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The God Who Wants to be Found – Pt. 2
If you read yesterday’s post, then you know that I am treading on some shaky ground according to some conservative Christians. Asking some slightly heretical questions. đ That’s okay! Questions are good! Let me clarify some things before I continue. I donât believe that sincere faith in just any religion guarantees access to heaven. I do believe that Jesus is the only way to the Father. I do believe in a literal hell. But I also agree with C.S. Lewis. âWe do know that no person can be save except through Christ. We do not know that only those who know Him can be saved by Him.â C.S. Lewis, Mere…
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The God Who Wants to Be Found – Pt. 1
Is God truly loving? And if He is, then how can He condemn millions of people to hell? If God is really good, then what about all the people in the world who have lived and died without ever hearing the gospel? How can people be responsible for their sin if they never knew anything different? What if they were sincerely following their religion? Shouldnât that count? If God condemns people to hell who arenât responsible, then He canât be good and loving. He must be angry and horrible. Who wants to believe in that kind of God anyway? âThe space between doubting Godâs goodness and doubting His existence is…
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Christian Religion is Not Enough
I just finished a book called, Unveiling Grace, by Lynn K. Wilder. It’s the true story of a family finding their way out of Mormonism and into a relationship with the real Jesus. Amazingly, Lynn and her husband were converts to Mormonism as adults even though they were exposed to Christianity as children. Their story proves the burden on my heart. Christian religion is not enough. Attending church or Sunday school is not enough. Living a “good life” is not enough. I’m afraid the corporate American church is horribly broken. I’ve met a lot of people lately that agree with me. People who have left, and people who have stayed. Frustrated,…
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Rediscovering Jesus – Rediscovering the Bible (Part 4)
I hope you have enjoyed this little series on the Bible. I have one final post to share with you. đ The Bible is historyâŠthe story of God and the people He created. The Bible is prophecyâŠsome of which has been fulfilled and some of which is still to come. The Bible predicts a Savior and then reveals Him to us. It shows us our value as Godâs creation and encourages us to seek after the God who made us. It demonstrates Godâs incredible grace, love, forgiveness, mercy, and faithfulness. But even more than this, the Bible claims that it is alive, powerful, and able to change hearts, all by…
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Rediscovering Jesus – Rediscovering the Bible (Part 2)
Fresh out of homeschooled high school, and because our cultic group rejected traditional higher education, I was pursuing some online college-like classes through Bill Gothardâs Institute. The stress of assignments, deadlines, and a demanding English teacher was hard enough. But, the impossible task ahead of me put me over the edge. Two of my classes asked me to go point by point through the Basic and Advanced Seminars and use the Bible to prove them true. At first, I genuinely tried to complete the assignments, but I struggled to find verses that actually matched the things Gothard claimed. Eventually, as deadlines loomed and tasks piled up, I grabbed our trusty…
