| Biblical Christianity FAQs |
Biblical Christianity FAQs (A.K.A. What do you mean you . . .)What does it mean to be a "Christian"? Contrary to popular opinion, being a Christian is really much more than simply "believing on the Lord". During Christ's time on earth, He asked, "Why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?" (Luke 6:46). Yes, Christ actually expected us to DO something! Those who spend any amount of time with me may quickly realize that my idea of being a "Christian" varies quite a bit from the norm and that I've got some rather "strange" beliefs. I get a few questions, so I put this page together to give answers to some of those questions which you may be wondering about as well. This page is dedicated to the parents of my middle-school friend who upon discovering that I didn't celebrate Christmas had her inquire as to whether I was a Satan worshipper. Because, you know...what other options are there?...You either celebrate Christmas or you worship Satan, right? (Please note the sarcasm, because, yes, there are DEFINITELY other alternative options!) If you want to call me crazy, that's fine...go right ahead. After all, the world would be a rather boring place without a few crazy people in it. However, I'd prefer if you'd take the time to get your facts straight as to why I am crazy. For instance, I'd prefer you to say "Jennifer is crazy because she believes God doesn't want her to keep Christmas" rather than "Jennifer is crazy because she is a Satan worshipper". I'm all about the truth and, since that second statement is an absolute falsehood, I'm sure you can see why I wouldn't want you believing it. What do you mean you don't keep Christmas?Yes, I'm a Christian and No, I don't keep Christmas. This is perhaps the biggest shocker to many who catagorize themselves as Christians because they automatically assume that being a Christian and keeping Christmas just go together. Truth be told, the Bible does not tell us to celebrate Christ's birthday. Beyond that, the Bible never even bothers to give us the actual date upon which Christ was born. It does, however suggest that he was likely born sometime in the fall, seeing as how the the shepherds were in the fields (Luke 2:8). For God's commanded observances, He gives us specific instructions as to when we are to keep them (Leviticus 23). For example, we're told that Christ was crucified on the Passover (Matthew 26:2) and we're told that the Passover begins at even on the fourteenth of the first month (Leviticus 23:5). So, if December 25 isn't Christ's birthday, where did the date come from? As you can find in many encyclopedias, December 25 was the said to be the birthday of the pagan sun god Mithra. Upon further research, you will also find that many of the "Christmas" traditions (including the Christmas tree, ornaments, yule log, candy canes, Santa, etc) all originate from the worship of Mithra and the pagan Saturnalia festival. Not only that, but some of the pagan practices associated with these traditions involved human and child sacrifice. Many who are aware of the pagan origins of Christmas don't mind where it came from since these traditions are now directed toward good Christian concepts and values. However, God tells us that He doesn't want us to worship Him as others worship their gods (Deut 12:28-32). Why can't we simply worship God any way we choose? Deuteronomy 12:31 reads "...for every abomination to the LORD, which he hateth, have they done unto their gods; for even their sons and their daughters they have burnt in the fire to their gods." When we copy traditions of pagan origin and attempt to direct them toward God, we are simply reminding God of all the abominations that were committed. Mark 7:7 shows us that it is possible to worship God in vain. When we worship God "however we choose", we take the risk of worshipping God in vain. For our worship to not be in vain, we must take into account the things which God tells us to do (or not do). John 4:24 tells us that we are to worship God in spirit and in truth. As harmless as it may seem on the surface, the traditions of Christmas are founded on lies and really have very little to do with true Christianity. If we want to teach our children not to lie, why then do we feed them lies about Santa and flying reindeer and laugh at their heart-break when they learn the truth? Worse yet, what if the kids take their newfound knowledge of the fraudulent Santa story and go on to believe that Christ is a work of fiction as well? What do you mean you don't keep New Years, Valentine's Day, Easter or Halloween?Just like Christmas, most of the other big holidays in the American culture originate from pagan practices, worship of false gods, murder, and sexual immorality. Hasn't science proven evolution? What do you mean you still believe all that God nonsense?Life does have a large capacity for adaptation. As you know, both the Saint Bernard and the teacup poodle have descended from the wolf. In spite of that, however, a dog is still always a dog. Aside from the modern possibilities of gene splicing, those barriers do not cross. If they could cross and we had slowly evolved from slugs or fish or monkeys, why then are there still slugs