduated from college feel great and are looking for that dream job, but most of the time that is exactly what it is…a dream job.  Either you find what you want to do but the pay is too low, or you find a job that you would hate but the pay is great.  The other extreme is that no one will hire you because you have no experience.  What the heck?  You spend four years of your life and $40,000 to get a degree to find out it’s worthless, unless you are a teacher, coach, or in medical field.  For most majors, getting into a job usually requires some type of internship (no pay) or years of experience.  So you end up taking a job in a field that you didn’t even get your major in to only find out the people who went to work right out of high school make the same salary you do.  It can be frustrating because they do the same job you do and don’t have the student loans to repay, they are already ahead of you in life.

Know that between 21 and 25 years old you will probably work 2 or 3 different jobs.  Things will be tough and those $80K+ jobs you were promised right out of college was a great recruitment tool to get you to spend more money at the university for that 200 hour major and minor degree.  For me, it took me a long time to get to the salary I thought I deserved, and once I got there I wasn’t any happier.  Money doesn’t buy happiness, as the old saying goes, doing what your purpose in life does.  Most of the people I know who received their degree are working in different fields than what their degree is centered around.  This has even occurred in my life, I have an engineering degree and I work in marketing. 

So don’t worry if you don’t know what you want to do with your life.  A saying I heard long ago says it best, “Don’t worry if you don’t know what you want to do with your life, some of the most interesting 22 year olds I know didn’t know then, and some of the most interesting 40 year olds still don’t.”  Do what you feel you are being called to do and you can never go wrong, and never let money be the deciding factor.  Remember the race is long and at the end it’s usually only with yourself.

In conclusion, the first 25 years can fly by in an instant, so know that the next 25 will do the same thing.  Put God first, family second, and work third always.  You can always find a better job, but you can never remove the scars you put on your family by putting your job first.  Remember that your choices are half chance and so are everyone else’s, so don’t be too prideful it will only lead to your demise.  “Finally don’t worry, or know that worrying is about as useful as trying to chew bubble gum to solve an algebra equation.  The things you really need to worry about will never cross your worried little mind, like some car that broadsides you on some idle Tuesday.” – Baz Lurhman.  Enjoy what you have been blessed with and always give God the glory in all that you do.

To God always be the Glory!

Christians vs. Atheists

So this is a topic that I have been thinking about for quite some time now.  In one of my earlier post I reference Zite and all the articles that I read from the app each day.  Most center around science and space discoveries and the other half centers around religion.  What is interesting is how connected they are but yet each side is trying to disprove the other.  This battle has been going on for centuries and the only thing that may stop it is either Jesus coming back or aliens stating that we are a great science experiment.

My comment above about aliens is a bit extreme but if you watch enough shows from "Ancient Aliens"you can see how some of their points make sense...but it's rare I ever agree with their logic.  What is interesting is that they would rather believe in aliens with no proof of their existence, and not a living God whom they have never seen.  I don't want to get caught up in the physics of why I think aliens don't exist or have visited our planet, but to go to one extreme to another is just crazy in mind.  It is this type of logic that has led to this silent war between atheist and Christians.

From my readings over the past year or so I have realized that most atheist know more about Christianity than your standard Christian.  In my opinion, I believe this has come about for two reasons.  Reason one is that fact that atheists have spent time trying to find out if God does or doesn't exist, and their conclusion of course is that He doesn't.  On the other hand you have complacent Christians who believe by saying a prayer, doing good deeds, and going to church they are saved...therefore no need to learn more about a Man who gave His life for you.  Because of this complacency and misinformation, Christians have become a laughing stock to the rest of the world.

I say this about Christians out of love, not hate or disappointment because I am not perfect either.  But today every half witted Christian gets on TV, radio, or the news and spouts off about some crazy idea they have about God, and the whole world laughs.  I just read an article today that stated a US senator said that global warming cannot exist because it doesn't say so in the bible.  I haven't read the bible word for word, but I do think theology scholars would have pointed that out many years ago when global warming became a hot topic.  But because of this false information, security, and beliefs, atheist have every right to not want to partake in a religion full of posers.

As I stated in another blog, most atheist become atheist over time...unless you were raised in an atheist home.  Because of this gradual move from Christianity to atheism, most atheist know quite a lot about the bible.  Now I am not saying what they know is correct theology, but their knowledge of what is inside is quite profound.  The knowledge they possess about the bible is often used to refute and mock Christians, and because not all Christians get into the word like they should, they tend to find themselves being attacked for their lack of knowledge.

What I do find interesting is that more and more people are becoming atheist, and they have begun to force their beliefs and ways into everyone's everyday life.  When I was younger I attended a public school and over the loud speaker the principle would say a prayer every day.  We then would say the pledge and even said "one nation, under God" in the pledge.  Today things have changed, atheist have become a loud voice in the public and government to get these types of things stopped.  Prayer can no longer be led by a faculty member, teachers can't be partial to Christianity, and to some circumstances you can't even wear cross necklaces at work.

