Maybe you’ve heard about this criticism often made by atheists about the Christian Bible: it was written by people who were simply too primitive and ignorant to understand life and this world. And maybe you agree with these critics.
But I trust you’re reading this now because you’re open to spirituality and open to exploring the credibility of a book that millions of people believe is the truth about God and Jesus of Nazareth, who they believe is the Son of God. So consider these points:
The people who wrote the 60+ parts of the Bible were mostly NOT goat herders. Even as late as the 1600s, less than half of the world’s male population (and, like it or not, a vast majority of the Bible was written by males) could read or write. It’s quite safe to say that very, very few goat herders were among them.
People who could read or write when the Bible was written were usually among the elites of their society. They were educated, usually well off and often nobility. One example? Most historians believe the man who wrote “The Gospel of Luke” — one of the four biographies of Jesus’s physical life on earth — was a physician. That’s a long, LONG way from goat herding.
You would be surprised and amazed at how carefully most of the Bible was written. I listened to a podcast about one section, called Jonah (most famous for a man being swallowed by a giant fish) and was blown away by the writer’s techniques. Certain words were used repeatedly in that section to suggest a larger picture that the author knew people of his day would understand. In other words, this was sophisticated writing — not primitive scribblings of illiterate cave dwellers.
Even among people who believe Jesus of Nazareth was NOT the Son of God, many still admire Him for the brilliance of His teachings. Many of those teachings, such as loving your enemies and doing good for them, continue to challenge us today. And guess what? Jesus thought enough of the Bible sections written before He arrived (the “Old Testament”) to quote from at least five of them. Look it up if you don’t believe me.
While you’re digesting all this, consider one more point: the criticisms made about the Bible are often used to avoid considering its main points: God LOVES you, me and everyone else on this planet — even though we ignore Him and repeatedly do wrong things and avoid doing right things. God wants to be part of our lives, starting RIGHT NOW and stretching into all eternity, so He can make us the people we were created to be. All that can happen when we decide to make His Son our Lord, Saviour and best friend.
What do you think? Post your comments below and let’s have a conversation.
I’ve been pondering the life of beloved singer/songwriter/entertainer/business mogul Jimmy Buffett, who died in September 2023 of skin cancer.
Did you know he was a billionaire? Buffett parlayed his 30 albums and hit song “Margaritaville” into hotels, casinos, retirement communities, bestselling books and even his own brand of beer. He sold more than 20 million CDs and had legions of “parrothead” fans who loved the escapist beach life he espoused.
As I appreciate his business saavy, and the pleasure Jimmy brought to millions of fans, two things occur to me:
Did all that money make Buffett happier than the rest of us? That is the goal of our culture, right? And mountains of cash is supposed to be the way to achieve it, correct? His wealth and public approval certainly didn’t extend his life; Jimmy lived just a year longer than the average American male (76 versus the average of 75) and four years less than the average Canadian man.
Did Buffett ever move beyond the lifestyle his songs, personal brand and concerts promoted? While it’s wonderful to find escapist pleasure listening to his songs or hanging out with other Parrotheads, all that is, in the end, temporary and superficial. Jimmy’s Wikipedia profile indicated who he supported politically and all his excellent charity work, but it also stated he did not participate in any faith.
So what do you think? I believe there should come a time when we set aside temporary things and consider important, life-changing questions.
Why am I here? What is the point of life? What happens when this life ends? Our culture discourages these subjects but, in the end, they matter far more than becoming rich or getting drunk at a concert.
I explored those questions a few years ago. After much reading and many conversations with brave people, I decided to follow a guy named Jesus of Nazareth. Many people, including me, believe Jesus is the Son of God who came to this planet to show us how to live, then sacrifice His life to make up for all the wrong things we’ve done and all the right things we’ve failed to do.
This is important because Jesus told anyone willing to listen that “You must be perfect, just as your Father in Heaven is perfect.” In other words, if you believe there’s a Heaven after this life ends, then your record MUST be unblemished, from start to finish, in order to get in and spend eternity with your creator.
