"You had quoted bible in your comment. Everybody knows bible was written after Christ's death, invariably by fallible, mortal men. Then how can you trust Bible? How can we be sure that everything written in bible has actually come from God? Many such religious texts have been written, before and after bible, some with much more philosophical wisdom than bible."
Answer:
I would invite you to read two books that might help you understand the supernatural nature of the Bible:
(1) A Case For Faith - by Lee Strobel
(2) Evidence That Demands a Verdict - by Josh McDowell
These books are a good place to start if you really want to understand why Christians state emphatically, over and over, that the Bible is inerrant and written infallibly by God. Ponder this: if in fact there is a God supernatural and powerful enough to create things as complex as zebras and eyeballs and ecosystems and blue whales, with that kind of power, couldn't this God have found a way to create a Book, using human agents inspired by his Holy Spirt, that revealed who He was and what He requires of us? I would submit that He did, and a careful, comparative study between the Bible and the "holy writings" of other religious traditions reveals this.
"As for the reliability of the Bible, there is no other book (66 books, actually, but all with the same message) written over a span of 1500 years, by more than 40 different author - from kings to fishermen - who have written about a "plan" for mankind which demeans man and offers a salvation not based on works or any merit of man. What man would make up such a thing to make himself so powerless with no capability of getting to heaven, or even a relationship with God, by means of any work of his own?
No other book has as many early manuscripts which match; consider the Dead Sea Scrolls. These recently discovered scrolls prove the Bible has stayed intact with the same message as in the earliest manuscripts.
Then, there is the resurrection of Jesus. Roman guards were assigned to his tomb, yet He still left it and appeared to over 500 witnesses. If those witnesses knew they were lying about such a story, why did they die martyrs' deaths for a lie? They would have been crazy.
Last, but not least, Jesus had to have been a lunatic and a liar if He was not God in the flesh. He could have never been "good" if He had claimed to be the only Savior by fraud. Interestingly, He fulfilled over 300 prophecies from the Old Testament to the New Testament. No other "holy" book can compare, and no other so-called "god" can compare to the testimony and deity of Jesus.
But, the most profound reason of all that people don't believe in Jesus is because they have a love for their own sin and are in rebellion against a holy God. Man wants to remain autonomous, but he cannot. He can't escape his guilty conscience, no matter how he tries."
Let me close, dear Reader, by telling you that, despite this wretched condition in which mankind finds itself, today can be the day of salvation for you, if you will repent and place your faith in Jesus's sacrifice on your behalf. But, if you do not, you will perish on the day of Judgment. You say that it's not fair for so many to hear this message and reject it. Well, you yourself have now clearly heard the gospel message and the way of salvation. What will you do with this knowledge? How will you respond? I urge you to humble yourself and bend the knee before a high and holy God. He is mighty to save.
Answers in Genesis, the premier apologetics ministry for the biblical account of creation, published an article a few years ago about a remarkable man in Netherlands who decided to build a model of Noah's ark, based on the parameters given in Genesis 6-9. Dutch businessman Johan Huibers has constructed an ark replica that is roughly one-fifth the size of the biblical ark represented in the historical account given in Genesis. Huibers has stated that his desire in doing this project was to bring about a renewed interest in Christianity to Netherlands.
I remember reading this article when it came out, and being so thankful for faithful men like Johan Huibers. We are living in dark times that only seem to be getting darker, but thankfully, there are always a few people hanging around who take God at his Word, right?
The ark is an amazing thing to ponder, from many different angles. Here is just one aspect to consider, though I hope to cover more in future articles:
My family and I spent the day on the lake yesterday with another family, good friends of ours. Because there were 8 of us (instead of our usual 4) and also because it was one of the busiest weekends of the year (Labor Day weekend), my husband reserved a pontoon boat for us. It occurred to me at some point during the day that I never get nervous when we are on the pontoon, even in the choppiest, busiest "water traffic." Why is this? Because a pontoon boat is incredibly stable, with its wide, flat bottom and evenly dispersed weight. Even in the roughest swells, it never even comes close to tipping. We have gone out before in some really fun, fast speed boats, but those can capsize in stormy or rough water. And it also occurred to me that a pontoon is built roughly like the ark that God had Noah build.....which of course was why the biblical, historical ark was so stable, even in the most cataclysmic flood the world has ever seen.