I read an article from the BBC and it stated that two workers were removed from their jobs because they wore cross necklaces around their neck in plain sight.  Now these weren't extravagant super large necklaces, just your typical jewelry necklace so this shouldn't be a problem.  The article stated that the cross necklaces made people feel uncomfortable and created tension in the workplace.  Are you serious, a piece of jewelry makes people feel uncomfortable?  What is next the word church, Christian, or bible will be outlawed in the workplace?  Now if you believe in bible prophecy and revelation, I see that situation coming down the road soon.

In the Declaration of Independence Thomas Jefferson makes the statement "all men are created equal by their Creator."  It's interesting to me that he capitalizes Creator.  I understand the whole separation of church and state, but America was founded on Christianity.  The very thing that made America independent from all other nations, the Dec. of Independence, talks about God and now we want to remove Him.  Why?  Because the minority of individuals don't like being told there is a greater power, when they don't believe that.  And it's sad to say that America caters to the minority.

Now you can say it's unconstitutional or whatever, but the fact of the matter is that if your government is led by individuals, then their freedom of speech and religion cannot be removed because they work for the government.  I have seen managers get fired because they wouldn't allow muslims to take a break to pray, but yet we hush Christian government officials.  I find it interesting that if you are anything but Christian your rights are protected these days.  But maybe us Christians had a large part in doing this to ourselves?

I read an article that asked the question, "Why do we disobey God?"  The article discusses that Christians are fair weather individuals, when things are great we give more, we go to church more, and we pray more.  When things get tough most of those things stop and we question God's motives because they aren't aligned to what we thought was going to happen.  The article concludes that we disobey God because we don't understand how bad sin is for us and the world.  In my opinion, this is why the world view of Christianity is the way it is, a joke.

Atheist look at Christianity and say there is no God because look how bad the world is today.  The world is bad because that is what we humans have caused not God.  God has allowed it to happen because we have disobeyed him repeatedly.  When your parents punished you for doing something you were told not to, you didn't think to yourself these aren't my parent because they would never punish me for something so silly.  Instead you understood why you spanked or grounded and you learned from your mistakes.  In my opinion this is what is happening today.  God at any moment can make it all stop, but continued disobedience means continue hardships.

There was an article posted a few weeks ago and it stated that some big atheist leader wasn't 100% sure there wasn't a God.  The article stated that he felt this way now because no one can be 100% sure of anything that is out of this realm.  What this means to me is that as he has gotten older, he has begun to question if his logic is right.  Now the gentleman will still say he's 99% sure God isn't real, but what he is really saying is that he doesn't know.  In my opinion it's all or nothing, there is no halfway point...and this is how most atheist feel, in my opinion, they don't know.  I a friend whi was an atheist tell me that they were unsure if there was a god and if they got to heaven and Jesus asked him why he didn't believe, he said that he would ask Jesus why he didn't make himself known and speak to him.  In my mind that's a relevant, but stupid question.  When did Jesus not make himself known?  There's a whole half of a book based on his life and teachings.  One man changed the world in 33 years, what has ever come close to accomplishing that?

In conclusion, it seems that there is a struggle for power in America, Christian vs. Atheist.  Neither side is really winning...I say this only because the bible tells us it's only going to get worse for Christian, and I see this trend continue every day.  But I do believe that we should let people voice their feelings, if you want to pray in public...do it, if you don't want to...leave or don't pray.  If you don't want religion forced on you don't take part in those activities or view the material.  It's almost as if Christians and atheists have to have all or nothing, why can't there be a compromise?  If men can get along and live with women, why can't we do the same?  Besides, election states that if God wants to save you, there is nothing that you can do about it, even if you are an atheist now.  At some point in your life God will call you and you will come.  Just because you don't believe in the devil and hell doesn't protect you from those things.  Search your heart and then search your soul, you will find that there is freedom in Christ because death and the grave doesn't have to be our final resting place.

Praise be to God, Always!

Can You pursue the American Dream and Christ?

“The goal of the American Dream is to make much of us, but the goal of the gospel is to make much of God” David Platt - Radical.  I don’t disagree with this statement, but I don’t fully agree with it either.  In the past and even today the American Dream was about obtaining the most things before we die, in hopes our families would be happy and financially secure after we pass.  The focus was on what we wanted and not what God wanted, and for most this holds true today.  Where I find a problem with this statement and Platt’s book is his conclusion is that you cannot pursue the American Dream and Jesus at the same time. 

Now I may be skeptical to Platt’s conclusion because I do work in for profit business, but not all Christian business men and women are all about themselves when pursuing the American Dream.  There may be times in our lives where we wanted something for ourselves and God denied that opportunity to remind us who’s in charge.  But I also do believe the same happens for missionaries and pastors.  They wanted to visit a specific country or be a preacher for a specific church for various reasons, and God denies it because that isn’t where God wanted them to be at that point in time.

