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A MIND OPEN TO BELIEF

October 4, 2014 by Frank King Photos

Mind open to belief 10.14The message in this graphic, kindly offered up by an atheist internet community, makes me smile. It’s a common notion in our culture, that people of faith are close-minded.

So stick with me as I advance some notions that might leave you wondering….

I asked questions about the universe; how it began, where did the planets (especially Earth) come from. My mind was open to all kinds of ideas.

After checking them out, reading about them, debating them with other open-minded people, I came to (what is for me and for many others), the logical conclusion: God began the universe. God created the planets.

I asked questions about how Earth seemed so perfect for life to form and thrive. Once again, I read up on the theories and talked to people.

After that, I came to the conclusion, as so many others have, that it was the work of God. No other explanation seems as logical.

My mind pondered the mysteries of human behaviour (and misbehaviour). Why do we act as we do? When and why do we fail to act? How did “right” and “wrong” come about?

I travelled back down the familiar road of reading the various viewpoints, talking to various people and thinking, thinking, thinking. My conclusion? God created right and wrong. God created freewill. And we humans have done many horrifying things with that gift.

What about life after death? My mind, opened by wonder, read all kinds of things about this. Some said it doesn’t exist. Other said it does and explored a myriad of possibilities.

I pondered those possibilities, discussed them and then came to the conclusion that’s shared by millions upon millions of others: after we die, there’s more to come. And what that “more” is depends on us (and how we’ve used the gift of freewill).

I wondered about this dude called Jesus. Did He exist? Was He who he claimed to be? Did He die on a cross as a sacrifice for all the bad things we’ve done and the good things we’ve failed to do? Did He come back to life after three days? Is He still active in our world?

I pondered these questions. Boy, did I ponder. I read articles and books, watched videos and heard church sermons. I had long discussions with people. In other words, I worked  like a miner through this mountain of questions.

In the end, I understood that not all my questions could be answered about Jesus. But enough of them could so that I could easily make the leap of faith and become a follower of Jesus.

When I did that, my life changed for the better. I saw the wonder of God’s creation in a new and glorious light. I saw the wonder of His gift to me (Jesus, offered to every person on this earth, regardless of race/creed/gender/behaviour). I gasped at the wonder of what is to come when this life ends — and how it will be amazing and more, because I accepted the gift of Jesus.

What do you think of this gift? Post your thoughts below and let’s have a conversation.

(P.S. A mind open to wonder means a mind open to belief.)

Posted in Me & The World | 12 Comments »

WHEN SCIENCE AND FAITH DON’T COLLIDE

September 27, 2014 by Frank King Photos

stupidYears ago, I would have blindly accepted this graphic, which was kindly supplied by an internet atheist community. It’s simple, right? “Religious” people hate science and scientists have no use for “religion”. End of story.

Well, not so fast. First of all, I follow Jesus of Nazareth (who many people believe is the Son of God) but I’m absolutely not “religious” (here’s why:  http://wp.me/p2wzRb-cP). That said, is faith really just for people who are too dumb to figure out science?

Let’s examine the evidence. I went to Wikipedia and found an entry called ‘List of Christian thinkers in science’. The list from the past is looooong, but I skipped that because people opposed to Jesus could claim science simply hadn’t advanced enough for these thinkers to toss God on the trash heap.

I jumped down to the bottom and found more than 60 (that’s correct; sixty) living thinkers in the fields of engineering, physics and astronomy, chemistry and biomedical sciences.

There are likely more, since Wikipedia notes “This list is non-exhaustive and is limited to those scientists whose Christian beliefs or thoughts, in writing or speaking, are relevant to their notability.”

