Chapter 1

Why I Trust God and The Bible

Part 1

The Absolute Truth

Pontius Pilate once asked, "What is truth?"

The truth was standing right in front of him.

To this day, people still ask that question. Some people find truth with

their emotions, some find truth with their own subjective opinions, some

find truth with themselves, and others think that there is no truth. But if

there is no such thing as absolute truth, then that statement isn't true

either. Which means that there has to be some truth. That statement

contradicts itself.

Truth isn't subjective. The fact is that the Earth is round, and that Rome

wasn't built in a day. That is a fact, which means it is based on absolute

truth. Peoples emotional states fluctuate, and are as unpredictable as the

weather. Peoples subjective opinions change like the seasons. So in the

end, not all truths are equal, not all roads lead to Heaven, and not all

opinions are equally valid.

Take this into consideration: If God exists, then that means he created

the Galaxies, the Universe, the Planets, the Sun, nature, animals, and

humanity. There is a design behind everything. There is a design behind

how the Universe operates, how the Earth operates, and even our bodies

have a design to them. So based on the design of everything in this

world, there has to be a designer. That's just basic logic.

But if all of this is true, and he (or she) decided to give us a Holy Book

like the Bible that tells us how to live our lives, then we must follow it.

Jesus Christ was not only the Son of God, but God in the flesh. Which

means that God basically came down from Heaven in human form, to

sacrifice his life for our salvation. Jesus says that he is the Way, the

Truth, and the Life. That's a powerful statement, and it is supported by

scripture.

Let's go to the book of Genesis. It says, "In the beginning God created

the Heavens and the Earth."

Now in Genesis 1: 26, it says "Let us make man in our image."

Who is us? Who is God talking about? If it's not the Angels, then it must

be something else. Now let's go to the book of John.

In John 1:1-3, it says, "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was

with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning.

Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that

has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of men. The

light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it.

There came a man who was sent from God; his name was John. He came

as a witness to testify concerning that light, so that through him all men

might believe. He himself was not the light; he came only as a witness to

the light. The true light that gives light to every man was coming into the

world.

He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the

world did not recognize him. He came to that which was his own, but his

own did not receive him. Yet to all who received him, to those who

believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God—

children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a

husband's will, but born of God.

The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen

his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full

of grace and truth."

Jesus never said that he was God, but he did claim that both he and the

father are one (John 10:30).

Let's go to Exodus. God spoke to Moses through a burning bush and said,

"I AM WHO I AM." And in John 8:58, he says, "I tell you the truth, before

Abraham was born, I am!" Jesus basically claims what his father said to

Moses. Which means that Jesus is not only the Son, but that he is Lord.

There are many other scriptures that support this fact, but I need to get

to my point. The point is that the Bible is created, written, and told by

God himself. Which means that it is the absolute truth, and the standard

that humanity has to live by.

 Part 2

Egyptian Gods?

People claim that Jesus is a myth, and that his story was borrowed from

other Egyptian god's from past religions. The Zeitgeist documentary made

this bold claim, and Bill Maher even mentioned this in his movie

"Religulous." The problem is that these people either don't examine their

claims well, or they believe whatever they are told and decide to make

their beliefs fact. They mention the Egyptian god's called Horus, Mithras,

Kirshna.

The Zeitgeist Movie makes these claims about the Egyptian God Horus:

-He was born on December 25th of a virgin - Isis Mary

-A star in the East proclaimed his arrival

-Three kings came to adore the new-born “savior”

-He became a child prodigy teacher at age 12

-At age 30 he was “baptized” and began a “ministry”

-Horus had twelve “disciples”

-Horus was betrayed

-He was crucified

-He was buried for three days

-He was resurrected after three days

However, when you examine the writings on Horus, this is what really

follows:

Horus was born to Isis; there is no mention in history of her being called

“Mary.” Moreover, Mary is the anglicized form of her real name ‘Miryam’

or Miriam. “Mary” was not even used in the original texts of Scripture.

Isis was not a virgin; she was the widow of Osiris and conceived Horus

with Osiris.

Horus was born during month of Khoiak (Oct/Nov), not December 25.

Further, there is no mention in the Bible as to Christ’s actual birth date.

There is no record of three kings visiting Horus at his birth. The Bible

never states the actual number of magi that came to see Christ.

Horus is not a “savior” in any shape or form; he did not die for anyone.

There are no accounts of Horus being a teacher at the age of 12.Horus

was not “baptized.” The only account of Horus that involves water is one

story where Horus is torn to pieces, with Isis requesting the crocodile god

to fish him out of the water he was placed into.

Horus did not have a “ministry.”

Horus did not have 12 disciples. According to Horus's accounts, Horus had

four semi-gods that were followers and some indications of 16 human

followers and an unknown number of blacksmiths went into battle with

him.

There is no account of Horus being betrayed by a friend.

Horus did not die by crucifixion. There are various accounts of Horus’s

death, but none of them involve crucifixion.

There is no account of Horus being buried for three days.

Horus was not resurrected. There is no account of Horus coming out of

the grave with the body he went in with. Some accounts have Horus and

Osiris being brought back to life by Isis and going on to be the lord of the

underworld.

So when you compare Horus and Jesus, they bear almost no resemblance

at all.

Another Egyptian god that Jesus is compared to, is Mithras. But what

does history say about Mithras?

He was born out of a solid rock and not from any woman.

He battled first with the sun and then a primeval bull, thought to be the

first act of creation. Mithras killed the bull, which then became the ground

of life for the human race.

Mithras's birth was celebrated on December 25, along with Winter

solstice.

There is no mention of him as being a great teacher.

There is no mention of Mithras having 12 disciples. The idea that Mithras

had 12 disciples may have come from a mural in which Mithras is

surrounded by twelve signs of the Zodiac.

Mithras had no bodily resurrection. The myth is told that Mithras

completed his earthly mission then was taken to paradise in a chariot,

alive and well.

The early Christian writer Tertullian did write about Mithras's believers re-

enacting resurrection scenes, but he wrote about this occurring well after

New Testament times, so if any copycatting was done, it was the cult of

Mithras copying from Christianity.

More examples can be given with Kirshna, Attis, and Dionysus. Luckily,

the result is the same. There are numerous versions of Kirshna's story,

and nothing consistent like the story of Jesus. Dionysus is a god of chaos,

and indulgence. He also influenced Nietzsche's writings

In the end, the historical Jesus portrayed in the Bible is unique. And the

claims by the Zeitgeist Movie and Bill Maher are baseless claims.
 Part 3

The writings within the Bible, especially the New Testament, date back to

45 AD. That's 15 years after the death of Jesus Christ. Some Theologians

and Biblical scholars state that the writings go back to 35 AD, or 34 AD.