Just another reason to give glory to God, for ALL wisdom comes from him......even in something so humble as boat building.
❝Above all, let us pray daily that our own Christianity may at any rate be genuine, sincere, real and true. Our faith may be feeble, our hope dim, our knowledge small, our failures frequent, our faults many. But at all events letus be real and true. Let us be able to say with poor, weak, erring Peter, 'You, Lord, who know all things, know that I love You.' ❞ (John 21:17) -J.C. Ryle
I identify so much with the Apostle Peter. My own Christian journey has been like his in some ways: starting out with a zeal for God but no knowledge, being refined, being foolish, learning and being refined more, more foolishness, and finally knowing at the end that HE is God and I am small, insignificant, sinful and wretched. And sometimes all I can do is say, Lord, despite all my wretchedness, my sin, my foolishness, search my heart...and know that I love you.
Okay, it's official: Mormonism is crazier than Scientology. If you are not familiar with what Mormon theology is, you must watch this short, 6-minute cartoon. Planet Kolob, spirit babies and baptism of the dead. And yes, this really is Mormon doctrine, and yes, they really do believe this.
This recent YouTube video with Caryl Matrisciana on the dangers of yoga is both sobering and informative, and explains why Christians should not attempt to "blend" their worship of God with the pagan practices of Hinduism. This is a very timely issue right now, given that a Hollywood movie starring Julia Roberts (Eat, Pray, Love) is about to be released and will be presenting a glowing cinematic portrayal of a sanitized, Americanized version of Hinduism.
Yoga is the salvific practice of Hinduism; in other words, it is the Hindu form of "salvation." But Hindus have no concept of sin against a holy God....instead, it teaches that man's greatest problem is his ignorance that he is "God" (or Brahman). Obviously, this is very different from the Christian understanding of what salvation is: Jesus's atoning death for the forgiveness of sins, and being made right with a holy God.
Just a few more reasons why yoga cannot be separated from its occultic origins are:
(1) The mantra meditation lowers mental barriers and opens one up to the demonic realm (though it often doesn't "feel" demonic at first...it feels "good" and "spiritual".....even holy);
(2) The yoga positions themselves are all prayer postures designed to honor one of the millions of hindu gods;
(3) The "Namaste" is an unbiblical practice. "Namaste" is when the yoga practitioners bow to one another while each says "Namaste." "Namaste" means "I am bowing to the 'God' within you." This is obviously not a biblical concept because we cannot assume that everyone we would meet in life has God within them. For the Christian, there are only 2 kinds of people: those who are spiritually dead (the lost), and those who are born again believers in-dwelt by the Holy Spirit. For me to practice the "Namaste" would mean that I would be giving false hope and assurance to the lost that I am recognizing them as my spiritual brothers and sisters.
(4) The yoga positions themselves are not only for the purpose of honoring and worshiping Hindu gods, but they are done in a very specific order for the purpose of aligning and opening up the"chakra" system. It is believed that this alignment will not only enable one to meditate more deeply, but will also awaken something called "kundalini," also known as "serpent power." In the yoga tradition, it is believed that a "serpent" lies coiled and sleeping at the base of the spine until it is "awakened" and begins to uncoil, slowly moving its way up the spine, and allowing the practitioner deeper meditation and union with "Brahman."
Brahman is supposed to be this infinite, transcendent reality from which all things came - including the millions of Hindu gods. The aim of yoga is to attain union with Brahman......basically, the ultimate purpose of yoga is to release people from the Wheel of Life, and their karmic debts, and to prepare its practitioners for death.