Since none of us can ever come close to that standard, the solution is to follow Jesus. Declare Him your Lord, your Saviour and your best friend. Then, when you’ve breathed your last, God will see you just like He sees Jesus: perfect in every way. Equally important, when you say yes to Jesus, He comes into your life RIGHT NOW and starts to make you more of the person God created you to be.
Sound like a good deal? Yes or no, post your comment below and let’s have a conversation.
Well. This atheist meme certainly paints “religion” in a very bad light. And I get it. As a follower of Jesus of Nazareth (who many people believe is the Son of God), I want nothing to do with the negative, judgemental attitudes that infest religion like a cancer.
So, from a Jesus-following perspective, what about the points made in the meme? Give me a few minutes to go over them and, hopefully, give you something substantial to think about.
Am I “nothing” without God? From one viewpoint, absolutely. You, me, this planet and this universe would not exist without its creator. But my faith tells me all human beings are loved by God. No exceptions. He so much thinks YOU are “something” that He sent His Son to show us a new way to live, and then die to make up for ALL the wrong things His followers have done and ALL the right things we’ve failed to do. In that way, we are *everything* to God.
Some of our desires are, indeed, sinful. My desire to always look good means I’ll sometimes lie or hold back information or avoid difficult situations. That’s sinful. Areyou OK with all your desires? What actions have you done — or not done — because of your desires? Got any regrets?
Our spiritual selves are of vital importance. Would anyone other than atheists (who claim we have no souls) think otherwise? But our physical selves matter just as much and I don’t know of any Jesus followers who disagree with me. That’s why so many Jesus followers support Samaritan’s Purse, LifeWater, International Justice Mission and other organizations that help people physically and spiritually.
When this meme was created, I’m assuming “saving others” meant spiritually. Well, from my perspective, that’s false. I am not responsible for spiritually saving anyone. Jesus told His followers to “Go everywhere in the world. Tell the Good News to everyone.” See the difference? In words and deeds, I’m supposed to *tell* them about Jesus. It’s GOD who does the saving.
Just one way to live? That’s ridiculously vague. People, including Jesus followers, live all sorts of lives. That said, Jesus told anyone willing to listen that “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.” Anyone who doesn’t like that has a problem with Jesus, not His followers. And if He is the Son of God, then he has the right to make this statement. (If you’re not sure who Jesus is, check out the ‘Links to other sites’ tab.)
Are all people “broken”? You won’t like the answer, because all people older than toddlers, who have even a slight ability to discern right from wrong, are broken. All of us have done wrong and failed to do right. That includes you and it certainly includes me. Just ask my patient and forgiving wife. Now here’s the thing: Jesus told anyone open to hearing that “You must be perfect, just as my father in Heaven in perfect.” So, that’s what it takes to get to Heaven. Since we ALL fall short of this standard, we ALL need saving.
Sometimes I can trust myself. Sometimes. Other times I miss the target more often than a drunk darts player. So in the end, I cannot trust myself to make the right decisions, to understand who I am and who God is. That’s just one reason why I follow Jesus. Because I CAN trust Him.
So, do my explanations help you better understand a life of faith? Does following Jesus (and avoiding “religion”) make more sense? Yes or no, post your thoughts below and let’s have a conversation. 🙂
The fourth season episode of this revered TV sitcom began, as it so often did, in a coffee shop where George Costanza (played by the excellent Jason Alexander) is moaning to Jerry about one of his fixations: relationships.
“Oh, what’s the point? When I like them, they don’t like me, when they like me, I don’t like them. Why can’t I act with the ones I like the same way I do with the ones I don’t like?”
A few minutes later, George goes philosophical. That’s when my ‘spidey-sense’ started tingling.
George: I dunno, Jerry something’s missing. There’s a void, Jerry, there’s a void…There’s gotta be more to life than this. What gives you pleasure?