Want a few names? How about:

  • Rosalind Picard, a Professor of Media Arts and Sciences at the renowned Massachusetts Institute of Technology and founder of the Affective Computing Research Group at MIT.
  • Don Page, a Canadian theoretical physicist who focuses on quantum cosmology.
  • Karl Giberson, a Canadian physicist who has published several books on the relationship between science and religion, such as The Language of Science and Faith: Straight Answers to Genuine Questions.
  • Joseph Taylor, an American astrophysicist and Nobel Prize in Physics laureate for his discovery (with Russell Alan Hulse) of a new type of pulsar, a discovery that has opened up new possibilities for the study of gravitation.
  • Ben Carson, an American neurosurgeon. He is credited with being the first surgeon to successfully separate conjoined twins joined at the head.

Is Wikipedia just a patsy for Jesus followers? Just in case someone out there is wondering, I investigated other sources.

The MIT site includes Rosalind Picard and her list of accomplishments is simply astonishing.  Don Page, Ph.D, is part of the physics faculty at the University of Alberta. Karl Giberson has a Ph.D from Rice University. The Nobel Prize website has an entry for 1993 winner Joseph Taylor. And the Academy of Achievement website inducted Dr. Ben Carson along with the likes of conservationist Jane Goodall, economist Milton Friedman and architect Frank Gehry.

All this leads to what I think is an obvious point: You absolutely do not have to be “stupid” to be a person of faith. In fact, I feel quite within my rights to leave you with this question: since following Jesus makes perfect sense to these brilliant people, shouldn’t it be worth your serious consideration? Yes or no, post your thoughts below and let’s have a conversation.

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WHEN LOVE LEADS TO LOVE

September 20, 2014 by Frank King Photos

WhenLoveLeadsToLoveHmmm…before my wanderings into atheist internet communities, I’d never heard the notion that loving God means I have less love to give others.

Maybe that’s true for some unfortunate people, who are into “religion” and believe they should sit in judgement of others. But for most of the God-loving people I know, the reality goes something like this:

  • I love God, so I need to be more loving to homosexual people. That means speaking up whenever they are mocked, denigrated or unjustly criticized.
  • I love God, so I need to be more loving to homeless people.
  • I love God, so I need to be more loving to people who’ve been through the pain of abortion. (Ever met anyone who liked having an abortion? Me neither.)
  • I love God, so I need to be more loving to people who don’t care about the environment. (It’s God’s world, not mine, so I need to care about what we humans do to His planet.)
  • I love God, so I need to be more loving to people who are arrogant and pretentious.
  • I love God, so I need to be more loving toward people whose political views are diametrically opposite to mine. That means respecting and defending the values of democracy.
  • I love God, so I need to be more loving to Jewish people, Muslim people, Buddhist people and Hindu people. That means defending their right to worship without fear.
  • I love God, so I need to be more loving to atheist people. That means protecting their right to be atheists.
  • I love God, so I need to be more loving to people who oppose and mock or denigrate my faith.

People like me understand that we’ve been offered a great gift — Jesus of Nazareth, who many people believe is God’s son. Because we’ve accepted that gift, a perfect and holy God has hit the ‘delete’ key on all the wrong things we’ve done and the right things we’ve failed to do (like not loving others enough, for example).

Serious Jesus followers understand that the gift of Jesus is given out of unfathomable love. And that gift is offered to every person on this planet, no matter who they are, what they’ve done (or not done) and whatever faith they have (or don’t have).

How do I know this? Consider this excerpt from one of the four original source accounts of Jesus’s life: “God loved the world so much that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him would not be lost but have eternal life. God did not send him to judge the world guilty, but to save the world through him.”

That’s why I have more love to give. You can have more love to give, too. Interested? Yes or no, post your thoughts below and let’s have a conversation.

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THE CONUNDRUM OF LOGIC

September 13, 2014 by Frank King Photos

Logic 9.14If you know anything about following Jesus of Nazareth, then maybe you’ve thought the same thing as this graphic.

This position advanced here refers to something called the “Trinity”. It states that God, as He’s understood by serious Jesus followers, exists as three equal entities: God, Jesus (who many people believe is God’s divine Son) and the Holy Spirit.

