A Divided Culture

These exerpts are from a book called The Reason For God by Timothy Keller.

"Because doubt and belief are each on the rise, our political and public discourse on matters of faith and morality has become deadlocked and deeply divided. The culture wars are taking a toll. Emotions and rhetoric are intense, even hysterical. Those who believe in God and Christianity are out to "impose their beliefs on the rest of us" and "turn back the clock" to a less enlightened time. Those who don't believe are "enemies of truth" and purveyors of relativism and permissiveness". We don't reason with the other side; we only denounce.

This part is striking to me because I feel like ALL debate and serious discussion on religion and politics are often heated with much discontent with the other side. It is our job as Christians to display the love of Jesus while assertively testifying to his divinity and humanity. Christians are no less intellectual because of belief and the ability to defend it.

"A faith without some doubts is like a human body without any antibodies in it. People who blithely go through life too busy or indifferent to ask hard questions about why they believe as they do will find themselves defenseless against either the experience of tragedy or the probing questions of a smart skeptic. A person's faith can collapse almost overnight if she has failed over the years to listen patiently to her own doubts, which should only be discarded after long reflection".

Doubt is something I've been plagued with. I hate doubting because I desperately want to believe in Christ 100% but a lot of the time, the doubt is not with Him but with me. I doubt my ability to believe and I doubt my willingness to surrender to Him. I doubt my willingness to actually take up that cross and follow Him (thanks DV). I guess with Keller's words, it's ok to just accept that fact that as human beings, it is in our fallen nature to doubt truth even when the evidence for it is as close to us as our own skin.

"All doubts, however skeptical and cynical they may seem, are really a set of alternate beliefs. You cannot doubt Belief A except from a position of faith in Belief B. For example, if you doubt Christianity because "there can't be just one true religion", you must recognize that this statement is itself an act of faith. No one can prove it empirically and it is not a universal truth that everyone accepts. If you went to the Middle East and said, "There can't be just one true religion", nearly everyone would say, "Why not?" The reason you doubt Christianity's Belief A is because you hold unprovable Belief B. Every doubt, therefore, is based on a leap of faith".

FINALLY, my initial point on this is backed up. I've been saying for a couple years now that I believe Atheism to be a standpoint of faith, despite it's standard of disbelief in any theistic religion. It is a BELIEF that there are no religions that are true and that there is no God. Atheism cannot prove these beliefs while Christianity can just by the Resurrection of Christ and the words of the Bible. Keller expands a bit:

"Some people say, "I don't believe in Christianity because I can't accept the existence of moral absolutes. Everyone should determine moral truth for him or herself". Is that a statement they can prove to someone who doesn't share it? No, it is a leap of faith, a deep belief that individual rights operate not only in the political sphere but also in the moral. There is no empirical proof for such a position. So the doubt of moral absolutes is a leap.

Moral absolutes come from God's law because he alone determines what is holy and what is not. How can we in our finite knowledge judge what morals are uplifting to human spirits when we deny the very Creator of the capacity for these morals to stand on? Mankind is not spiritually inclined to determine what moral absolutes truly are until we achieve a relationship with God.

"Some with respond to all this, "My doubts are not based on a leap of faith. I have no beliefs about God one way or another. I simply feel no need for God and I am not interested in thinking about it". But hidden beneath this feeling is the very modern American belief that the existence of God is a matter of indifference unless it intersects with my emotional needs. The speaker is betting his or her life that no God exists who would hold you accountable for your beliefs and behavior if you didn't feel the need for him. That may be true or it may not be true, but, again, it is quite a leap of faith".

This pretty much speaks for itself.

"The only way to doubt Christianity rightly and fairly is to discern the alternate belief under each of your doubts and then to ask yourself what reasons you have for believing it. How do you know your belief is true? It would be inconsistent to require more justification for Christian belief than you do for your own, but that is frequently what happens. In fairness you must doubts your doubts. My thesis is that if you come to recognize the beliefs on which your doubts about Christianity are based and if you seek as much proof for those beliefs as you seek from Christians for theirs- you will discover that your doubts are not as solid as they first appeared".

Both sides of the spectrum should be able to be objective when it comes to belief and doubt. If you doubt, research the things that make you doubt. If you believe, make sure the things you believe are true. It's only fair that skeptics know what they're doubting before making assumptions.