Jerry: Listening to you. I listen to this for fifteen minutes and I’m on top of the world. Your misery is my pleasure.
After laughing at Jerry’s droll response, I started to see the bigger picture. The void in George’s life is the void in almost everyone’s life. George tried filling that void with relationships and sex and continuously failed.
For years, I tried filling that void with relationships, with work, with hobbies (photography), with music and with culture (I prize the part of my DNA that comes from Ireland). The void remained.
The one thing I did NOT try to fill it with was the one thing our culture insists is a silly, even harmful waste of time: spirituality.
In fact, I was mad at God. For what doesn’t matter. We can all find ways to justify the things that set off sparks in our soul. My anger lasted until sitting on an Alberta ski lift with a friend, who suggested we pray about that anger right then and there. So he did.
Then I did. I don’t recall the exact words, but they were something along the lines of “let’s see if we can find a way to get along.” Later, my buddy asked me how I felt and with a tone of utter astonishment, I answered “I feel better”.
And I did. I opened the door to a relationship with my creator and He immediately entered, as if He’d been waiting years for the opportunity. Then He introduced me to Jesus of Nazareth, who many people believe is His Son, and showed me how following Jesus can transform this life and give me a place with Him in Heaven after this life.
I understood that this was a gift being offered to me with NO strings attached. So I said yes. I jumped in and watched in amazement as God directed me to a woman who’s also a Jesus follower and directed me to a job that tells other people about this life-changing gift.
My life is certainly not perfect — anyone who tells you that accepting the gift of Jesus will make everything hunky-dory is lying — but I’m on a much more fulfilling path.
That same gift is offered to YOU. Are you interested? Yes or no, post your thoughts below and let’s have a conversation. 🙂
I did a quick Google search for the meaning of “truth”. This is what Dictionary.com says:
The true or actual state of a matter: He tried to find out the truth.
Conformity with fact or reality; verity: the truth of a statement.
A verified or indisputable fact, proposition, principle, or the like: mathematical truths.
Given these definitions, does “my truth” make much sense? Let me provide you with some very extreme examples (just to make the point crystal clear) of what “my truth” meant for these people:
Osama Bin Laden’s truth involved blowing up the World Trade Center
Vladimir Putin’s truth meant invading a sovereign nation on the flimsiest, paper-thin excuses
Karla Homolka’s truth led her to enthusiastic participation with her husband in murdering at least three women, one of them being her younger sister.
Of course, most people would never dream of taking their truth to such extremes. But can you understand what happens when an important word is co-opted and twisted to suit current trends?
I believe there’s something else to consider. It’s the notion of multiple, contrasting “truths” existing at the same time, further denigrating the word.
Believe it or not, there’s a school of thought that says having sex with children is not always bad. I imagine those who believe that consider it to be their truth. So how can that be, given that most people know very well that pedophilia is horrifying and deeply damaging to children? How can these “truths” possibly exist simultaneously?
This leads me to what I believe is good news. Consider the words of Jesus of Nazareth, who many people believe is the Son of God. Jesus told the people who had faith in him, “If you keep on obeying what I have said, you truly are my disciples. You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”
Jesus followers know there IS a universal truth, that has existed for thousands of years and continues to impact the lives of people who look to Him for strength, for forgiveness, for eternal life. Jesus spelled out that truth — much of it very difficult to accept in today’s culture — during His physical time on earth. A few examples:
Love your neighbour as yourself
Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you
If you judge others, you will be judged the same way. God will treat you the same way you treat others.
Don’t fight back against someone who wants to harm you. If they hit you on the right cheek, let them hit the other cheek too.
I am the way, the truth, and the life. The only way to the Father is through me.
As I wrote earlier, you may have trouble agreeing with Jesus on these points. But keep your mind open, because I believe no one knows the Truth better than Jesus. And it’s worth your consideration since, when all is said and done, Jesus is the way to a better life NOW and in the life to come.