If this leaves you scratching your head, you’re certainly not alone. It’s probably easier to explain nuclear fission.

But let’s think more about the “logic” of all this, since it’s the main point of the graphic. Just because it may not be logical doesn’t mean it can’t be true — especially when even the most logical people accept and live out all sorts of illogical things:

  • Many professional athletes receive millions and millions of dollars per year while social workers, commercial pilots and nurses (who, let’s face it, do far, FAR more important work) sometimes need second jobs just to pay their bills.
  • People still attempt to climb Mount Everest even though it’s long been proven to be enormously dangerous and there is no legitimate reason to bother trying.
  • In Canada, elected politicians who want the province of Quebec to separate receive pensions paid for by all Canadians.

None of these things — and I’m sure you can think of many more without a lot of effort — are even slightly logical, and yet they continue to happen every day. Often without a peep of protest.

So if you are willing to accept the rampant illogic of the world we human beings have created, why aren’t you willing to accept what might seem illogical about the creator of time, space and the universe?

There’s something else to keep in mind here: God will never fit into a tidy box of what you and I consider “logical”. Like it or not, God will always be beyond our full comprehension.

But here’s something that’s easier to understand:
1. God LOVES every person on this planet, no matter their age, gender, sexual preference, place of residence, religious belief (or lack thereof), and behaviour.
2. Because every human being has fallen short of who God designed us to be (through the wrong things we’ve done and the good things we’ve failed to do), we separate ourselves from our creator.
3. God does the heavy lifting to bridge that gap, offering the life, sacrificial death and resurrection of His son Jesus to every person on this planet.
4. Anyone who accepts this gift can find his/her life transformed in the here and now, and in the life to come when our time on this planet ends.

I accepted that gift in my 40s, after many years of reading, pondering and debating with Jesus followers. I certainly don’t understand everything about my faith, but I also know that when this life is finished, all my questions simply won’t matter anymore.

Despite any questions you have, the gift of Jesus is offered to you too. Will you accept it? Yes or no, post your thoughts below and let’s have a conversation.

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LOVE, NOT HURT

August 30, 2014 by Frank King Photos

who's getting hurt? 8.14Sadly, there was a time when the message of this graphic (found on an atheism internet community) was very true.

Arrogance ruled the roost. Christians, often in positions of influence, sought to increase their power over people who, because they refused to believe the same thing, were obviously defective and could be treated like enemies.

Indeed, 500 years ago, ISIS (the murderous radical Islamic terrorist group) could just as easily have been Christian.

So this meme was correct. Was.

Things are very different today and pretty much everyone (except the creator of this graphic, perhaps) knows it. Maybe it’s because Jesus followers are not in positions of power. And that’s a good thing.

We all know power corrupts. The history of Christianity is certainly compelling evidence. Now, Jesus followers understand that God is primarily about love and love does NOT threaten or coerce. Love offers a gift.

That gift is Jesus of Nazareth, who many people believe is God’s son. Jesus – His teachings, His sacrificial death on a Roman cross and His resurrection – is offered to a world that I think we can all agree isn’t doing very well.

For much of my life, I thought I was was doing just fine without this gift. In fact, I believed what North American media, and most of my friends and colleagues, said about Jesus: nice guy (if he lived at all), but long gone and what does he have to do with anything?

He has everything to do with making people like me – and you, if you say yes to Him – more thoughtful, less greedy, more compassionate and less judgemental.

He has everything to do with seeing the things that our culture values in a new and discerning light – and discovering most of those things are trivial and ultimately irrelevant. Just think new cars, better smartphones, bigger TVs, yet another pair of shoes.

He has everything to do with feeling less lonely, less worried about the opinions of others and less concerned about what our culture defines as “success”.

He has everything to do with answering the most important questions of life: Why am I here? (To have a relationship with God through Jesus.) What happens when I die? (If Jesus is my saviour, then I’ll spend eternity in Heaven with Him because His death wiped away all my wrongs.)