That's not enough time to create a myth.

Mythology usually takes 200 or 300 years to create, based on historical

figures similar to Alexander or Achilles: Five to Fifteen years is too short a

time to form a mythology. The New Testament is written three

generations after the death of Jesus Christ. And the oldest fragments that

have been discovered of the New Testament, date back to 110 AD.

Now some say that the writings date back to the second century. Which I

strongly dispute. But even if that were the case, in terms of ancient

evidences, writings less than 200 years after the events take place are

considered reliable sources.

The vast majority of scholars (Christian and non-Christian) will grant that

the Epistles of Paul(at least some of them) were written by Paul over 40

years after the death of Jesus Christ. So in terms of ancient manuscript

evidence, there is nothing that compares to the Bible.

Therefore, The New Testament is either the quickest mythology ever

written, or it's the real thing. Personally, I think it's the real thing. The

New Testament has been verified as an historical document, and 99% of

it has been accurately transmitted. That's extraordinary for a 2,000 year

old message! If people attempt to destroy every known copy of the Bible,

Christians from around the world could recreate the Bible with the

quotations alone. And there are probably over 86,000 different quotations

in the Bible.

Another reason that I trust and love God's word, is due to the

supernatural effect that it has on people. It has changed many lives,

including my own. When I read a scripture on anger, I become better at

controlling my temper and more loving. The Bible can make a person feel

more content, and peaceful in their daily lives. And contrary to what a lot

of atheists like to believe, the Bible does give you a sense of morality. It

teaches you the difference between what is right and wrong.

It can make you a more loving, kind, and honorable person. But how

many Christians really do follow the Bible? Who knows? There are over 3

billion Christians in the world, and I think only 3% follow the New

Testament faithfully. Many Christians are hypocrites, and a lot of them try

to use God's word to hurt other people. This is a sad truth that I've

discovered since becoming a Christian again.

If you're a Christian who truly follows the New Testament, your life will

most likely become more fulfilling, because the foundation is based on

good morality and positive thought. Their fulfilled life is proof shown in

the actions of Christians who truly follow God's Word.

Christianity can be proven by genuine historical fact, not just the New

Testament, but outside sources as well, especially when it comes to

proving there existed a Jesus Christ.

People tend to ask, "Who was the real Jesus?" Well, he's in the New

Testament. It's authentic and it's canon, which means that the only real

biography that we have on Jesus is in the Bible. And since the New

Testament is shown to be an historical document, then it is historical

proof of Jesus's existence. But if that's not enough, then there are

historians during that time who wrote about Jesus.

The first-century Roman Tacitus, who is considered one of the more

accurate historians of the ancient world, mentioned superstitious

"Christians", who suffered Pontius Pilate during the reign of Tiberius.

Suetonius, who was the chief secretary to Emperor Hadrian, wrote that

there was man named Chrestus. Chrestus is Latin for Christ.

Flavius Josephus is one of the most famous Jewish historians. In his

Antiquities he refers to James, “the brother of Jesus, who was called

Christ.” There is a controversial verse (18:3) that says, “Now there was

about this time Jesus, a wise man, if it be lawful to call him a man. For he

was one who wrought surprising feats....He was [the] Christ...he

appeared to them alive again the third day, as the divine prophets had

foretold these and ten thousand other wonderful things concerning him.”

One version reads, “At this time there was a wise man named Jesus. His

conduct was good and [he] was known to be virtuous. And many people

from among the Jews and the other nations became his disciples. Pilate

condemned him to be crucified and to die. But those who became his

disciples did not abandon his discipleship. They reported that he had

appeared to them three days after his crucifixion, and that he was alive;

accordingly he was perhaps the Messiah, concerning whom the prophets

have recounted wonders.” This was written in the year 93, and that's in

the same century as Jesus's death.

Julius Africanus quotes the historian Thallus in a discussion of the

darkness that followed the crucifixion of Jesus Christ.

Mara Bar-Serapion confirms that Jesus was considered to be a wise and

virtuous man, was considered by many to be the king of Israel, was put

to death by the Jews, and lived on in the teachings of his followers.

And there are many other historical accounts of Jesus Christ, Pliny the

Younger, and The Babylonian Talmud. In fact, if we try to reconstruct the

gospel from none-Christian sources: Jesus was called the Christ, did

"magic", led Israel into new teachings, and hanged on passover for them

in Judea, but claimed to be God and would return, which his followers

believed, worshiping him as God.

There is overwhelming historical evidence for Jesus Christ. Both in secular

and Biblical history. And in the end, the greatest evidence for the

existence of Christ is the fact that thousands of Christians in the first

century AD, including the twelve disciples, were willing to give their lives

as martyrs for Jesus Christ.

The twelve disciples saw the resurrected Christ, and eleven of them were

executed for what they saw. 500 people saw the resurrected Christ, they

gave eye witness testimony, and probably most of them were executed

for spreading the Word. People will die for what they believe to be true,

but nobody will die for what they know to be a lie.

So since Jesus's followers died for what they saw, that means it really did

happen.

In this modern age, it takes just as much faith to not believe in God, than

to believe in God. But once you know the truth, everything becomes

clear.
Because Jesus is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. Jesus said that, and he

says in John 8:32, "Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set

you free."
 Chapter 2

Religion vs. Spirituality

Since I started studying the Bible back in January of this year, my faith in

God has grown tremendously. During that time, I was a man who was

trying to believe, but now I completely believe in God, Jesus Christ, and

the Holy Spirit. My new-found faith started around late December, after

hearing a wonderful message at my Church. The story was about two

men who had faith in God. One of them believed every word in the Bible,

while the other doubted everything. One of the men asked the other,

"Why do you believe, if you doubt everything?" And the other man

replied, "I believe, because something had to have happened 2,000 years

ago!

I'm not sure if that's how the whole story goes, but I'm just giving you

the gist of it. The man who doubted, couldn't deny the fact that God came

down from heaven as Jesus Christ (his son), and changed the course of

human history. Jesus changed everything, and his impact will probably be

felt throughout the world..........until he comes back. So when I heard

that story, I realized that I could try to believe in God again, and that it's

okay to question things.

Before I started working on becoming a Christian again, I was an

agnostic. I didn't believe in God, but I couldn't deny the fact that he (or

she) had to exist. It was difficult to believe in God, because I couldn't

stop doubting and questioning things. Luckily, God made me realized

what he had in store for me, and blessed my spirit to study and know the

truth.