Platt’s conclusion also means that you cannot spread the gospel and give glory to God if you are pursuing the American Dream.  I will say it’s easy to lose your focus and pursue your own goals, but if you do pray and have a close relationship with God, he will always put you back on track when you forget who’s in charge and what led to your success.  When I get a promotion I know it’s something I am receiving because of the talents and gifts God has provided to me and I give praise to Him.  When I don’t get the promotion I know it just wasn’t in God’s will.  My motto has always been “All is as God wills it.” 

I also believe the American Dream has changed over the years.  In the past it was about owning a house, having lots of money, and having lots of things.  For most now the American Dream means to not live paycheck to paycheck.  I am not saying God cannot provide, but there is a fine line between taking care of yourself and your family and allowing God to provide.  The question is where do you draw that line?  I do believe that once you get to the point of being financially stable and not living paycheck to paycheck, and you keep pursing more money you may have lost focus on God. 

An article that was posted a few years ago said that once a household reaches a certain threshold in income they don’t become any happier.  Depending on where you live that dollar amount varies, but continuing to pursue those positions and salaries beyond this point may mean you have starting focusing on yourself and what you want.  Once you stop living paycheck to paycheck you are able to give more to others and have more time to spread the gospel and pursue Jesus because you aren’t working to make ends meet.  If you haven’t transitioned over to that lifestyle once you have reached that point, you may have stopped pursing God.

Have I reached that point yet?  I don’t think so but I do feel my life is transitioning, because I do spend more time going to church, reading the gospel, giving time to others, and spending more time with my brother/sisters in Christ.  Am I perfect and do it all the time?  Heck no, but I do feel and see God working in and through me.  I used to bring my work home with me on the weekends so I could get ahead, but I stopped because I found it not only affected my relationship with my wife, but with God as well.  Now I don’t even bring my work home with me on weekdays unless it’s absolutely necessary.  My time at work is for work and my time at home is for my family and God.  Work helps to pay the bills and enables me to give where I can, but I can always find another job.  I can never find another family or better God.  Again, I am not perfect but I feel that God is working through me while I pursue Him and my definition of the American Dream. 

You don’t need to have money to help spread the gospel and pursue Jesus, so please don’t misunderstand what I am saying.  The fact that Jesus and the apostles, who were beyond poor, were able to spread the good news is all the proof I need.  Today, people feel that if you don’t have money and a good life you aren’t living right with God, but that thought has no validity whatsoever.  But knowing what God has provided for you and what you want is tough.  If we were perfect we would know, but the fact is that we are not and only through complete surrender to God will we know.

David Platt’s book Radical is a great book about refocusing Americans back to the real reason why we are here.  I agree with most of his points in the book, but to say pursing the American Dream isn’t possible if you are pursing God is a stretch.  The point he may be trying to make is that if your focus is pursing the American Dream all the time, then you have lost focus of what we should be pursing.  It’s a slippery slope if you ever pursue other things rather than God, but keeping the proper perspective and God in your life should help you from falling off track.

In conclusion, God works through His people in mysterious ways. It’s not for us to understand His reasons behind what He is doing.  It’s for us to find out if we are doing His will or ours.  If it is His will then continue your walk, if it’s your own you may want to refocus your goals and desires.  All earthly things wither and rust away, but God’s love will never fade.  Platt’s strongest point in the book is a message Paul wrote in the bible.  “We are in debt to the world to spread the good news, and if we are not making good use of our time we may fail those who need God most.”  Pursue God first and let Him take care of everything else.  Being rich in God is better than being rich in life.

Praise always to God!

What will Heaven be like when we die?

What will heaven be like is a question that we ask ourselves all the time.  The bible paints a murky picture of what heaven will look and be like when we die.  When we are young, we think of heaven being in the clouds with a huge castle in the middle and we sit and play harps to please God.  You see this imagery in cartoons and picture books for kids.  Do these publishers do this because that is what pleases the children and parents because heaven is too difficult to explain?  Could this be a reason why many of us grow up and think of heaven as a boring place?  These simple illustrations and feelings of heaven make us wonder throughout our lives what heaven will really be like and is it all worth it in the end.

To explain and elaborate on the previous sentence, if you are only a Christian because you want to get to heaven, then you are a Christian for all the wrong reasons.  Our goal as a Christian isn't to do good things so we can get to heaven, that isn't the payoff for being a Christian.  The reward, for lack of a better word, for a Christian is to be united with Jesus and the God of the Universe. Our soul longs to be with our Father and the Creator, and we are not whole without Him (2 Corinthians 5:8).  Heaven is the sprinkles on the cupcake, it's not even the icing.  So before I continue, know that heaven is where we will spend eternity united with our King, not the majestic place we all aim to go after we pass away from this realm (John 18:36).