Agree? Disagree? Post your thoughts below and let’s have a conversation.
The National Post headline said “Canadians’ faith in God is ‘decoupling’ from their attachment to religion“. Given that this is a spirituality blog, you might think I regard the survey results in this article as bad news.
You would be wrong.
Says the article, published in April 2023: According to a survey carried out for the Association for Canadian Studies, a curious demographic trend in Canada is that spiritual or religious belief has persisted despite the famously steep decline in church attendance and other formal religious observances.
This “decoupling” shows up everywhere from the strictest Abrahamic monotheisms [Christianity, Judaism and Islam] to more mystical and polytheistic faiths.
So why am I — a follower of Jesus of Nazareth, who many people believe is the Son of God — not depressed at this trend? Because I left behind the stone-hearted, negative, judgmentalism of “religion” a long time ago. And Jesus has no problem with that.
In one of the original-source biographies of His life, Jesus said this to anyone willing to listen: Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you’ll recover your life. I’ll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace.
See? Jesus knew — and still knows — that religion causes nothing but spiritual and emotional fatigue for most people. These are the folks who keep striving, unsuccessfully, to be “good” enough, pray enough, sacrifice enough and give enough to satisfy sky-high standards. And if they believed they met those standards, then they would probably become just as arrogant and unforgiving as so many other religious people.
The solution is to skip religion and focus on Jesus – His remarkable teachings, gobsmacking miracles, horrifying death and incredible resurrection.
— With an open and inquiring mind, read the four original-source biographies of Jesus’ physical life on Earth. They’re simple called the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John.
— Ask Jesus followers about Him (including ME: fdking@hotmail.com)
— Go even more radical and ask God to open your heart and mind to what He’s trying to tell you about His Son.
Many people would advise you not to waste your time on this. But I’m confident that since you’re here and reading this, you somehow know that checking out Jesus is important.
I believe you’re on the right track because if you sincerely welcome Jesus into your heart, your mind and your life, He will start making you into the person God created you to be. That’s what’s He’s doing with me. And that process won’t end until this life is finished and I join Him in Heaven.
So what do you think? Post your comments below and let’s have a conversation. 🙂
I read it often online and it goes like this: “Even if this Jesus guy existed, why should I care about him? What difference could he possibly make in my life?”
Those are fair questions – in fact, before I decided to follow Jesus (who many people believe is the Son of God), those were MY questions. I examined Jesus’s existence here: https://wp.me/p2wzRb-g3. As for the rest, let me do my very imperfect best to answer.
If you sometimes struggle to find meaning, welcome to the club. I had a satisfying career, good friendships and no giant tragedies to scar me. I owned a house and car and had a romantic relationship. And yet…there was still an emptiness inside.
It’s hard to explain if you haven’t experienced it, but if you have, then you’ll understand that a cruise-control existence is NOT the path to happiness or satisfaction. At that point, I hope you become like me and look at this Jesus guy again. Especially if you’ve met a few Jesus followers and they seem to have a glow that can’t be dismissed as ignorant delusion.
Jesus told anyone willing to listen that “I am the way, the truth and the life“. He based that on the firm belief that He was (and is) God’s gift to a world desperate to find an unchanging truth and a sense of purpose. If you’re where I was at, then look into His claim with an open mind.
If you struggle to find forgiveness, you’re not alone. Many of us have done wrong things (or failed to do right things) that pester us like a fly in our ear. We’re able to continue our lives, but that nagging mosquito never leaves. In fact, there are times – when we allow ourselves to think about it – that we feel awful.
Are you’re tired of stuffing that emotion down, yet again, so you can keep shopping, working on your career, buying the newest iPhone and planning your next vacation? If your answer is yes, then investigate this Jesus guy. Talk to mature, respectful Jesus followers – ask questions and learn how they put Jesus at the centre of their days. And how that’s made a tremendous difference in their lives.