When I first started studying, my heart was very guarded. I just couldn't

understand the truth, nor accept it. I had to look inside of myself, and

realize that the things I love about the world, were basically poison for my

soul and keeping me separate from God. I had to apply God's word to my

life, which is easier said than done. There are things that you simply don't

want to eliminate from your life to follow Jesus Christ. You have to leave

the world and whatever you find pleasurable in it, and follow God.

So what's the difference between being religious and spiritual? Religiosity

is the thing that killed Jesus, not spirituality. Let's look at some

scriptures. In James 1: 22-24, "Do not merely listen to the word, and so

deceive yourselves. Do what it says. Anyone who listens to the word but

does not do what it says is like a man who looks at his face in a mirror

and, after looking at himself, goes away immediately forgets what he

looks like."
To me, this scripture says that you should not only listen to the word of

God, but apply it to your life. Anybody can be religious about anything,

like drugs, alcohol, sex, technology, movies, television, and reading. This

can also include reading the Bible and going to Church every week, but

not doing what God says. Can you apply his teachings to your life? Can

you truly love somebody, be patient with people, be kind, compassionate,

and gracious towards all people?

If you're a Christian who does none of these things, then you're not

applying the Bible to your life. When you apply it to your life, that is when

you become a true disciple, and a spiritual person in God's eyes.

Let's look at another scripture. In 1 Samuel 16:7, 'But the Lord said to

Samuel, "Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected

him. The Lord does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the

outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart."

To me, this tells me that God only pays attention to the heart of man. We

can fool other people, but we can't fool God, because he can see what is

in our heart. And if we're talking about the Word and not applying it to

our lives, then our hearts are not aimed towards God. We can hide that

from people, but not from God.

Here is another scripture. Deuteronomy 8:5, "Know then in your heart

that as a man disciplines his son, so the Lord your God disciplines you."
As disciples, we must have discipline. How do we get discipline from God?

By reading his word and applying it. If we don't apply it, then we're not

disciplined and basically doing whatever we want. We can't do that,

because we'll get lost in the forest. By applying Gods word, we stay

disciplined and become spiritual.

One last scripture. In Galations 5:22-25, "But the fruit of the spirit is love,

joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self

control. Against such things, there is no law. Those who belong in Christ

Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with it's passions and desires. Since

we live by the spirit, let us keep in step with the spirit."

We must always keep in step with the spirit. And in order to do that, we

must apply the teachings of Jesus Christ to our life. By following his word,

we become Christ like. And what is God's character?

1) God is love.

2) God is compassionate.

3) God is forgiving.

4) God is gracious.

God is many other great things, but these are the basics of who he is and

why we must apply his word to our daily lives. We must read and study
the scriptures everyday, pray on a daily basis, find a great Church, go to

Bible talks, pray with other disciples, and fellowship with other disciples.

This is the difference between being religious and spiritual. When you put

the word of God into practice and actually do what it says, you become a

truly spiritual person. As Jesus Christ says in John 3:21, "But whoever

lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that

what he has done has been done through God."

We as Christians, need to focus more on being spiritual, instead of trying

to be religious.
 The Problem with Denominations

Since I've started on my walk with God, I've learned so much about the

different denominations of Christianity. I figured that since I'm becoming

a Christian, I should know what I'm getting myself into. Luckily for me,

my Church is non-denominational and we follow what the scriptures say.

I'm not saying that makes my Church perfect, because it's gone through

some dark times as well. But we don't try not to mistranslate what the

scriptures say, we don't attempt to interpret them differently from what

the scriptures actually say, or pick out whatever makes us feel good. We

follow the Word of God, and put it into practice.

What's interesting to me, are the thousands of different denominations

that I've either been told about, or read about. According to Wikipedia,

there are over 38,000 Christian denominations. And I'm willing to bet that

only a couple of them actually follow what the scriptures say.

Example: Some Evangelist Churches can be pretty lazy when it comes to

certain scriptures, like Baptism. Some Churches don't feel that Baptism is

all that important, and that you only need to have faith in Jesus Christ to

get into Heaven. While other Churches feel that you should be Baptized as

an infant, even though that type of Baptism isn't supported by scripture

at all. Other Churches believe that you can Baptize yourself, but that's not
what is said in the scriptures. While faith is absolutely required for

Baptism, faith is not the only thing that makes a disciple of Jesus Christ.

You have to be Baptized, to wash away your sins, and be united with God.

And Christ calls upon us to imitate him, so we must be baptized, since HE

was baptized. So why do some denominations ignore the importance of

Baptism? Baptism is basically our marriage to God.

While I appreciate the Catholic Church, and many of the great things that

it has done for the world, and I rejoice at the fact that they spread the

Gospel, however, has become a church system that attempts to control

and abuse people.

Priests in the past, would be the only ones reading the Bible and preach

the Word in Latin not English, which can be a dangerous thing, since they

would be the only ones utilizing the Bible to teach the people.

They also threatened and attempted to kill anyone who tried to translate

the Bible into English. It's easy to control people, when you're the only

one preaching the Word, and no one else has the word in their hands to

read along during that time.

And I don't believe Jesus would even approve today's Catholic Church,

since Jesus was basically homeless and he did not like organized religion.
Christ didn't come down to Earth to start a religion, he came to save our

souls. According to the Gospels, Jesus was not a founder of a religion. His

teachings were completed and written before Christianity was ever

coined. The Bible was written, and completed before Christianity was ever

founded. In the NIV translation, Christianity is only mentioned one time!

Mormonism is not Christianity. They believe in a false Jesus. They believe

that Jesus is the brother of Satan. Mormonism claims that Jesus came

from planet Kolob. Mormonism teaches that we can become Gods, have

our own planets and have polygamous sex for eternity.

In the 1950's, Mormons preached that the only way a black man could

get into Heaven, was as a slave.

Mormons also claimed that Native Americans are the lost tribe of Israel.

Joseph Smith was basically a con man and is the founder of this religion.

Brigham Young stated that race mixing should be punishable by death

and that any White Mormon who mixes with a Black person must have

their head cut off.

Mormonism is not Christianity!

There are denominations that misinterpret the Bible and use it against

people. There are ministries who claim that "God hates fags", when the

Bible clearly states that God loves everybody. God doesn't hate anybody,
because God is love, God is grace, and God is compassionate. But

because of people's sinful nature, we like to twist and turn what the

scriptures say, and use them to hurt other people. This may be a reason

why Christianity is losing it's numbers, because many people have been

hurt by different denominations, who stopped focusing on Christ and

started focusing on themselves: Jesus Christ should always be the head of

the Church.

If Christ isn't the main focus, the Church will fall apart. When he's not the

main focus, the Bible isn't the standard anymore. Jesus Christ must

always be the main focus, and the Holy Bible should always be the

standard for every Church.