and fish and monkeys, but none of the creatures in between? Evolution may often be presented as fact, but scientists themselves will even admit that evolution is just a theory. There are still many gaps in the theory that have no answers. The more research, the more scientists come to realize that evolution doesn't hold the answers. As scientists study the smallest parts of what makes up a living creature, they have discovered parts that simply would not function of and by themselves. They require a number of other parts to have come into being at exactly the same time. The theory of evolution requires small changes occurring over long periods of time. The theory doesn't have an explanation for new parts that would have needed to come into being simultaneously in order for any of them to function. This concept is often referred to as "irreducible complexity". Evolution requires the enormous complexities of life to have all happened by chance as cells bumped around aimlessly for a very long time. Supporters argue that an infinite set of monkeys typing for infinity would at some point manage to type the complete works of Shakespear. To this I ask, okay then, so where did those monkeys come from, who made the typewriters, and who got those silly monkeys to sit down and keep typing in the first place? Even if a living cell could bump around aimlessly and somehow create a being as complex as a human, how did that very first cell manage to get the spark of life? And what made that cell decide to keep on bumping around? Physical life and our universe are far too complex to exist without an intelligent creator. Wasn't the Bible just written by a bunch of men? What do you mean it's the true word of God?Even many of those who believe in an intelligent creator wish to believe that creator is now hands off and we are free to live our lives however we choose. Well, to an extent, that's true...we have freedom of choice, so within our physical capacity, we can choose to do whatever we wish. However, if we wish for true happiness and a life beyond this physical one, there are guidelines that we must follow. Those guidelines are given through God's word in the Bible. Believe it or not, you can prove that the Bible is the true word of God. How? No, I'm not going to say it's all about faith and that touchy-feely "feeling in your heart". Yes, once you accept God and His word, you are able to have faith and then see the hand of God in your life more and more. However, how can you get there if you don't even know if there is a God? Instead of posing faith as a starting place, I prefer to point people to the knowledge revealed in the Bible well ahead of its time. A couple examples...we now know that the continents were once joined. The Bible, however, told us thousands of years before that the continents were divided (Genesis 10:25). How did that come about? Likely with the tower of Babel in Genesis 9 when God divided the people over the face of the earth. Several years ago I heard a news story about how some scientists had discovered that snakes once had legs. Of course they thought this was proof of evolution; however, the Bible told us much earlier that snakes once had legs. If you'll look back to the story of Adam and Eve, God told the serpent "on your belly you will go" (Genesis 3:14). So before this point the snake WASN'T on its belly. I had actually started compiling a list of scientific truths first revealed in the Bible when I stumbled upon a website with most of my points and much more. Instead of re-inventing the wheel, I'll just direct you to that page: 101 Scientific Facts & Foreknowledge Many of these may seem like simple concepts today, but they reveal knowledge that mankind of and by itself had no way of knowing at the time. This is physical, written evidence of the Bible as the word of God. Maybe it's just me, but I think that's pretty awesome! We're saved by faith. What do you mean God still requires works?Ephesians 2:8-9 There you have it...it is through faith and by grace that we are saved. It's a free gift that we cannot in any way earn. That doesn't mean, however, that we don't still need works. Ephesians 2:10 (the very next verse) God created us unto good works and He ordained that we should walk in those good works! James 2:14-26 Yes, salvation is a free gift from God. We have all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23); therefore, none of us is worthy to "earn" our own salvation. It is a free gift that comes through faith and our acceptance of the sacrifice of Jesus Christ for our sins. As with any gift, we have the option to reject it. Faith alone is dead. It is through our good works that we accept God's gift and grow in true, living faith. It's all about love now, right? So, what do you mean I still have to obey those old, out-dated commandments?Matthew 22:37-39 So, yes, it is all about love...love for God and love for your neighbor However, read on to the next verse... Matthew 22:40 ALL of the laws are based upon the two principles of loving God and loving our neighbor. Note that the only law they had at the time was the Old Testament, so it's the laws of the "Old" Testament that Jesus is referring to here. All of God's laws give us