However, the response I often hear from Christians is this: "But as a Christian, I can 'do' yoga unto the Lord!" My question would be: How is that any different from the golden calf incident, recorded in Exodus 32:1-6, in which Aaron tried to claim that they were honoring the Lord with their syncretized religious worship?
"When the people saw that Moses was so long in coming down from the mountain, they gathered around Aaron and said, "Come, make us gods who will go before us. As for this fellow Moses who brought us up out of Egypt, we don't know what has happened to him." Aaron answered them, "Take off the gold earrings that your wives, your sons and your daughters are wearing, and bring them to me." So all the people took off their earrings and brought them to Aaron. He took what they handed him and made it into an idol cast in the shape of a calf, fashioning it with a tool. Then they said, "These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of Egypt." When Aaron saw this, he built an altar in front of the calf and announced, "Tomorrow there will be a festival to the LORD." So the next day the people rose early and sacrificed burnt offerings and presented fellowship offerings. Afterward they sat down to eat and drink and got up to indulge in revelry." (Exodus 32:1-6, my emphasis)
This story is one of the most powerful biblical warnings there is against incorporating pagan practices into our worship of God. What most people don't realize is that this well-known incident wasn't about straight up paganism. No, this story records how God's chosen people blended together (1) what they had been taught to do by God with (2) pagan practices that were familiar to them from their years of captivity in Egypt. They knew about altars and making offerings to God. And they knew about pagan animal worship from their exposure to Egyptian culture. When Moses delayed returning to the people from atop the mountain where he was speaking with God, the people decided to create their own tangible way of worshiping God. So they set up an altar, added a little Egyptian flavor in the form of cow worship, and called it a festival for the Lord. And God saw this, and was very pleased? Not exactly. This is what the Bible records:
"Then the LORD said to Moses, "Go down, because your people, whom you brought up out of Egypt, have become corrupt. They have been quick to turn away from what I commanded them and have made themselves an idol cast in the shape of a calf. They have bowed down to it and sacrificed to it and have said, 'These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of Egypt.' "I have seen these people," the LORD said to Moses, "and they are a stiff-necked people. Now leave me alone so that my anger may burn against them and that I may destroy them. Then I will make you into a great nation." " (Exodus 32:7-10, my emphasis)
God was not pleased - and only Moses' intercession on their behalf saved them from being completely destroyed by God. As if that weren't a clear enough warning against mixing pagan worship practices with worship of God, we are also warned in Deuteronomy against spiritual syncretism:
"The LORD your God will cut off before you the nations you are about to invade and dispossess. But when you have driven them out and settled in their land, and after they have been destroyed before you, be careful not to be ensnared by inquiring about their gods, saying, 'How do these nations serve their gods? We will do the same.' You must not worship the LORD your God in their way..." (Deut, 12:29-31a, my emphasis)
God is quite clear on how we are to worship and approach him - and it is not through blending our worship of him with pagan practices. I recognize that it is very hip and cool and popular in today's global, syncretized culture to meld different things together. We are most certainly an experience-driven culture, always seeking the fresh, exciting, "new" thing. And we also like our smorgasbord religions, with a little of this, a little of that. But we have clear mandates from Scripture about how we are to worship and approach God. We are to be set apart from the world - not syncretized with it - so that's God's truth will shine like a beacon in the darkness.
So, how did the story turn out? How did the Lord view the golden calf incident? Was He "honored" by the claim of the Israelites and Aaron that they were, in fact, worshiping him with their incorporation of pagan religious practices?
"He took the calf they had made and burned it in the fire, and ground it to powder and scattered it on the water and made the Israelites drink it." (Exo 32:20)
Bottom line? Christians must not be tempted to "borrow" practices from false religions and fool themselves into thinking that they can honor the Lord in this way. And if they have done so, they should repent.....or they might just end up drinking ground calf juice.