Growing In Grace International Ministry,is run by a man, José Luis de

Jesús Miranda, who claims to be the reincarnation of Jesus Christ. His

ministry has over 100,000 followers, and his members bear the mark of

the beast, which is 666. Sounds more like the anti-Christ to me! Don't

believe me? Look him up.

Luckily, Jesus Christ, warns us about false prophets in Luke 7:15, it says,

"Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep's clothing, but

inwardly they are ferocious wolves."

Jesus says this again in Matthew 24:11, "and many false prophets will

appear and deceive many people."

And 2 Peter 2:1-22 completely talks about false teachers and their

destruction.

If any person claims to be God, or related to Jesus Christ in any way, they

are lying. When Jesus comes back, we will know it because he'll return in

a way that is described and written in the scriptures.

Another denomination that contradicts scripture, are Jehovah Witnesses.

They constantly try to predict when the world will come to an end, and

when the Day of Judgement will arrive. Well guess what, nobody knows

when the Day of Judgement will come. The Bible states that anyone who

tries to predict when the father will come, is a false prophet, or just

creating false prophecy.

Jesus talks about "The Day and the Hour Unknown" in Matthew 24:36-51.

According to the Son of God, it is unknown when that day will come. He is

the Son of God, and even he states that only the father knows when that

day will come. Read Luke 17:20-24, it validates the fact that only God

knows when the Kingdom will come.

Jesus didn't know, then we definitely don't know when the Day of

Judgement will come. So will the world end in December of 2012? I hope

not, because I still want to write a couple more books, become a director

or a screenwriter, and I want to get married and probably start a family.

But according to scripture, it most likely will not come to an end in 2012.

Because the world will not end, according our own predictions. Something

might happen in 2012, but not what some people want to believe. Jesus

is the Son of God, and he didn't know, then we don't know, because we're

not God.

And in the end, who cares? The fact that denominations like Jehovah

Witnesses spend time trying to predict when the world will end, means

that they missed the point of Jesus's sacrifice. Christians spend a lot of

time waiting for the world to end, when they should be serving people,

helping people, and doing what Christ commanded us to do, which is to

love one another. That was his greatest commandment. He said, "You

shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul,

and with all your mind! The second is, "You shall love your neighbor as

yourself!

So my message to everybody is this. Don't follow people, and don't follow

yourself. Follow Jesus Christ. Because he is the Way, the Truth, and the

Life.
 Chapter 3

Why Atheism Doesn't Work

Atheism has no moral compass. A lot of atheists live by their own

morality, or their own logic. And their morals shift like the wind, or remain

unchanged until a new morality pops up.

But what is their foundation? What makes them different from other

groups? Nothing. Atheists share the same flaws and problems of most

Christians. If God isn't their foundation, then what is their morality?

Does morality come and go? Or do people base their moral perspectives,

on their instincts? Personally, I don't think people would know that it's

wrong to kill, if a powerful force like God hadn't written it down. When

God is in the picture as our teacher, we start to correct our behavior.

If two guys get into an argument, and see a group of police officers, they

might have more control over their emotions and not allow their shouting

match to escalate into something worse. But if the cops are not seen a

fight may occur.

I can safely say that I would be more out of control and have less self

control without God in my life. In middle school, I would get into fights,

and make sure that the teachers wouldn't catch me. Because if they did, I

would get in trouble. If I saw a teacher, I would stop fighting and act

normal.

But the point is that with an authoritative figure around, people act more

civilized. And that's why humanity needs God. America would not have

turned out to be such a great country, without a Christian world view.

Sure, some of the founding fathers were non believers, but they saw the

value in the moral teachings of Jesus Christ. So the Bible was their

foundation.

When I tried to be an atheist, I failed miserably. Because I still believed in

fate and destiny, and it didn't feel right. As an atheist, you have to deny

the very thing that makes you human. It's in our nature to worship and

idolize people and materialistic things.

If you're not worshiping God, you will worship something else, art, a

statue, or an object. Before God came into my life, I was worshiping

movies, women, comic-books, and anime. So no matter what we do,

humanity will worship something. It's just a natural thing that people do.
Which means that Atheism attempts to be anti-human. And when atheists

become corrupt, they go to the extreme. Like Stalin, Adolf Hitler, Mao, Pol

Pot, Marquis de Sade, and Madalyn Murray O'Hair. When you ignore an

authoritative figure like God, you tend to have less self control.

When a dictator with Atheistic ideologies is in charge, he will usually make

people worship him and the people who work under his regime. So when

God isn't being worshiped, people start worshiping themselves. That's

logical, and it is exactly what happens.

Now an atheist who seeks love and truth, will find it. That atheist will turn

out to be a good person, because they're seeking the right things in life. A

Christian who seeks the opposite of love and truth, is not a good

Christian.

A good Christian seeks love and truth, and follows Jesus Christ. When an

atheist attempts to ignore the morality in the Bible, they're ignoring the

truth. And when they ignore the truth that God gives us, they'll simply

follow their own truth, and their own morality, or the morality of the

society that they live in.

If a society tells an atheist to rape someone, will they do it? Probably,

since they don't follow the morality in the Bible, and might end up

following the morality of their society.

Over the past 2,000 years, morality has changed and shifted in different

cultures, because a lot of morality is simply man made, and doesn't have

a real foundation.

But God's morality, in the New Testament, has remained the same over

the past 2,000 years. The Old Testament has remained the same as well,

with the New Testament as the addition.

Since Christians aren't bound to the Old Testament anymore, the New

Testament is the true morality, because it comes from God himself. Any

other morality in the last 2,000 years is not real morality, since it is most

likely man-made.

Modern Atheists don't seem to have real convictions either. Guys like

Richard Dawkins and Bill Maher go on to bash religion (especially

Christianity), and then almost acknowledge that there might be some

kind of higher power. They don't directly say it, but they come around to

the idea.

I admire the convictions of Frederick Nietzsche, because he claimed that

"God is dead", and we killed him. I disagree with that, because of my

faith and the evidence that supports the existence of God and Jesus's

resurrection. Nietzsche not only denied the scriptures in the New

Testament, but acknowledge them at the same time. Because technically,

he would be correct, if God is truly dead. Since Jesus was both the son of

God and God in the flesh, then if Jesus wasn't resurrected, then we

basically killed God. Luckily, the evidence supports the existence of God.

Either way, atheism literally means the "one who says there is no God, or

there are no gods." So if an atheist wants to live by that statement, then

they should own up to it. Instead of losing their convictions, and admit

that there might be a "force."

Which is what Bill Maher had to admit on his show "Real Time With Bill

Maher." So modern atheists don't seem to have strong convictions.

I'm not saying that we Christians don't struggle, but a great Christian

must always stick to their convictions.