Does this sound appealing? Yes or no, post your thoughts below and let’s have a conversation.

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BRAINWASHING? OR SEEING REALITY?

August 23, 2014 by Frank King Photos

14+-+1-2Have you watched someone give their “testimony” on a TV show and describe being at their lowest point when they became a follower of Jesus of Nazareth?

Did you shake you head and have the same reaction as the words at the bottom of the graphic? Once, I would have been in your camp. After all, that is the easiest, fastest response, right?

So here’s a challenge: skip the path of least resistance, the path that our culture pushes us onto, and really think about this.

Perhaps someone said “I found God at the most vulnerable point of my life” because they suddenly realized that all the ‘stuff’ that’s supposed to be so, SO important is really trivial.

Maybe they realized that in the midst of their vulnerability, nothing that our culture offers us really changes anything. Self-help books can’t help. Friends sending out ‘positive vibes’ makes no difference. And drugs or alcohol will eventually leave them even worse off than before.

Perhaps they figured out that our culture’s focus on being self-reliant in everything just doesn’t pass the smell test. It’s not realistic.

Maybe their vulnerability has made them realize that dismissing/ignoring God and Jesus (who many people believe is His Son) is, in fact, brainwashing. And for the first time, they’re seeing life — and what could happen when this life ends — outside of our culture’s narrow and shallow confines.

I was in my 40s when I stepped off the path of least resistance and really thought about the how and whys of people deciding to follow Jesus. I wasn’t at the most vulnerable point of my life. In fact, I was doing just fine, by the standards of our culture. I had a decent career, parents who didn’t abuse me or abandon me, several meaningful romantic relationships, no serious diseases and a good future.

But I knew there had to be more to life than all this. I knew there had to be something deeper and something that would look beyond 80-odd years on planet earth. After much reading, a lot of thought and many debates with brave Jesus followers, I decided to become a follower of Jesus.

That decision had — and continues to have — a profound impact on my life. It greatly affected who I decided to marry and where I now work. It gave me hope — not in things or in people (the first is meaningless and the second will disappoint and hurt and abandon)  — but in a creator who offered me the gift of His Son.

I accepted that gift. Have you ever thought about doing the same? Yes or no, post your thoughts below and let’s have a conversation.

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WAITING ON GOD

August 16, 2014 by Frank King Photos

WAITING ON GODHave you met anyone sitting around, drinking margaritas and watching awful TV shows because they have nothing better to do than wait for God to fix stuff?

Me neither. I suspect this graphic, found in an atheist internet community, is making an offhand reference to prayer. If I’ve learned anything from my interactions with atheist people, it’s that almost all of them believe prayer is an idiotic waste of time.

I’m not going to delve into prayer in this essay; you can read my thoughts on the subject here: http://wp.me/p2wzRb-9a

What I will write, however, is perhaps the reason this world is struggling is because people DON’T stop and wait for God to do something. Consider:

  • If we had stopped and waited for God to fix the problem, would organized crime have come to North America? I’m referring to prohibition in the United States during the 1920s. Human actions to reduce alcoholism not only failed, they created negative consequences that are still being felt almost 100 years later.
  • People brought rabbits to Australia and New Zealand for food. What followed was an explosive growth in the rabbit population to the point where they are now major pests in these countries.
  • Still in Australia, people introduced cane toads to control canefield pests. Bad idea. Canefield pests are still there and cane toads are now a major problem in their own right.
  • How often have people, through their governments, introduced rent controls to deal with sky-high rent increases? How often has that resulted in major shortages of rental units – making it nearly impossible for low-income people to find a place to live?

So it’s clear that ignoring God and doing things on our own often makes this world a WORSE place.

Sometimes, I’m guilty of this very mistake. Because I’m part of a culture that lives as if God and Jesus of Nazareth — who many people believe is His divine Son — don’t exist, I get sucked into that same thinking.