Now some would have you believe heaven is a place where you stand around all day and worshiping God for every second of every minute of every hour of everyday.   For me, that would be perfect but that's not even close to what heaven will be like when we die, from my understanding.  Again, I do want to preface the upcoming statements in the blog as my own thoughts and beliefs of what heaven will be like after we die, not 100% fact but from scripture.  Most of my ideas come from pastor interpretations and my own conclusions from the bible.  Also Paul says in 1 Corinthians 2:7-9 says that we can never fully understand and imagine what God has prepared us in heaven, for those who love Him.

The picture above would be all I need to know for me to want to end up in heaven.  Jesus walking up to me, me falling on my knees and hearing Jesus say, "Well done my good and faithful servant."  Then He picks me up and then I am given a hug by my savior would be beyond words.  If heaven just stopped there I would be satisfied, I would need nothing else.  But there is so much more that I can't even fathom what my eyes will see and the knowledge that will be bestowed upon me about the God of the Universe.

Revelations 21:4 says that God will wipe away every tear and death shall be no more.  There will be no more pain, suffering, and all former things will pass away.  Essentially we will no longer be oppressed by sin because it will have been fully removed and defeated, and we will be made perfect.  If you suffer from an earthly illness, that will be no more.  If you lost a limb or were disfigured in some way, you will be restored completely.  So know that whatever obstacle you face here on earth, God loves you and His promise to restore you will be fulfilled on that day.

John 14:2 says Jesus is making a place for us in His Father's house.  For me this has two meanings.  The first meaning is that Jesus is fulfilling His promise that He will, for a lack of a better term, "vouch" for us when we reach heaven.  We will be covered by His sacrifice and holiness.  The second meaning is that when the old earth and heaven are destroyed and the new ones are created, Jesus will make a room for us to be with the Father (Revelations 21:1).  How amazing will that be to have Jesus and God as roommates?

What is even better, not only do our bodies get restored, we will be given a special name by God himself.  Some call it a love name and it will be inscribed on a stone, and no one but yourself and God will know the name and meaning of the name (Revelation 2:17).  God will call you by this name and it is meant to be personal because you are new and for your personal relationship with Him.  All this will be done in accordance with the transformation we will undergo into the likeness of his Son.  Because of this special name, our relationship with God will be extremely personal and intimate beyond any other relationship you have ever had!

I have heard some pastors say the relationship that we will have with God in heaven will be so intimate and powerful, to sum up all your life's positive experiences into one instance will not even compare to how we will feel every second with God.  His glory is beyond comprehension and I lack the words to describe what that feeling will be like with God in heaven, but my earlier statement sums it up in the best way i know how today.  In heaven, we will never be hungry or thirsty...our fill will come from God's glory alone.

When we think of heaven we also think about our current relationships and wonder if they will exist in heaven.  My answer to that is I don't know.  I don't know because if we remember everything from our earthly life, that would mean there would be hurt and sadness included.  Since this cannot be in heaven I am unsure if we will continue our relationships.  Paul does mention in 1 Thessalonians 4 that we will be taken with the Lord together and will comfort each other there.

Now this could be disappointing for most of us if we do not get to be reunited with our loved ones in heaven, but is that our end goal?  My personal opinion is that we will know each other in heaven and see our loved ones who were believers in Christ there.  I say this on the fact of reading other articles and their take and position on this topic.  Since the bible references Elijah and others, who had passed on already, being present during Jesus transfiguration I would have to assume that we will see our loved ones as well and know them.  Because there was recognition of Elijah and Moses, we should recognize our loved ones in heaven.

To answer the questions of marriage, children, and ect. in heaven...I truly don't know and I haven't seen anything scripturally that mentions/hints at the possibility of this being possible.  Jesus does teach that marriage and procreation will not be apart of heaven.  Paul mentions that the reason there is no need for marriage in heaven is because we will live in perfect harmony with one another.  Marriage was established on earth because it gave us a better understanding of the relationship of Jesus and the church with ourselves.  In other words, earthly marriage helps us understand how we should love Christ Jesus.

You may think this isn't fair since you love your wife or husband and do not want to part.  The fact is that only the marriage will end between you and your wife/husband, not the deep relationship you both have.  Marriage will be irrelevant because of the perfect harmony and deep relationships we will have with one another in heaven.  As for pets, I don't have an answer or thought on this today.

As for what life will be like in heaven, I am not 100% sure on this either.  I would think it would be much like it is here on earth, but without the pain and suffering.  We will live in different parts of heaven, travel to see friends and family, worship our Lord, and other exciting things.  Don't think that heaven is just a place where we kneel at God's throne all day praising Him.  God is worthy of our praise and if that was what heaven is like I am okay with that too.  But in heaven we will be able to explore the wonders of our King, the universe, and heaven itself. 