When you don't have God in your life, you're lost. When you do follow

God and his Word, you're on the right path to truth and love. When I look

at the so-called founders of modern atheism, they had real problems. Not

just with their faith, but with their entire out-look on life. Their names are

Darwin, Frederick Nietzsche, and Sigmund Freud. Now atheism has been

around for thousands of years, but modern Atheism seems to be

influenced by these three men.

Atheism is not a positive position, since it's an anti position. How can an

Atheist know that there is no God? The Universe is enormous, so how can

an Atheist know that God doesn't exist? He or she would have to travel

around the Universe, in order to know that. They would need to have a

complete knowledge of the cosmos to know if God exists, or not. In other

words, Atheists would have to be the very thing that their denying exists.

And since Atheists are human, they don't have that type of knowledge so

this position self destructs.

Atheism has a materialistic philosophy, that only grasps part of reality. An

Atheist might say, "Well to each his (or her) own. If you have faith, then

it's true for you, but not true for me." Well guess what, faith does not

create truth. Faith apprehends truth, and truth comes before faith. And

faith is actually a response to truth. In fact, it's really defined as a

response to evidence, and that's just one component of faith. Just

because an Atheist doesn't believe, doesn't mean there can't be a God.

Because truth does not exist only in the head, it isn't subjective, it has an

objective component.

Another problem with Atheism, is that man is not created to be an

Atheist. People are religious creatures. If people don't have God as the

center of their life, something else will be there. It might be sports,

people, money, art, a country, drugs, sex, or alcohol. Whatever gives you

a sense of meaning, whatever is most important, that center is your God.

So you don't have to believe in God, in order to have a god. Which means

that everybody has a god. Humanity seems to be hard wired to worship

or idolize something.

Atheism simply doesn't work. I haven't met anybody who says, "Thank

goodness for Atheism." Nobody really claims that their lives were terrible,

until they met some Atheists, and now their lives are complete. I haven't

heard anybody give credit to Atheism for improving their marriage, their

lives, or their health. People give credit to God for having wonderful

changes. It is God who gets the credit, for making marriages improve, or

having somebody give up drinking and smoking. So Atheism doesn't

work.

Now I want to discuss three of the most influential men for modern

Atheism, which are Charles Darwin, Frederick Nietzsche, and Sigmund

Freud. Charles Darwin lived from 1809 to 1882. He was British, a

naturalist, and an exponent of evolutionary theory. Nietzsche lived from

1844 to 1900, he was a German. Freud lived from 1856 to 1939, and

worked in Austria.

Now Darwin was a genius. I haven't read the "Origin of Species", but I've

read Darwin's theory on evolution and his life story, and it's amazing.

What's interesting about Darwin, is that when he knew that his argument

was weak, he admitted it.

His life was very interesting. His family were liberal Christians and

atheists, with a history of insanity. Darwin seemed to worry that he would

lose his sanity. He didn't remember much about his mother, and his

father was enormous. He was 6.2 and weighed 345 pounds. He was a

strict disciplinarian and authoritative figure.

Darwin went to medical school and then theology school. He became a

ship's naturalist. What's interesting is when he would set out on the

Beegle in 1831, his health would improve. But when he came home, his

health would decline. Psychosomatic illnesses and depression would

resume when he came home in 1836. Many books have diagnosed him as

having unresolved feelings with his father which effected his

psychosomatic ally. When he was away, his health was good. When he

came back, it was poor. There is something to that.

Darwin had a negative experience with Christianity. When he was on the

Beagle, Captain Fitzroy firmly believed in slavery, and he would used the

Bible to justify it. That definitely effected Darwin's attitude towards

Christianity.

According to my research, when Darwin wrote "Origins", he seemed to

have been a believer. But by the time he wrote "The Descent of Man" in

1871, he had become an unbeliever. The amazing thing is that his wife
was always a believer, and Darwin continued to give to Christian

missionary efforts until he died. He was a complex figure.

The theory of evolution, which is organic matter giving rise to life, is an

ancient concept. There were Greeks 2000 years before Darwin, who were

teaching that. Darwin admitted that his theology was not coherent, the

universe didn't seem to come by chance, yet he didn't see the evidence of

a design. He said that were was no design, and everything in nature is a

result of fixed laws. Fixed laws?

Now imagine you living in a house, and somebody claims that there is no

design in a house. It's just a result of fixed laws That person is able to

explain how a house was built, and doesn't need a creator. Everything

obeys the laws of physics and chemistry. Well what's the difference

between design and fixed laws. They sound very similar to me.

People can see that Darwin contradicted himself, when he stated that

there is no design, but there are fixed laws. When we have fixed laws,

there is the strong suggestion of a design, and a designer. The fact that

there is creation, means that there is a creator.

Darwin was very influential, maybe the most influential scientist of the

19th century. Influential in the biological sciences, and evolution spread

to other sciences as well. He's influenced 20th century philosophers, and

social sciences, including religion.

Darwin was one of the major prophets of Atheism and his influence for

Atheism was probably more indirect, then intentional or direct. But as

we're all aware, Darwinism and modern evolutionary theory has been

wrapped up with the Atheism or Theism debate.

The next prophet that I'm gonna talk about is Frederick Nietzsche. He

lived from 1844 to 1900. He was an ingenious philosopher and writer. If

you haven't read his books, I recommend "Will To Power", and "Beyond

Good and Evil." I warn all Christians who are brave enough to read his

books, to please read them with a guarded heart. Nietzsche was not a

friend to Christianity.

He's the one who famously said, "God is dead." He said in 1879, "Promise

me that when I die, only my friends shall stand my side, and no

inquisitive crowd. See that no priest or anyone else under false hoods at

my grave site when I can no longer protect myself. And let me descend

into my tomb, as an honest pagan."

Nietzsche was very consistent with his Atheism. He didn't contradict

himself, nor were his beliefs open for interpretations. He was a man of
conviction. Darwin continued to support Christian missions, and his wife

was very devout. Nietzsche was different.

He was born in 1844, his father and both his grandfathers were clergy

men. His father suffered from mental illness and died in 1848, when

Nietzsche was four. Nietzsche is then brought up in an all female

household, he was left without a male role model. Obviously, boys can be

brought up with sisters and mothers, and turn out fine. But sometimes, it

can deeply effect the identity and the sexuality of that boy. Nietzsche had

a homosexual background, he had strong feelings towards the musician

Wagner, who refused his advances. Nietzsche advocated a homosexual

life, but he seemed to have a chaste life.

