Can you defend your faith? This is an important question
that we must ask ourselves.
I learned a few things [about me] when doing a really in
depth study on apologetics (the defense of one’s faith.) I try to be as honest
as possible with myself; I would be lying if I told you that I believe in every
detail of the Bible. I do have problems believing and understanding some points
in the letters of Paul (some books in the New Testament written by Paul; the
Pauline Doctrine.) I have a strong faith in my belief of God and that Jesus is
my personal savior who died for our sins to save humanity. I will state this; there are a lot of good
points that Paul does make, but I feel some points he makes are contradictory
to Jesus’ work.
“Paul also told them that Jesus is the Messiah he was
preaching about. Some of them believed what Paul had said, and they became
followers with Paul and Silas. Some Gentiles and many important women also
believed the message.” (Acts 17: 3-4) According to definition, Paul was
defending the reason why Jesus was the Messiah to people in Thessalonica.
Sometimes, it upsets me when Christians place too much
emphasis on Paul’s work. I sometimes would like to argue about it but I will
not. Paul to me was just a man who had vision and converted to Christianity.
Paul did not hang on the cross. Paul did not die for our sins to save humanity.
Paul was just a missionary, a minister, a preacher; he was just a person like
you and me—a sinner.
How far (though) will you take your argument in defense of
your faith? Would you argue with someone and force the issue? Would you kill
them like some instances in history (Christian Crusades 1095-1291 or Heretical
burning during the Reformation 1517-1521 or preaching hate and the uttering of
foul names-- 20th and 21st Century)?
“Stay away from stupid and senseless arguments. These only
lead to trouble, and God’s servants must not be troublemakers. They must be
kind to everyone, and they must be good teachers and very patient. Be humble
when you correct people who oppose you. Maybe God will lead them to turn to him
and learn the truth.” (2 Timothy 2:23-25)
Would you stand on the street corners and shout “Murderer!”
toward a woman, thinking about abortion, or a member of the staff working at an
abortion clinic? Would you stand at a funeral and shout “Queer! Fag! You’re
going to hell!”? I still have yet to understand this statement, “Hate the sin
but love the sinner.” If you take your faith and use it to show actions of hate
to another human being, including name calling, then you are WRONG! Jesus would
have never acted in this fashion. Hate and love are opposite but a very real
with the commonality of those words being “emotion”. Wisdom is not an emotion; wisdom is being
wise enough to know when and the ability to have humility when not to.
Furthermore, if any person uses their Christianity to
further their political agenda in our ill gotten society is WRONG!
“They had led the nation down the wrong path, and the people
were confused. The Lord was angry with his people and kept punishing them,
because they had turned against him. They were evil and spoke foolishly. That’s
why he did not have pity on their young people or on their widows and orphans.”
(Isaiah 9:16-17)
“Watch out for false prophets! They dress up like sheep, but
inside they are wolves who have come to attack you. You can tell what they are
by what they do.” (Matthew 7: 15-16)
What is the definition of faith? For a Christian [only] it
is a strong belief in God and Jesus (incarnate); their doctrines based on the
spiritual self (the soul) rather than physical proof. The last time I checked some of the actions of
democracy, abortion, name calling, and abusive arguing were not part of the
deal of Christianity. Look again if you do not believe me; abortion is not
mentioned anywhere in the Bible. It was applied to Biblical passages as of the
late 19th Century, redefined in the mid-20th Century, and
used in the 21st Century by men and women in the world of political
control and power in the name of “Christian Humanity”.
“Remind your people to obey the rulers and authorities and
not to be rebellious. They must always be ready to do something helpful and not
say cruel things or argue. They should be gentle and kind to everyone. We used
to be stupid, disobedient, and foolish, as well as slaves of all sorts of
desires and pleasures. We were evil and jealous. Everyone hated us and we hated
everyone…warn troublemakers once or twice. Then don’t have anything else to do
with them. You know that their minds are twisted and their own sins show how
guilty they are.” (Titus 3: 1-3, 10-11)
When I read Titus (this part) I think of the Vietnam Era
protesters and how many spit on returning soldiers and shouted horrible names
at them. It also reminds me of many churches today. Sometimes there is great
sadness to me in the history of my fellow man and their foolish actions of the
20th and 21st Centuries. People want to blame everyone
for their problems without first addressing themselves.
I was not different. I had to become educated to find my
voice of honesty and realism within myself. It will always be an on-going
process for me until the day I die. I am just seeking what is real in my heart
and soul;
I am seeking the truth. I opened my eyes and saw exactly how dirty my
life was and the how nasty the world was around me.
I always wanted to get along with everyone, especially
relatives like parents, brothers, aunts, uncles, cousins, nieces, and
great-nephews. I wanted to be accepted. I wanted to be needed. When you see
some of these people (blood relations) who are mean spirited, fake in their
Christianity, extremely materialistic, harboring ill will, and or even
argumentative, then it is okay to walk away and put them out of your life. It
is okay to walk away from friends or associates as well who display actions the
same or behave less than honorable toward you. I have done this. I have walked
away.
Do not act like a Christian if you are not willing to take
the time to be one. This also applies to political leaders.
“And he said unto them, well did Isaiah prophesy of you
hypocrites, as it is written, this people honor me with their lips, bur their
heart is far from me. But in vain do they worship me, teaching as their
doctrines the precepts of men. Yet they leave the commandment of God, and hold
fast the tradition of men.” (Mark 7:6-8)
Always remember what I write is my opinion, my belief and I
will defend it. However, I challenge all readers to check out the scripture of
God. Study it, read it, and most of all pray over it. Again, I will warn you
not to be a Christian lip service, harbor no hate toward anyone and defend your
position as a committed Christian objectively without argument.
Pray for each other.
May God bless you and keep you safe.
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