In closing, I hope this helps and sheds some light on whatever thoughts, ideas, and or fears you may have about heaven.  Again, this is not exactly what you should look forward to, as it is my own opinion based on my interpretation of scripture.  Know that God loves you and what is in store for you in heaven will exceed your every expectation 100 fold.  If you have other ideas or disagree, please feel free to share your comments because I would like to learn from  you all as well.  Remember, heaven isn't our end goal and only through Christ, grace, sanctification, and repentance do we have the opportunity to enter heaven.  May Christ be with you!

Glory to God, always!

True or False: "Perception is Reality"

The old saying goes “Perception is Reality” but is this really true?  Can we really allow someone’s perception to have the same weight as factual information?  In my career, I have heard this saying numerous times and sometimes it was directed at me.  I will be the first to tell you I am not perfect and I do make mistakes, but who doesn’t make mistakes?  This blog isn’t about who makes mistakes, it’s about someone’s perception of a situation and assuming that a mistake was made.

 If I worked in your office and you heard me talking to someone and I said, “I love watching dog fights!”  A simple phrase that is clear and easy to understand.  You may take that phrase and assume that I like watching dogs fight.  This could turn out to be a serious misunderstanding, due to the perception of a single phrase.  Now if I told you that the History Channel has a show called “Dogfights” and it’s about fighter jets in combat, you may not have a problem with my earlier phrase.  But this type of situation happens all too often, and it can destroy relationships, careers, and working environments.

My example above is very simple and it’s easy to see how people can get the wrong impression and form their own perception of that phrase.  Now let’s make the phrase a little more complex, “I love watching dog fights!  It’s amazing to see the carnage that is left over from a fight like that.  I wonder how some of those people live with themselves knowing the consequences of their actions?” Instead of a simple phrase you have an entire statement that may seem to verify that I am in fact watching dogs fight.  Not only did I mention carnage and dog fights, but I mention that potentially unethical people are involved.  Now the puzzle pieces are in place for you to assume, yes this person watches dog fight and kill each other. 

The reason for this getting more complex is that verifiers have been said, and when questioned about my statement it may be harder to show that isn’t want I meant.  Now I have three parts of a story I have to correct and it may seem I am just covering myself from getting in trouble.  The perception is there and that statement is now assumed to be true, even if it’s not.

The same applies for non-verbal actions.  If I work in your office and the only thing you ever see me do is go to the coffee machine, talk to people in the halls, and go home, you may assume I do nothing for the company.  So your perception is that I am dead weight to the company and you have no clue what I do and why I work there.  What is interesting about non-verbal assumptions is that the entire perception is built off of non-verbal interactions.  If you never asked me what I do, how can you say/assume I do nothing?  Just because I talk to people in the hall, doesn’t mean I am never working.  Just to preface this blog, none of these things have actually happened to me in my current job (trying to manage those perceptions for those who I work with that may read this).

But because a person’s perception is their reality, they assume they are correct and often times communicate that to others without verifying the facts.  Whatever happened to innocent until PROVEN guilty?  In today’s workplace, people have become fixated on making more money and stepping on whomever they can to get to the top. If that means taking a perception about someone and playing that against them, that is perfectly okay.  Because we work in a world where we value people’s opinions and we want people to be heard.  The Golden Rule was to treat people how you wanted to be treated, and now the Platinum Rule is to treat others the way they want to be treated.  In my opinion, I think we have taken that Platinum Rule too far! 

The reason I say the Platinum Rule has gone too far is that once a complaint is made, someone has to follow up on the complaint.  Not because it’s a legitimate complaint, but because someone said something and it must be looked into regardless of the ridiculousness.  What often happens, in my management experience, even if the complaint is a simple misunderstanding, that person can never defend themselves because it is someone else’s perception.  Even if facts are presented, that person’s perception is how they feel and you must always agree with a person’s feelings, because that is how they want to be treated.  No one wants to be told how to feel.  But haven’t we contradicted the Platinum Rule?  Now the accused isn’t being treated the way they want to be treated when they are innocent.

A simple misunderstanding and you can be called into an office and approached on something you knew nothing about, but someone perceived that it happened.  Now you may face the fact that a simple misunderstanding has now caused your supervisor and team to lose trust in you, all because someone didn’t ask you to clarify a situation.  So now your personal perception of your supervisor and team is that you can never say anything in front of them that may be questioned, thus relationships are lost and the work environment suffers.  Sometime people just end up leaving the company because it doesn’t matter how far off the perception was, to that one individual it is reality.

So I ask myself, where did the time go when people respected people and negative perceptions were address between with one another?  When did perceptions begin to hold more weight than facts?  When did we allow people’s opinions rule the workplace?  Most of all, when did the workplace get so soft that respecting people feelings was more important than doing what is right?  What I mean by doing what is right, is telling someone that what they think or feel may be wrong because reason 1, 2, 3.