If he was involved sexually, it was at a minimal level. He probably died of

syphilis, but that's not certain. Like Darwin, he was sent to theology

school and left in 1865. After he began to write, he entered a state of

insanity. That happened from 1889 until his death in 1900. During that

time, he wrote one of his most famous works called the "Antichrist," one

of the most well written anti-Christian books I have ever read.

Nietzsche said "God is dead." What did he mean? Was God alive, and then

he died? What Nietzsche was saying is God is dead in society. God doesn't

function in society anymore. And if God is dead, that means there is no

father figure, or ultimate authority figure. There is no absolute morality.

This is the true significance of Nietzsche. But if God is dead, somebody

has to take his place. As I mentioned, we are religious creatures. There is

a hole that has to be filled by something. And if God is dead, then there is

no morality, which leads to some dark places. So there must be a God.

Nietzsche made a couple predictions of the 20th century. He predicted it

would be the bloodiest century ever, and a pall of insanity would fall upon

the human race. I guess these predictions came true.

Nietzsche was no friend to Christianity, his personal motto was, "Be hard,

live dangerously." Who did Nietzsche inspire? He inspired, Idi Admin,

Daniel Ortega, Fidel Castro, and Adolf Hitler.

Like Nietzsche and Darwin, Hitler had a bad experience with his father. He

counted that he received 230 strokes from his father, while his mother

stood powerless not interfering. In 1923, Hitler was investigating, thinking

of selective breeding ideas and considered Africans to be half-apes.

Nietzsche was Hitler's favorite philosopher, and he even gave a copy of

one of Nietzsche's books to Mussolini.

Hitler needed a figure like Nietzsche to justify his ideas. Nietzsche was

consistent, and he was insane. Did he go insane because of his ideas? I

think so. But could he live with his ideas? Like with many intellectuals,
they practice one thing, but it is not what they preach. Beware of people

who don't follow their own advice. There are a couple scriptures on this.

Like Matthew 23:3, and Matthew 7:20.

Nietzsche is arguably the most influential Atheist of our time. Without

God, what morality is there? Nietzsche might have deeply disturbed the

Church.

A large portion of the American population claims to be saved, but only a

small percent accept a Biblical world view. Like Jesus being divine, the

Bible is the standard, there is a Heaven and a Hell, adultery is a sin,

follow the ten commandments. In the religious world, morality has

declined dramatically.

The third and last Atheist is Sigmund Freud, who lived from 1856 to 1939.

He was a brilliant man, a neurologist. He also hated his father. You start

to see the theme emerging here. Most peoples' concept of God, is of the

concept of their own father. And if that person feels hurt or abandoned by

their father, it effects their concept of God. This isn't just true for men,

but for women as well. It is definitely true for me, since the troubled

relationship I had with my father, effected how I viewed God.

It wasn't just the tragedies that hurt my relationship with God, it was also

the strife that I had with my father. Because of my father, I couldn't trust
men. I'm a man, so I couldn't really trust myself, which meant that I was

unable to trust Jesus and God. It took me awhile to realize that, and a

little longer to trust Jesus and his father again.

Freud had obsessive dreams. He repeatedly dreamed that he would kill

his father, in order to sleep with his mother. It's been said that he

projected these obsessions onto the rest of mankind, without statistical

evidence.

Freud felt that if man was freed of religion, he would have a better chance

to live a better and more wholesome life. He considered the Roman

Catholic Church to be his enemy. Freud died as the Nazis were coming to

power. He considered religion to be a neurosis, and that the spiritual

world was just a perception.

Freud was an addict of strong drugs, and a heavy smoker up to 20 cigars

a day. Sadly, he developed Cancer of the mouth, and he was deeply

depressed, just like Darwin. Nietzsche was insane during the last 11 or 12

years of his life. Can these men live with their own system? That is the

real question.

When you look at these three men, they have a couple things in common.

A poor father relationship, depression, and inability to live within their

own value system.

Atheism appeals to selfish human nature. When I tried to be a non-

believer, it was out of selfish reasons. I wanted to live as I pleased not

according to what God wanted from me, but what I wanted for my self. I

had no order, or self control.

If we believe that there is a God, and an accountability to how we live, we

live our lives differently. We live a moral way. If we didn't believe in God

and felt that there is no accountability, we would live differently. So of

course atheism appeals to selfish human nature.

In the end, God must exist. Without him (or her), the world would be in

chaos. With his (or her) existence, the world will keep itself together.
 Chapter 4

Human Suffering

I want to talk about human suffering. There is the intellectual Christian

evidence: Can God's existence be proven? Can one prove the existence of

atheism, or the existence of science in the Bible?

Yet they're intellectual discussions, and I would like to focus more on the

heart.

I want to become more personal. The era of human suffering is one that

involves the heart. It is the biggest obstacle to faith. Its most present and

pervasive influence makes people discount God. I would know, because

it's happened to me.

I began to lose my faith, when my father chose to castigate me for

wearing a cross. He asked, "What are you? A Christian?" At the time my

father was an agnostic.

I almost completely lost my faith when 9/11 happened. I asked God "Why

did you allow this to happen?" I asked the same question with Hurricane

Katrina in 2005, and received no answer. I lost my faith completely.

Suffering pain and unanswerable questions affect non-believers, and

believers alike. Because we ask, "How did a loving God allow this to

happen?" "How did he cause these events to occur?"

I recall the pain I felt when I saw people jumping out of the World Trade

Center on 9/11. I remember the anger that I felt, when the Government

didn't move fast enough to help the people stuck in New Orleans during

Katrina. And I'll never forget the pain and anguish I felt when my

grandmother passed away on the day before Thanksgiving, in November

of 2004. You can only imagine the sorrow and emptiness that I felt during

her funeral in December.

People criticize God in the Bible. People claim that God must be all

powerful and good. But given all the suffering in the world, he may be all

powerful, but he's not doing anything. As George Carlin once said, he

probably just doesn't care. That he is simply not doing anything. Or he

might be good, but he lacks the power. That he's not all omnipotent, and

that he's not all powerful. Now that is a powerful objection, and it is

highly understandable, when you have extremely high expectations of

what you want from God.

While the world is beautiful, majestic, and fun to explore, we have to deal

with the reality of it. There is suffering all over the world. There is

poverty. There are genocides being committed right now, as I'm creating

this book. There is famine and hunger.

People like to point the finger at God and ask, "why is this happening?"

Everyone realizes that there are enough resources to meet the needs of

people around the world. The resources aren't the problem, it's the

distribution of our resources. Some people sin and keep other people from

obtaining certain resources, meanwhile keeping the precious materials for

themselves; this is sad but true reality of our time.

Crime occurs all over the world. There is crime in the streets, unexpected

crime in schools and places of business.

There is pollution, and a lack of ecological concern! This is what we are

doing to our selves.

