The following is a response to “Anti-gag”
First, thanks for your interest. I decided to answer your questions in the hopes that you really are seeking God. If not, then I hope everyone else will appreciate my answers.
For everyone else, last night a link to an anti-christian video was posted in the comments section of my blog. Upon watching the video I was both disappointed and glad at the same time. I was disappointed because I couldn’t believe that someone actually thought this was logic, and glad because I had a chunk of meat to dig my teeth into. The video posed 10 questions in an attempt to prove that God is imaginary.
All right, my friends. I have an answer to every single one of those questions...
I would first like to point out that the video begins with a vain attempt to induce pride in the viewer by making the claim that, “You have all the answers. You have the ability to answer these questions because you have knowledge and power,” (sounds like they might believe in God after all.) The truth is that we are tiny human specks in the universe and to think that we might have the knowledge to understand and explain everything there is to know: 1) in the universe and 2) about God, is ludicrous... But on with the questions.
Question number 1) "Why
won’t God heal amputees?"
Why won’t God heal the flu? Why won’t God heal warts? How about this: why should He heal anybody? Does God obey our whims? How dare you try to make the King of the Universe your personal vending machine! Just because someone has an amputation doesn’t mean that God won’t give them a better life in all eternity. To look at the momentary discomfort of any human being and say, “Therefore, that is proof that God doesn’t exist,” is ridiculous. This life is so infinitesimally short that to spend it complaining to God is a waste!
Question number 2) "Why are there so many starving people in our world?"
I suppose the author of this video would prefer that God to zap food into people’s mouths, once again betraying their ignorance of what God’s purpose is. While I would not disagree that there are some instances where there are individuals that are having very difficult times providing for themselves, most instances where there is mass starvation is caused by plague, natural disaster or an oppressive government, because we have plenty of land and plenty of food that we can get. Once again, since God is a god of eternity, to look at the temporary discomfort during the few years that we live on this earth and say, “Therefore, there is no God,” is sheer lunacy. The author would do better spending a little time learning about who God is and what He wants from us rather that assuming that He’s a magic genie that should jump up and dance every time we demand it.
Question number 3) "Why does God allow
the death of so many innocent people?"
Once you show me someone who is truly innocent, then I will answer your question. No one on this earth is pure and innocent in the eyes of Almighty God. Every single person on the planet is fallen and sinful. The video puts up the points of:
Exodus 35:2, “For six days work may be done, but on the seventh day you shall have a holy {day,} a sabbath of complete rest to the LORD; whoever does any work on it shall be put to death.”
God was making a point that He is to be obeyed. Anyone who disobeys this simple commandments should be put to death because since they cannot be trusted to do this simple thing how can they be trusted to obey a greater thing?
Deuteronomy 21:18-21 Disobedient youth are to be put to death.
Once again, God understood that if a child is continually disobedient, then that child will be disobedient through adulthood and may entice others to be disobedient as well. This would quickly corrupt the society.
Leviticus 20:13, “If {there is} a man who lies with a male as those who lie with a woman, both of them have committed a detestable act; they shall surely be put to death. Their blood-guiltiness is upon them.”
Once again, as with the previous section, God is dealing with disobedience. Homosexuality is condemned in the Bible because it is an attack on the institution of the family and marriage. God knows that without these pillars to uphold society, society is doomed to collapse.
Deuteronomy 22:13-21 Girls that are not found to be virgins when they marry are to be put to death.
Once again, harlotry corrupts a society, just open up your high-school history book an take a look! God does account for rape and incest (in which case the girl is not to be put to death). But God understands that once the people no longer sanctify virginity, the society is headed for disaster!
Question number 4) "Why does the Bible contain so much anti-scientific nonsense?"
Once again, show me a verse in the Bible that is truly nonsense. The video firsts tries to create an assumption that God might be against technology -- which He is not! God gave humanity the ability to learn, improve and invent. The video then tries to put up “evidence” of unscientific verses:
“God did not create the world in 6 literal days 6,000 years ago.”
(I could devote an entire blog to proving this point, but I’ll try to keep it brief.) Any student of physics understands that matter, space, time and energy were all created at the same time and yes, they were CREATED. Our universe’s law of entropy demands that there had to have been a creation event some time in the past. How far in the past? Well, I could give hundreds of examples that would demonstrate irrefutable evidence for a young earth, but here are just two: first, we are loosing our moon (it used to be closer to us,) and second, the Earth is moving farther away from the sun (we also used to be closer.) These facts rule out that our solar system is billions of years old since as little as 100,000 years ago the radiation from the Sun would make the earth uninhabitable and the moon so close that land tides would destroy all life on earth.