Experts wonder why people change jobs so often, and most of the time it’s due to pay and career opportunity.  But in my opinion, it’s become more about the people and perceptions of a workplace.  Sometimes people feel like their work isn’t valued enough, sometimes people feel someone has it out for them, or sometimes people feel they are not getting the opportunities others are getting.  And most of the time those perceptions aren’t true, but that is how we feel and no one can tell us otherwise.  But sometimes those perceptions are true and in fact they are our reality, who is to say that it’s not?  In the end only God knows, and the race we thought we had with others really only turns out to be a race against ourselves.

Glory always to the Lord!

Blogs: Why I am an Atheist

Now the title would have you think that I am an atheist, but that couldn't be further from the truth. I not only believe in God, but I also believe in Jesus Christ as my Savior and Lord. The reason behind the title is from the blogs and articles I have read on how people have become atheists from false information and theology. I don't read these articles to try my faith or see if their thoughts are true, it's more for me to understand what is causing people to lose their faith so Jesus can make me be a better teacher in the future.

When a person wants to become an expert or be knowledgable in an area, they usually begin to study that subject before they try to teach or speak to others about the topic. For me, this is the same reason why I read these articles...you have to know what you are up against before you can try and speak to someone who doesn't believe. However, I do believe when you talk to people about Jesus, it is Jesus and the Holy Spirit that are talking through you, not you talking to them. But because we are human and in the flesh, when we are asked questions that throw us for a loop we panic. That panic causes us to not know the answer and it makes atheists feel like the bullet hole they just shot in our faith is a reason for them not to believe.

Most of the time atheists, Christians, and gentiles get their information from other people who are not true believers in the first place. Some will say, well they go to church and they do good things in their life, so they must be believers. This is certainly not the case and that is what they want you to think. Because they are messed up on the inside and in their own personal lives, they put on a front in front of others.

The articles I have read on why these people have become atheists have had the same consistent message each time, "I was weighed down in always trying to do what Jesus wanted me to do and I found no freedom in that. Once I believed that Jesus wasn't real, I found my life to open up to freedoms I never knew." I have a hard time understanding and digesting that answer because it is not you who makes yourself change it is Jesus. If you are trying to make these changes yourself, then you really never let Jesus take control. This is why you never were able to make the change and felt like there was no freedom.

I find it interesting that people that lose their faith often criticize one specific time or position. One of the articles I read said that he lost his faith because God couldn't explain to him why He took his mother early in life. I haven't faced the same situation as he has, but my faith and logic leads me to believe we all die on time for God's glory. Sometimes I think people get more upset at the fact that their loved ones weren't believers, and knowing this makes us sad to know they will not enter the kingdom of heaven. When this occurs, we think "how can God in all His glory not save someone who is dear to us or who was in general a good person?" My question would be, what does God owe us? I know that is a tough answer but seriously what does He owe us? The fact that He even loves me is enough for me to be humbled because I suck. When you messed up as a kid, your parents still loved you because you were their child, how is it any different for God?

The fact is, that there is freedom in searching for Christ and Him calling you to be saved. A real Christian will let you know they are as jacked up as any other person in the world, but sanctification is a long-term process, not an overnight change. If you believe that good Christians never or hardly ever sin, you are mistaken...but we give it all over to Christ to help us to become more like Him. The fact that we cannot be perfect keeps us from becoming too prideful and forgetting why Christ died for us in the first place.

My freedom is knowing that Jesus has taken control of my life and His will controls it. I don't have to worry about what I am doing in a year because He has set the path, and I just have to follow it because He would never lead me astray. I also know, because of my flesh, I am going to fall off track myself and when I do, that is when things will go bad...not because that was His plan, but because I tried to be the God of my own life. I will say it's tough giving your life over to Christ because you would want to control it, but to say I want to have control over my life is also saying I know more than you do Lord...and we couldn't be more wrong.

I also know that being a Christian does't mean I will live a life full of prosperity and goodness. Look at the prophets and apostles of the bible. Many of them were oppressed and often killed because of their faith, but isn't that what we owe to a King who did the same for us already? That would be the most extreme, but can we not give over our comfortable American lives to serve God? Can we not put aside our wants to do God's will and possibly still achieve the same thing we want. I do believe God rewards those who truly submit to His will, and I am not talking about money. Remember we can't take our riches with us when we die, so store your riches up in Heaven, but do it for Christ not yourself.

I am not perfect and I am just as sinful as any other person, and I know that one day I should have to answer for my sins...but because of my faith in Christ, Jesus has taken that blame and made me new in God's eyes and the sanctification process is in place. If you think that YOU have chosen Christ and YOU are doing God's will, then you may want to reevaluate your relationship with God. It is Christ that saves YOU so that God can work His will through you. It is by GRACE that you are saved so that no man can boast in his good works.