There is the tragic and dismal history of slavery, which has nearly been

eradicated in the world today. There has always been tremendous

suffering throughout history and people ask "Where is God?"

Alcohol and drug abuse takes many lives. People smoke and they get

cancer. We do this to ourselves. I don't want to point the finger, or blame

anyone or anything. I just want to talk about the suffering that we put

ourselves through.

Then there is War and all the suffering it entails. The escalation of

unspeakable atrocities done to others with each war.

The suffering that emanates from inflexible political ideologies.

In the 20th century alone, how many people have died from starvation or

have been murdered by execution because of atheistic ideologies?

And I'm talking about the larger situations, like the old Soviet Union, or

Hitler's power in World War 2. Nearly 100 million people have died under

atheistic ideologies, which is more then the combine deaths of all religious

wars put together.

In our world, we face the horror of terrorism. There has been genocide,

after genocide throughout the world. Like in Rwanda, and in many parts

of Asia. In the Holocaust, over 13 million people were exterminated. Half

of them were Jews, others were gypsies, the handicapped, homosexuals,

and people who were deemed undesirable. Where was God?

How much suffering have I gone through, when I become deeply

depressed. I suffer from a severe case of OCD, I was diagnosed with PDD

as a child and Aspergers, which draws similarities to OCD, and Bi-polar

disorder.

I don't blame my disorders for my having had conflicts with people, and

my family, but because of my disabilities, I've had to deal with suffering

and conflict.
My mother has gone through a lot of physical and emotional pain,

because of our family history. We had to move from San Antonio to New

York City, because she felt that her life was being threatened by my

father, when he hit her on her right arm. I wasn't there when it

happened, but she told me about the incident. She called the police , and

basically had him kicked out of our house.

I was over at a friends house playing X-Box when all of this was

happening, and my friends family made sure that I wouldn't leave and go

to my house and confront my father for what he did to my mother.

I've come to realize that maybe that's what my dad wanted me to do, so

that I would be in jail. There have been times when I feel that he blames

us for his girlfriend dumping him, and wanted to take his anger out on

both of us. Where was God, when all this chaos was happening?

When people ask these questions, they're not looking for the answer.

They are not looking for the "answer man." They are looking more for

empathy, grace, and insight. And I can't give anybody a satisfying

answer, just a perspective from the Bible.

The beginning of this answer is that God allows us to have free will, that's

a part of humanity. If a person was reprogrammed to love me, and show

affection towards me, that would not be love or affection. I don't know

what that would be.

But because of free will, love means so much more, yet free will can be

risky, because it can be abused.

Some of the Angels abused free will, and they fell from Heaven. Adam

and Eve had free will and paradise, but they abused it, and caused the

original sin to occur. I guess what I'm saying is that free will can be

dangerous, even though it is apart of humanity.

Pain isn't a bad thing; it's good to feel pain. People pray to be "free from

pain," but that's not the spirit of Christ. Jesus suffered, and went through

pain that we'll never fully comprehend to be a ransom for us. My being a

Christian, means that I have to suffer and go through pain as Jesus

promised in the scriptures.

Luke 9:23 says,

"Then he said to them all: "If anyone would come after me, he must deny

himself and take up his cross daily and follow me."

Whatever pain, and suffering we are dealing with, that is the cross that

we have to carry. The things that we struggle with in life, is the cross that

we must always carry.

Colossians 1:29 says,

"To this end I labor, struggling with all his energy, which so powerfully

works in me."

Suffering is apart of being a Christian. We've not only been granted to

worship him, but to suffer for him as well.

John 16:19-24 says,

"Jesus saw that they wanted to ask him about this, so he said to them,

"Are you asking one another what I meant when I said, 'In a little while

you will see me no more, and then after a little while you will see me'? I

tell you the truth, you will weep and mourn while the world rejoices. You

will grieve, but your grief will turn to joy.

A woman giving birth to a child has pain because her time has come; but

when her baby is born she forgets the anguish because of her joy that a

child is born into the world.

So with you: Now is your time of grief, but I will see you again and you

will rejoice, and no one will take away your joy.

In that day you will no longer ask me anything. I tell you the truth, my

Father will give you whatever you ask in my name. Until now you have

not asked for anything in my name. Ask and you will receive, and your

joy will be complete."

Pain is always a great thing to have, because we learn from it. We grow

from it, and if we persevere through it, we become even better and wiser

as individuals. When you put your hand in a fire, it hurts, and it hurts so

that you won't do it again. Pain enables us to stop doing hurtful things to

others, because if you treat others badly, it ruins friendships and

relationships.

If you've been hurt in a relationship or friendship, that pain reminds you

to never go through that again.

Therefore, work must hard on finding a better friendship, or a better

relationship. Pain is our reality. But pain is one of the greatest gifts that

God has ever given us.

Pain also helps us to form bonds with others, and to help other people.

Pain enables us to care for others, to shine, and relate to one another. We

all respect those who have overcome their pain, risen up, and not have

become embittered, but instead have been transformed by pain (Romans

5:1-5).
Through pain, character is built. And with a hopeful attitude, that

scripture doesn't disappoint.

Even death itself is a gift from God, because that is an end to suffering.

And according to my faith, when we die, we meet our maker. When we

die (believers and atheists), we will see God. So even death is a gift, that

makes us appreciate life.

There are no easy answers. Formerly people thought that Christianity

offered easy answers, and an escape from pain. But if that were true,

more people would be flocking to it. But no, authentic Christianity is not

an escape from pain. Christians need to be more honest about the reality

of following Christ, and that it can be very painful at times. Because Satan

will constantly attack us with myriad temptations and struggles.

Some Christians like to say "just pray about it." Well, while prayer does

help, giving that advice is not empathic. Some say that it's better this

way, or that it's because of our sinful nature. Those are cheap answers,

and they don't help anybody. Some Christians will say that God only

protects true believers. That isn't true.

A Christian might say that God blesses people who do good, and punishes

those who do wrong. Well people who do wrong, seem to be blessed by

God, and aren't suffering that much; While people who do good,

constantly suffer daily.

There are hard realities in this world. Sin is a hard reality. There are laws

in this world, moral laws, and the laws of gravity. A person can be

dishonest with himself and jump off a cliff and say "I don't care." Well

that doesn't matter, because you will either hurt yourself, or die.

Dishonesty will create separation, i.e.cheating on your spouse. That is

God's moral law, and a contract in America. Dishonesty destroys

relationships, and friendships in any culture and generation. Dishonesty is

wrong, and that's an absolute law.