“There was never a worldwide flood that covered Mount Everest.”
You are assuming there was a Mount Everest that needed to be covered. Let me first point out that students of geology agree that there had to have been a massive flood that covered the earth to create the observable evidence that we have today. Before the Flood, the earth was relatively flat, but when the crevasses in the ocean (check any ocean floor map) opened up, the pressure of the water caused the ocean floor to get lower and the mountains to get higher. Mount Everest didn’t exist until after he Flood.
“Jonah did not live inside a fishes stomach for 3 days.”
Once again, you are assuming that Jonah lived. No where in the Bible does it say that Jonah lived in the fish’s belly. Jonah died and was resurrected – an Old Testament foreshadowing of Jesus being buried and resurrected.
“God did not create Adam from a handful of dust.”
Prove he didn’t. Since it is so easy to check out so many facts presented in the Bible, and therefore demonstrate that God can be trusted, it is therefore logical to also trust Him in the areas that we cannot check out.
Question number 5) “Why is
God such a huge proponent of slavery in the Bible.”
I don’t know what Bible your reading, but simply because the Bible documents the existence of slavery in no way means that God approves of it. The Bible is a history book; that’d be like saying since Abraham Lincoln talked about slavery he was a proponent of it -- now do you see how this is ridiculous? Some people point out that since Paul regulated slavery (rather than abolishing it) he must therefore have approved of it; Let me say that in no way is Paul approving of slavery -- the Government at the time is the one that mandated slavery (once again an oppressive government.) So, Paul said “you know what, since you are a slave, why not make the best of it? Become a Christian and receive the gift of eternal life, and maybe along the way your master will become saved too, since your life is such a great example.” The Old Testament account of Joseph, who started out as a slave but then became the ruler of all Egypt and got the Pharaoh saved as well, would be a good example.
Question number 6) “Why didn’t any of Jesus’ miracles in the Bible leave behind any evidence?”
Interesting question, well, some of his miracles were healing people, those people then became believers, who influenced others around them to also become believers so that by today we have over one Billion Christians -- if that’s not evidence, I don’t know what you’re looking for -- Jesus’ footprints from walking on water?
Question number 7) “Why do
bad things happen to good people.”
Bad things happen to everybody, but once again, show me someone who is truly good. There is no such thing as “good on the whole” or “basically good”; bad things and good things happen. What I’d really like to know is why good things happen to bad people? There are some evil, evil people out there that are BILLIONAIRES! This life happens the way it happens, but ultimately we’re going to end up face to face with a God who is going to judge our souls and our hearts. At that point you’re going to find our just how good you think you are verses how good God thinks you are.
Question number 8) “How do you explain the fact that Jesus has never appeared to you?”
Speak for yourself. Once again the author has mistaken that since Jesus has not appeared to him, Jesus therefore hasn’t appeared to anyone. The fact is that after the resurrection, Jesus appeared to tens of thousands of people, and when he appears bodily again, it will be to end the world and cast all unbelievers into the lake of fire. I would think that as an unbeliever, the author should be careful what he is asking for. The mistake is also made in the assumption that the only way Jesus could prove his existence to anyone is to appear bodily. Again, this is foolish. We are all aware of the existence of people we’ve never met (both contemporary and historical) because of the tangible evidence of their existence. I suppose the author might deny the existence of John F. Kennedy on the same grounds.
Question number 9) “Why
would Jesus want you to eat His body and drink His blood?”
Again, I’d like to know what Bible you are reading because Jesus clearly points out the symbolic nature of the bread which was BREAD and the wine which was WINE -- not flesh and not blood. The symbolic nature is that when you eat bread and drink wine OR eat an apple or have a drink of water, you are putting something inside your body. It is inside you, it is now part of you, and will now work through you -- that is what Jesus wants. He doesn’t just want us to know about Him or be friends with Him; He wants to be inside us; He wants to be so much a part of our lives that we consume Him so that He is inside of us and therefore, controlling and motivating us so that our actions reflect this fact.
Question number 10) “Why do Christians get divorced at the same rate as non-Christians?
The reason is because most of the people claiming to be Christians today are not truly Christians. The word “Christian” means to be “Christ-like” anyone who is like Christ would not get a divorce. Now some of these people might be saved, but please, be careful when you call them Christians. In the instance of a genuine, true Christian that gets in a divorce, I’d like to take a look at their spouse and see just how hard-hearted that person might have been. When you have two people that are totally committed -- totally and thoroughly committed to the will of Christ and that spend daily devotions together seeking the will of God and praying together, the statistics on divorce are less than 1 in 2000 -- not even one tenth of one percent!