If you are on the fence about becoming a believer or are an atheist, you should ask these questions: What do I know about the God of the Universe, is it scripturally sound? What I mean by scripturally sound is not a excerpt from the bible but the "theme", if you will, from the message? If not, pray and search for the correct answers in the bible. When I was a believer was I still trying to control my life or was I giving my life to Christ everyday? If you are unsure, maybe it's time to ask Christ to enter your life again. God loves each and every one of us. He know us by name and knows every single hair on our bodies. Everyone has a right to their own opinion, but if your friend laid down his life for you, wouldn't you owe your friend your life? If your mom or dad laid down their lives for you, wouldn't you owe them your life? How can we not do the same for Christ?

It't not about getting the most out of life, it's about repaying a debt to the one who paid your debt for you. You would do it for a friend or family member and never think twice, why should we be any different because other say it isn't so? If I told you that you don't have to repay your friend or family member who saved your life, would you listen to me? I am not telling you to become a Christian, I am only asking that you search for Christ...Christ will do the rest!

Glory always be to God!

Can science prove there is a God?

The introduction to my blog says that I will discuss various subjects from religion to science.  I meant for it to basically say I will talk about anything, from one extreme to another.  Science and religion have rarely gotten along over the millennia, and usually it is understood that if you believe in one, you can't believe in the other.  For me, I would have to disagree on that statement.  The more science articles that I continue to read, because of my heavy interest in science, the more I believe it all points to God.

To start simple, when you look at the thousands of species that exist on this earth and that humans became the dominant species, is a sign from God.  When you look at the human body, it is weak, brittle, clumsy, and sometimes stupid.  From a science point of view, the only thing that separates  humans from other species is our brain.  Because of the growth of the human brain over thousands of years, we have been able to become the dominant species.  My question would be how could this be an accident by nature.  Humans are not the fastest species on the planet, we're not the strongest species on the planet, and we're not most durable species on the planet.  So how can it be that we didn't become extinct because we were eaten out of existence or died of some deadly viral epidemic?

Today many people are mauled by lions, tigers, and other animals everyday, and every time I read an article the author usually writes "these attacks seem to happen more frequently because the animals have found humans are easy prey."  In today's world, most of us live in some type of a building structure.  Thousands of years ago, we lived in caves and tried to defend ourselves from predators with rocks and sticks.  How is it that the animals didn't know then that we were easy prey?  How did we not become the bottom of the food chain for those animals?  Some may say we became smart enough to defend ourselves, but how is that any different than today and we still become a tiger's lunch?

Now we are going to dive in a bit deeper and discuss science at it's smallest level.  Quantum physics has been a hot topic over the past 40 years or so.  After Einstein's Theory of Relativity, which explained gravity at the biggest level, quantum physics has tried to explain gravity at the smallest level.  At the smallest level of physics, atoms and particles behave differently that when they are combined, they form large objects.  We see this in an experiment called the Double-slit experiment. 

Think of a fully automatic paintball gun and a wall that has two vertical slits in it with another wall behind that one.  If you were to begin shooting your paintball gun at the wall with the two vertical slits, each individual paintball would pass through the slits causing a vertical paint pattern on the other wall.  Now think of the same two vertical slits, but instead of paintballs, you shine a flashlight at the two vertical slits.  What would be reflected on the wall behind the slitted wall would be an array of vertical lines (more than just two vertical lines).  This occurs because light travels in waves and when the waves pass through an opening, they interfere with each other.  When the light waves pass through two slits, the waves come back together and cause interference patterns.  What is even more interesting, is when you take particles and shoot them through the same two slits.

When you think of a particle, think of a paintball.  A particle is a ball of protons, electrons, and neutrons.  When scientists shot a stream of particles through a two slit wall, the ball of particles produced a wave like patten...much like the patten a flashlight has.  How can this be if particles are balls of energy that travel in straight lines and not waves?  The scientists thought that multiple particles were being fired at the same time causing an error, so they conducted the experiment again.  This time they shot one single particle towards the double slits thinking it would produce two vertical stripes, like the paintballs, but again it produced a wave like pattern.  So scientists tried to observe the particles leaving the source and passing through the slits.  What ending up happening was baffling, the particles then produced the two vertical striped patterns.  How can this be when the same experiment caused it to produce an interference wave pattern?  So they took the camera away from the slits, and again the particles produced a wave like pattern.  

This is what scientists call duality, when something can behave differently based upon observation.  What scientists found was that when the camera wasn't rolling, the single particle being shot at the two slits actually passed through both of them at the same time.  How can this be when particles are balls and travel in a straight line?  Only when the scientists observed or filmed the particles, they behaved like balls, not waves, and traveled in a straight line.  This concludes that only when we observe something, it becomes part of our reality and consciousness.  When we are not observing something, all possible probabilities can occur.  