These are hard realities, and there are no really good answers, but pain is

still a blessing. Even things that one might consider to be curse, can also

also be a blessing. I consider Earthquakes to be a bad thing, but

according to scientists, without earthquakes, there would be no life on

Earth. Storms frighten me sometimes, but without storms, there would be

no life on Earth.

People also seem to blame God, while ignoring the fact that they probably

caused their own suffering. Like the fact that a lot of people live right next

to Volcanoes, and then blame God for the Volcano erupting and

destroying their homes. So then they'll probably blame God, and forget

the fact that they were dumb enough to build their houses right next to

Volcanoes.
There is also purpose in suffering. Romans 8:28 says,

"And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love

him, who have been called according to his purpose."

So good comes out of evil. Good comes out of evil? Of course. The

crucifixion of Jesus Christ was an evil act, but it lead to our redemption,

our rescue, and ransom. Through Jesus's suffering, he took on the burden

of our sins, in order for us to have a personal and loving relationship with

God. He died, to save us, and then he conquered death by being

resurrected. After all of that suffering, good prevailed. So good does come

from suffering.

From a Biblical perspective, there are no easy answers. There are

answers, but not cheap answers. And it is not wrong to question. Even

the prophets and the people written in the Bible constantly questioned

God.

Look at Habakkuk 1: 2-4.

Habakkuk is very disturbed in this scripture, and wonders why all of the

destruction around him is happening.

Jeremiah's complains in chapter 12:1-4.

"You are always righteous, O LORD,

when I bring a case before you.

Yet I would speak with you about your justice:

Why does the way of the wicked prosper?

Why do all the faithless live at ease?

You have planted them, and they have taken root;

they grow and bear fruit.

You are always on their lips

but far from their hearts. Yet you know me, O LORD;

you see me and test my thoughts about you.

Drag them off like sheep to be butchered!

Set them apart for the day of slaughter! How long will the land lie

parched

and the grass in every field be withered?

Because those who live in it are wicked,

the animals and birds have perished.

Moreover, the people are saying,

"He will not see what happens to us."

I've probably thought that. Why do people who deny God, or do bad

things seem to prosper, while believers who attempt to do God's work,

may suffer for it? I constantly ask myself that question, and then I tell

myself to trust in him and stay focused on what I must do as a Christian.

If a Christian has never wondered about this, I don't think they've been

honest about their feelings or thoughts.

Psalm 73 talks about why the world is so attractive, and the temptation of

living a sinful life. He felt like giving up at one point. But he finally

understood, buy being in the light of eternity.

Abraham, who was the father of the faithful, had a problem with God. And

this was long before the birth of Jesus Christ. Read Genesis 18:25.

Abraham basically bargains with God, in that book.

Abraham was real, he had a problem, and he was very honest with God.

Many Christians, and most non-believers have problems with God's

justice, and what is said in the Bible. I'm troubled that only a few will get

into Heaven. But if we don't talk about them, or be genuine and authentic

about our issues, I don't think it will help us spiritually. If we talk about

them and study them accurately, then it will definitely help us spiritually.

I think the Book of Job is the classic story of suffering in the Bible. Sadly,

I haven't read the entire book yet, but it's definitely a story to read and

understand. Did the story really happen? Maybe. But anybody who has

ever suffered or gone through any type of pain, can relate to Job and

understand what that story really means.

But I will mention that God does not tell Job why he was suffering. I've

had to learn to not ask so many questions to God, and learn to trust him,

and leave it in his hands. Because living a life of ambiguity with God, is

not always healthy. It's great to ask questions, but it's better to just let

things go, to get out of God's way, and allow him to do his work, and

follow him.

Another Biblical perspective is Jesus Christ dying for us. And that God

relates to our suffering.

In the cross, God reaches us, to hold us, to embrace us, and help us deal

with the emotional pain. We must understand the crucial role of the cross,

the cross as it relates to our suffering and pain.

As we learn to imitate Christ, we must take responsibility. We must

actively do something to help others, and to help the world. This can be

done, by being open, honest, and sharing our pain with others.
 Love is the Greatest Risk You Will
Ever Take

Love is a hard thing, because it makes us vulnerable. When you show

love and compassion, you open yourself up to be hurt or maybe killed.

Jesus teaches to not only love our neighbors, but to love our enemies.

That's not the American way of life and it's not how humanity functions.

No, we're suppose to hate our enemies, and persecute those who attempt

to persecute us. But this is not what Jesus teaches. His teachings are

different and more profound.

"Love your Enemies" is a hard teaching that I must apply to my daily life.

If the whole world just followed these two teachings, it would be an

entirely different place. But we don't, so this teaching challenges us to

look at ourselves and change our character. If some wants to strike, or

strike me, I must turn the other cheek. Because of this teaching, Martin

Luther King , Jr made a huge impact in the world. And if it were not for

his stance on non-violence, I don't think racial segregation and racial

discrimination would have ended as quickly. Of course, there's still racism

in the world, but Martin Luther King Jr, is one of the many reasons to why

the Jim Crow Laws ceased to exist.

In 1964, Martin Luther King Jr, was the youngest man to ever win the

Nobel Peace Prize for his work to end racial segregation and racial

discrimination through civil disobedience and other "non-violent" means.

And that was because of Jesus's teachings. Martin not only listened to the

word, he applied it to his life. Ghandi did the same thing, and he had an

entirely different faith from my own.

Most Rabbi's (if any) have never done this. To this day, they don't follow

the actions of Jesus.

One of the sisters at my Church told me about the experiences she had

when she visited Israel 5 years ago.

She was sitting with probably 5 or 6 other Rabbi's, and she was having a

good conversation with one of them. When she had to go, she tried to

shake his hand, and he said "no." She asked him why, he said, "I'm cool,

but I'm not that cool." At first she thought he didn't want to shake her

hand, because of her ethnicity or something she couldn't imagine. Later,

she realized it was because she was a woman.

Jesus was ahead of his time, his teachings demonstrate how he showed

his love towards humanity.

When a person become a disciple, they must imitate Jesus Christ, they

must show love to the people who hate them, persecute and disrespect
them. They must always show love and compassion towards others,

because that's what Jesus did.

I pray that my book reaches out to you, and opens up your heart. I pray

it will encourage you to read the Bible, and get to know God. God bless

you all, and let's attempt to obey Jesus's greatest commandment. Which

is to "love one another."

 Sources

The Holy Bible

From Facts to Faith DVD- Douglas Jacoby

Compelling Evidence for God and The Bible- Douglas Jacoby

The Case for the real Jesus Christ- Lee Strobel

http://www.christiancourier.com/

www.gotquestions.org

http://www.zeitgeistmovie.com

Bill Maher's "Religulous"

Real Tim with Bill Maher

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Friedrich_Nietzsche
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Darwin

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sigmund_Freud