If you struggle with death, I can tell you right now that even some Jesus followers are with you. None of us has rock-solid proof that there’s something beyond 70+ years of eating, sleeping, working and wondering how rap/hip-hop ever became popular. 😉
That said, trusting in Jesus can provide you with confidence that there is more to come. And by following Him, that “more” is eternity in His presence where (as an ancient prophet wrote) “God will wipe away every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death, sadness, crying, or pain. All the old ways are gone.”
As you consider this broken, struggling world, doesn’t that seem like something you can believe with firm assurance? Yes or no, post your thoughts below and let’s have a conversation.
If you don’t follow hockey, then let me drop a surprise on you: goaltenders can get penalized.
The guy in the photo above, Ron Hextall, picked up a whopping 569 penalty minutes during his 13 National Hockey League seasons. That translates into almost 9.5 hours!!
But here’s the thing about hockey goalies: they don’t spend a single minute in the penalty box. Almost every league insists another player take the place of goalies in the ‘sin bin’. And it must be a player who was on the ice (rather than sitting on the bench) when the penalty occurred. The only exception in the NHL is game misconducts, which are *extremely* rare.
So the goalie is penalized, but someone else serves the time.
If you’re open to spirituality — and I assume you are, since you’re reading this blog — then consider this: the exact same scenario plays out every minute of every day in the spiritual world.
Let me explain. Jesus of Nazareth, who many people believe is the perfect Son of God, is *always* the other player on the ice who serves the penalty for ALL the wrong things His followers (like me) have done and ALL the right things they’ve failed to do. Every time, without exception.
Jesus does that through His death on a Roman empire cross. He was put there by false charges from frightened, power-hungry religious leaders who didn’t like what He was doing (healing the sick, forgiving people, hanging out with “sinners”) and what He was saying (God loves *everyone* and following Him can transform their lives for all eternity).
Those religous leaders thought they were getting rid of a nuisance, but all four original-source biographies of Jesus make it clear Jesus came back to life, appeared to many people, and set up His followers to change the world through their new way of living.
Did they – and, by extension, ME – sometimes get it wrong? Absolutely. But those ‘sins’ do NOT negate what Jesus is all about. And they don’t negate how He serves the penalty time for ALL His followers.
Why is this important? Because Jesus told anyone willing to listen that “you must be perfect, just as your Father in Heaven is perfect.” That’s right; in order to go to Heaven after this life ends, you must be without a single blemish or stain or imperfection.
Given that impossible standard, God took the extraordinary step of sending Jesus into our hurting world to show us how to live, how to treat others and how to follow Jesus to Heaven. Then, He had Jesus serve ALL our time in the penalty box.
The result of all that is when His followers finish with this life, God doesn’t see the wrong things we’ve done and the right things we’ve failed to do. All He sees is His Son’s perfection. So the bouncer at the gate to Heaven welcomes us in to spend eternity with our creator.
From my perspective, that’s a *great* deal for Ron Hextall and every other person in this world. Sound interesting? Yes or no, post your comment below and let’s have a conversation.
I think most of us can agree on the ideas advanced in this meme. The question in my mind focuses around hope.
It’s natural to “hope for the best” in all things. To hope our children will do well. To hope our parents live a few more years. To hope our finances survive the latest economic challenge. To hope that rap/hip-hop goes away (sorry, that’s just my hope ;-)).
But what about something bigger? Something beyond the 70 or 80 years we spent on this planet?
We live in a culture that constantly, subtly discourages us from pondering the BIG questions. Go shopping, get a tatoo, pursue another promotion, buy the newest smartphone. THAT, our culture insists, is what we should focus on.
Maybe you’ve done that for awhile. And maybe you’ve come to realize your soul is hungry for something more. Something deeper. (Perhaps that’s why you’re reading this blog).
I wanted something more, and that led me to Jesus of Nazareth, who many people believe is the Son of God. I follow Him because He offers a precious HOPE to everyone – including YOU – regardless of who they are or what they’ve done (or not done).