Some scientist believe that because of this duality, God doesn't exist because if He was omnipresent then duality would cease to exist.  Because God would be there to keep the balls of particles from ever becoming waves, we would only see  a two bar pattern.  Some atheist use this as a way to prove God doesn't exist.

For other scientist this proves that God does exist.  They say this because if we are a part of God's consciousness, then when God does observe us, we behave in a certain way (the way God wants us to behave).  What this means is that if I think about talking to a person about Jesus, science would say that I may or may not do it or I may do both...but how could this be?  But because I do make a decision and I do or don't talk to that person, I only behaved in one manner, not both simultaneously.  Because God is always observing us, we are always doing God's will, whether we know it or not.  Now we may fall off path but at the end of it all we are exactly where God wants us to be.  

So if science can truly say that the thousands, if not millions, of species are all by chance, and humans became the dominant species by chance...that probability would be googolplex to one (a googolplex is something like 10 with twenty zeros after it).  If science, is right we are just an anomaly in the universe and we are only here by pure chance.  Or is it easier to believe that a divine being created us and destined humans to be the dominate species by guiding us along the way?  

I believe that the creation story references the big bang, Jesus created the universe from nothing.  Science says the universe popped into existence from nothing.  Not sure if scientists are just stubborn or not willing to admit they were wrong.  Or maybe they don't want to admit there is a higher power than ourselves, either way, God will have His glory in the end.

Glory always be to God!

Is God Greater than Satan?

This will be my first blog ever and I thought I would start it with something interesting and heavy.  I recently read an article and it asked the question, "Is Satan more powerful than God?" I found the article through an iPhone app called Zite.  Zite is an app that allows you to subscribe to various topics, and it finds magazine and news articles to populate your page with your interests.  One of the topics I selected was God.

I selected this topic because it not only finds articles that discuss religion, but it also posts articles from atheist sites and magazines as well.  To be up front, this blog is not about bashing atheist or other religions, it's about discussing relevant questions many of us ask ourselves daily.

The article can be found on www.thinkatheist.com and it's more of a picture than an article.  In summary the article talks about how Satan is greater than God because he only had to get man to sin for all of man to fall out of favor with God, and God had to conduct an elaborate process to try and save His people from death.  Because Satan will more than likely take more people to hell than God will bring to heaven, the article concludes Satan is greater than God.

I thought it was interesting some Christians think this this is true, and that de-churched atheist think this as well.  And that thought may have led them to believe that there isn't a God, because if He isn't all powerful then how could He exist?  It is hard for some, including Christians, to wrap their mind around the fact that Satan can defy God and cause people to sin and ultimately be led to destruction and get away with it.

Now I don't claim to be a theologian or be the most wise about the bible, but here are my thoughts on this article.  Satan wants us to believe he is more powerful than God because if he can convince us that he is then he's done his job.  We may sometimes think that Satan is more "powerful" because it only takes a whisper in our ear to cause us to sin and for us to fall not repent and go to hell, and it take God (Jesus) to come down in the flesh to die to fix everything and make things new.  But all of Satan's work can be undone through true faith in Christ, and God's work can never been undone.  Then the article even goes as far to say that Jesus' sacrifice did not work because only a few will be saved and many will deny Him.

What the article does not mention is why God hates sin, and that all that has happened and will happen was God's plan from all along.  For me, God cannot stand sin because He is perfect and without sin, and for us to sin is to say that we know better than God, which is very disrespectful.  Also, it was our sin that led Jesus to have to sacrifice Himself when we did not deserve that sacrifice.  When Adam and Eve were created they were perfect and without sin.  They walked and talked to God much like we do with our friends and family.  When Adam and Eve opted to disobey God they took a stance that basically said that I know what is better for me Lord than you do.

Think of a time when your parents told you not to do something and you did it anyway.  You probably got hurt or in trouble because you thought you knew better than your parents.  This is the same broken relationship that God had with Adam and Eve because of their sin, and now the entire Earth is not broken.  Animals eat other animals, animals mate with their own children, and animals have homosexual tendencies. I am not bashing homosexuality and my sin of lusting or lying is no less than the sin of homosexuality, they are equal in God's eyes.  But the Earth is crying out for God to make everything right, and because of our continued sin it will never be fixed until Jesus comes back.  This is why I believe the bible mentions that the Lion will lay next to the lamb when the new Earth is established (Heaven). Everything will be fixed and back to the way it was once before.

Matthew 7:13 talks about the road is wide that leads to destruction and that many will enter it.  So from the beginning God knew that a few will be saved through His Son. So I ask myself, how can Satan be more powerful if God knew few would be chosen?  How can we say that God is losing the battle, when we know who will win the war based on scripture?  Regardless of the plans we try to make on our own, God will always receive His glory.  One day every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that  Jesus Christ is the Lord, and yes I even believe Satan will do the same before his final death in the lake of fire.

So how can this article conclude that Satan is more powerful than God when Satan loses in the end?

Glory always be to God!