I forget to pray about things. I forget to wait on God — even though a wise ancient prophet tells me “The Lord is good to those who wait for him. He is good to those who look for him”. In case I didn’t get it the first time, another ancient prophet says “Be strong and brave and wait for the Lord’s help”.

Patience is a gift I’m continually learning as a follower of Jesus. There are other gifts, too: seeing beyond my ego to what’s truly important; understanding that this world is NOT how God wants it to be; and allowing Jesus to work in my life to make me more like the person He knows I can be.

Do these gifts sound appealing? Yes or no, post your thoughts below and let’s have a conversation.

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CELEBRATING LIFE, NOT DEATH

August 2, 2014 by Frank King Photos

lifeMaybe that’s your impression of Jesus followers. Maybe you think they’re fixated on death.

Hey, there’s another one of their churches with a cross on it that they claim Jesus died on.

Every time one of those people gets on TV or radio or the internet, they’re talk about Jesus dying. Man, that’s getting old.

Yes, in the culture we all live in, the idea of a divine son of God (that’s who many people believe Jesus is) being sacrificed for the moral crimes of humanity is downright offensive.

We’re all doing just fine, right? We haven’t ran over anyone with our car or robbed a bank or given anyone AIDS, so what’s the problem?

This is where it gets controversial. And this is why serious Jesus followers appear to “celebrate” death.

People who are genuine about following Jesus know that there’s a lot more to “doing fine” than avoiding prison or causing death. Those are just the big-ticket, headline-grabbing wrongs.

How about greed? How big a TV do we actually need?  Another iPad? Wasn’t the last one good enough? Hang on, a double garage and a big driveway just isn’t enough for your boat AND your trailer AND your three vehicles? Uh, didn’t you just go on a cruise last year?

How about a lack of generosity? Why don’t those people take care of themselves? I’m not giving to poverty in Haiti — there’s poverty right here in North America!! (Uh, there’s a GIGANTIC difference between poverty here and poverty there.)

How about living your life as if God doesn’t exist? Genuine Jesus followers believe the words of one of the original source documents of His life, that “God loved the world so much that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him would not be lost but have eternal life”. Furthermore, “God will wipe away every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death, sadness, crying, or pain” (communicated to us through an ancient prophet).

So, if you give these words any credibility, then those quotes above indicate that God does, indeed, care about YOU and deeply wants to be part of YOUR life. So is it wrong to live like He doesn’t exist? I would say yes.

Now consider Jesus followers’ supposed “fixation” with death. What it’s really about — that this atheist graphic conveniently ignores — is that for those who believe in and truly follow Jesus, His sacrificial death erases all the bad things we’ve done and all the good things we’ve failed to do. For those who follow Jesus seriously, God sees us like He sees His Son: pure, without the slightest imperfection.

So the “fixation” is really about the results of Jesus’ death. It’s about something else, too. Serious Jesus followers believe the ancient documents when they say that Jesus came back to life just a few days later — and in doing so, wiped out the permanence of death for all who believe in Him.

So, in fact, what’s happening is opposite to the graphic. Genuine Jesus followers are celebrating LIFE. And it’s a life that’s available to EVERYONE, no matter who they are, no matter what they’ve done (or not done).

Does this make sense? Yes or no, post your thoughts below and let’s have a conversation.

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WHO’S REALLY TO BLAME?

July 26, 2014 by Frank King Photos

Who's Really to blame?On first reflection, I imagine this graphic, found in an atheist internet community, might strike a chord with some folks.

I mean, isn’t the world grossly unfair? Why do some people have so much while some have so little? And why does God appear to sit on His hands and do nothing about it?

These are valid, important questions. I asked them all before becoming a follower of Jesus of Nazareth at age 42. Once I decided to follow Jesus (who many people believe is God’s Son), I thought long and hard about these questions from my new perspective, because I still needed them answered.

So, consider this:

Some people have a lot and some have very little because of where they live. It’s a lot easier to make a go of it when you’re not struggling to survive drought, typhoons and earthquakes.