I hope these words were encouraging. As a Christian, I am constantly plagued by the doubts and questions of others as well as my own. Sometimes it is difficult to remain faithful when you're at it alone but God is faithful and loving. I don't feel like I'm fighting a pointless battle. Our war is not against the flesh but of the principalities and powers of this world that seek to destroy the children of God. The words of skeptics will never break me of my faith.

Biblical Truth

Where in history has any researched story of the Bible been proven untrue? Archaeologists are finding more and more evidence for the truth of these stories every year. For example, the Hittites were an ancient people recorded in history and many skeptics believe the people never existed. On the contrary, archaeologists found historical documents indicating the existence of the Hittites and their livelihood.

In this day and age of Information and Enlightenment, we are seeing more and more people turning their backs on God and religion in favor of New Age ideals and Atheism. Why? The reasons are quite simple.

1. People refuse to believe in anything that corrupts their worldview.
2. People believe faith is a sign of immense intellectual dishonesty and therefore it cannot have any grounds for rational thought.
3. Many intellectual advocates for free thought, such as Richard Dawkins and Christopher Hutchins, are persuading people to think the idea of God is ludicrous and that anyone who thinks otherwise is a fool.
4. People believe the stories in the Bible cannot be true because of their "mythical content".
5. People don't believe in a merciful God because of pain and suffering that continues in this world.

The reasons are almost infinite. What this world needs to understand is that their intellectual prowess is nothing more than a facade. What they think is brilliant, God will turn to utter foolishness. The wisdom of this world is trite compared to the amazing mind of the Lord. His creation and the intricacy of it is overwhelming evidence of not only his brilliance but his sovereignty.

So, if God can create everything that we see with our own eyes then maybe the stories in the Bible are not mere legend or myth but actual truth. When we accept what is written and shown to us, TRUE enlightenment is bestowed upon us.

Reject the truth and you shall surely perish.

Legalism In Christianity

Christianity is the most loved and hated religion on the planet. Why? Because we are the most loving and also judgmental people on the planet. If Christ indeed lives in our hearts, our words and our actions should showcase that transformation. Letting Jesus take the reins of our lives is the best thing we can do.

We don't trust Christ if we choose to worship the Law. The Law does not have the power to save. It is only by the grace of God that we are saved. Shedding his blood was the key to our salvation. What is not part of our salvation is involving ourselves in politics and trying to tell the rest of the nation and the world that they are going to Hell if they don't listen to the Christian Right. When we become the "Moral Majority" instead of the hands, the feet, and the voice of Jesus, we are missing the big picture.

Jesus preached love, humility and forgiveness. He did not tell us what denomination has it right and who has it wrong by their standard of Christian law. Legalism has no saving power, it is a poison. It makes people think they have to DO things to earn the love and approval of God. What they don't understand is that we are already loved and our salvation is secured when we just ask Jesus to save us. We are new creatures when we allow God to change us.

Moral standards are great if they are aligned with God's will. If we think we know what's best for us by placing ridiculous standards like how we should dress or what is the correct political siding, we are gravely mistaken. Don't let legalism ruin your faith and your perspective of God.

Freedom in Christ. Slave in legalism.



I wrote this for a Facebook group called, "Legalism In Christianity Is Wrong". For this blog, I was thinking about writing something different, a bit more personal but I think this already sums up how I feel about "Christian law" and how it is ruining faith. Faith, grace and love are more important ideals than what the Christian Right has to say or the Moral Majority. These people are missing the ultimate message of Christ and are instead choosing to mask their true affiliations with religion. It is the same course of thought that the Pharisees of old grasped on to. They were "broods of vipers" then and are still "white washed tombs" now.

The First of Many To Come

Blogging is something that I figured was a tool for hipsters. I didn't think it had any significance in the social world except for people to read whiny, emo ranting about how much their life sucks and how Paris Hilton is the greatest humanitarian the world.

But as a social and intellectually aware being, I'm beginning to see that "blogging" is a way to connect with people who might feel the same way you do. I repress a lot of feelings and maybe I'm trying to find ways of bettering myself. I'm tired of holding things in. It's time for a change.

So, blogging world, welcome to your nightmare.