Hope to be the person you were created to be
Hope for this world, which even the most optimist of us must admit isn’t doing very well
Hope for something beyond this life
How can one guy do all this? Consider these quotes from ancient writers:
He energizes those who get tired, gives fresh strength to dropouts.
The Spirit God gave us does not make us afraid. His Spirit is a source of power and love and self-control.
The Sovereign Lord is my strength. He makes me as surefooted as a deer, able to tread upon the heights.
And these words, from one of Jesus’s earliest and most influential followers:
The Lord is true to His promises; He will hold you up and guard you against the evil one.
I pray that the God who gives hope will fill you with much joy and peace as you trust in him. Then you will have more and more hope.
There it is. HOPE.
So how can you get in on this? Simple. God offers Jesus as a gift to anyone willing to accept Him. All you need to do is say yes to Jesus. Declare, with honest sincerity, that He is your Lord, Saviour and best friend. Ask Him to forgive you for all the wrong things you’ve done and all the right things you’ve failed to do. Ask Him to give you the HOPE only He can provide.
When that happens, Jesus comes into your life and starts to make you who you were created to be. It’s a long process that won’t end until this life ends. When that happens, trusting in Jesus means that God will see you like He sees His Son: perfect in every way. And you’ll be welcomed into Heaven to spend eternity with Him.
Sound good? Yes or no, post your comment below and let’s have a conversation. 🙂
Most of us know who Stephen Hawking is. For younger readers, Kirk Cameron was a swoon-worthy idol during his time acting on the 1980s TV comedy Growing Pains.
You might also not be aware that during the show’s seven-season run, Cameron decided to follow Jesus of Nazareth, who many people believe is the Son of God. Since the show ended, Cameron, now in his 50s, has starred in and/or produced many faith-themed movies and documentaries.
So why is he being mocked in this meme? Well, many of his productions have been….underwhelming. And some of his socially conservative public statements have made him a target of criticism from media, atheists and many celebrities.
What’s interesting about the meme that sparked this blog is how it singles out one controversial person while ignoring other Jesus followers who are widely admired for their intelligence and accomplishments.
Immediately, I can think of several:
Academy Award-winning actors Tom Hanks and Denzel Washington
Country singers Garth Brooks and Carrie Underwood
Scientist Francis S. Collins, who led the way in mapping the human genome (I wrote about him here: https://wp.me/p2wzRb-3o)
U.S. talk show host Stephen Colbert
There are many, many more Jesus-following notables – I listed a few in this blog: https://wp.me/p2wzRb-e9.
Here’s the thing, though: it’s not about who’s on what side, it’s not about popularity contests and it’s certainly not about anyone’s IQ. All these “measurements” are distractions, designed to prevent us from thinking about the big questions: who am I? Why am I here?What happens after this life ends?
If you’re willing to consider these questions, then consider this: you’re a creation of God. And one of the original-source biographies of Jesus says “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.”
Maybe you’ve read that statement before. Did you know it applies to you? God so loved YOU that He gave His only Son, so that if YOU believe in Him then YOU will not be lost, but have eternal life.
If this doesn’t make sense, then let me ask: do you believe there’s something beyond this life? Maybe even a “good” place and a “bad” place? If yes, then ponder these words that Jesus told anyone willing to listen: “you must be perfect, just as your Father in Heaven is perfect.”
So that’s the ticket we need to spend eternity in Heaven with Jesus and His Father. None of us have any hope of achieving perfection, so what to do? Simple. Trust in Jesus. Declare Him Lord, Saviour and your best friend.
If you do that with serious sincerity, then He’ll come into your life and start to make you more of the person God created you to be. And when this life ends, God will see you like He sees His Son: perfect in every way. And the doors of Heaven will be opened to you.
Sound interesting? Yes or no, post your thoughts below and let’s have a conversation.
Frank's Cottage 