Now before you blame God for natural “disasters”, ponder the notion that the world’s rich nations could take in far, far more immigrants. In addition, they could work through agencies like the United Nations to move people away from disaster-prone areas.

The fact that these things don’t happen isn’t an indictment of God. It’s an indictment of US in the developed world. And it’s an indictment of people who won’t move, no matter how bad life gets.

Who says God won’t give them food? Does God give rich people food? Do you really think that’s how the world works?

Furthermore, God DOES give hungry people food. That’s what organizations like Samaritan’s Purse, World Vision, Compassion Canada, Feed The Children, Oxfam and many more do. They provide opportunities for you and me to be the hands and feet of God by using our riches to feed people AND help them feed themselves.

Consider what Jesus tells His followers: “The truth is, anything you refused to do for any of my people here, you refused to do for me” (from one of the original source documents of His life). And please know that Jesus considers ALL people to be worthy of being His.

So, are YOU part of what God is doing to help the hungry? Before I decided to follow Jesus, I was not. Now I am. That’s no credit to me; that’s credit to Jesus, who I invited into my life to make me more like Him.

There are more results from having Jesus in my life.

I’ve become more aware of my many shortcomings and know that through my wife and other Jesus followers, God is working to change me for the better.

I’ve become aware that this world is NOT how God wants it to be. Since deciding to follow Jesus, my ugly ego has been reduced enough to realize that I’m part of that problem. I seek forgiveness from the One who I believe is the only valid judge of humanity. And because I follow Jesus, I know that His sacrificial death and resurrection makes up for my moral crimes. I receive that forgiveness!

Does this sound attractive to you? Yes or no, post your thoughts below and let’s have a conversation.

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WHEN LOVE MAKES A DIFFERENCE

July 19, 2014 by Frank King Photos

WHEN LOVE MAKES A DIFFERENCEIs loving God a waste of time? Certainly that’s the opinion of the atheist person who posted this graphic on the internet. And there are occasions when that person is dead-on right.

If loving God makes no difference in your life, then it’s a waste of time.

If loving God doesn’t cause you to love your friends and family more, then it’s a waste of time.

If loving God doesn’t encourage you to love yourself, then it’s a waste of time.

If loving God doesn’t make you want to do more for a world that’s clearly sick and broken, then it’s a waste of time.

Serious followers of Jesus of Nazareth (and I’m one of them) know that despite this world’s horrible problems, God still loves it. In fact, God sent Jesus — who many people believe is His Son — to this world to help fix it.

I can hear some of you saying “How did sending Jesus making one bit of difference? This world is still a mess.” Yes, this world is still a mess. And sometimes, deeply misguided followers of Jesus have contributed to that mess.

That said, consider this: serious Jesus followers believe He died to wipe away ALL the wrongdoings of people who believe in Him. And by rising from the dead, as the original source documents of Jesus’ life describe, He also wiped away the permanence of death.

How does this make any difference? It’s already made a HUGE difference. Energized by what Jesus has done for them, serious Jesus followers have gone on to build hospitals, start universities and do charity work in some of the world’s most hopeless places. That includes treating victims of the Ebola virus in Africa, helping typhoon survivors in the Philippines and building shelters for earthquake victims in Haiti.

All of this happens because people who follow Jesus know that God loves them (and every other person on this planet) beyond all measure. Allowing His divine Son to die on a Roman cross, then bringing Him back to life, is absolute proof of that love.

  • Because I love God, I love my wife and stepchildren MORE.
  • Because I love God, I care about what’s happening in HIS world.
  • Because I love God, I turned away from my insecure greediness and make regular contributions to charities that do amazing work in the name of Jesus.
  • Because I love God, I maintain this website to tell YOU about how loving God and His Son can change your life just as it changed (and continues to change) my life.

Do you see value in loving God and accepting His gift of Jesus? Yes or no, post your thoughts below and let’s have a conversation.

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