further details on how to love God and our neighbors. What does it mean to love God? 1 John 5:3 It IS the love of God to keep His commandments. We cannot truely love God if we do not keep His commandments. If you examine the commandments of God, you will find that each of them was given for our benefit. Disobedience brings hurt upon ourselves and others. God gave His laws out of love for our benefit. Knowing that disobedience of the laws hurts us, our loving Father would never do away with those laws. Christ did not spend His life teaching observance of the law just to have it done away after His death! Even after He rose, he still instructed His disciples to teach observance of the law: Matthew 28:19-20 What do you mean you don't believe in the Holy Ghost?John 1:1-3 In the beginning, there were two beings: God and the Word. There is no mention made of a 3rd being. If he really is a 3rd being of the God head, he must certainly feel quite slighted at having been left out. The Holy "Ghost" is also left out of many other scriptures such as 1 Corinthians 1:3 & Romans 1:7. So if the Holy Spirit (a much better translation than "Ghost") is not a 3rd being, what is it? Acts 10:45 The Holy Spirit is something that can be poured out. Can a person or a being be poured out? Isaiah 29:9-10 The spirit spoken of in this verse is not the Holy Spirit, but it is spoken of in this same manner (as something which can be poured out). This spirit is the characteristic of being blind. Likewise, part of what the Holy Spirit is is God's Holy character of love and wisdom. In Genesis 1, we find the Holy Spirit "hovering" over the waters and God saying "Let there be light; and there was light". We know from John 1 that all things were made through the Word (Jesus). Between the two chapters, we see God, Christ & the Holy Spirit all taking a part in the creation. How is this? God the Father created all things through Jesus who created all things using the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is the very power of God! Knowing that the Holy Spirit is both the character and power of God is an awesome knowledge when we understand that the Holy Spirit is something that God actually pours out upon us! This explains how Matthew 17:20 can tell us that if we have faith as a mustard seed we can "say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there.' and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you." This sounds very similar to the wording in Genesis 1 when God said let it be and it was. Here in Matthew 17 we find that with faith WE can do similar things (albeit on a lesser scale than creation and we'd probably have to have a pretty good reason to be throwing mountains in the sea before God would allow us to do such a thing). How can this be that we humans could potentially perform Godly tasks? God pours out His Spirit (His very character and power) onto His faithful people! But it's really important that you come into work this Saturday...what do you mean you WON'T?Sorry, but the seventh day Sabbath (sunset Friday night to sunset Saturday night) is a commanded observance. Genesis 2:2-3 Deuteronomy 5:12-13 It may seem really important, but God's priorities are different than our own and it is important to God that we keep His commandments. God does allow for "ox in the ditch" situations (i.e., real emergencies...stuck at the side of the road, someone is hurt or dying, etc), but if it's just a matter of planning to do a particular task on Saturday because it's more convenient...sorry, no can do. What do you mean you don't want to go out Friday night?While an evening out could potentially be restful for me (i.e., I wouldn't have to cook, etc.), God commanded the Sabbath (sunset Friday - sunset Saturday) to be a day of rest for everybody. It would be hypocritical of me to rest on the Sabbath, but then require someone else to work on that day for me. If you're a Sabbath keeper, but you go out to stores and restaurants on the Sabbath, go here for a more in depth discussion on the topic: Do We Have the Mind of God? What do you mean you have to take off 8 days right in the middle of the big project? Can't you put off your vacation until next month?Although I may be using vacation time, it's not really a vacation. I'm observing God's commanded Holy Days. He sets the dates, not me. Leviticus 23:2 Notice that God does not say that these are the feasts of the Jews, the feast of the Israelites, or even your feasts, but rather, He calls them His feasts. They are for all of His people. Additionally, The passage goes on to tell the specific information as to when the Feast days occur. Didn't God do away with those Old Testament Holy Days? What do you mean you still keep them today?As previously stated, God calls the Holy Days His feasts. They were commanded observances which were for all of His people. In addition, scripture indicates in a number of locations that God's Holy Days will continue to be observed in the future (ex: Zechariah 14:16). I keep the Holy Days too, but what do you mean you're keeping them on different days?Biblically speaking, a month begins with the new moon and a year begins in the spring. It used to be that visual observation was used to determine when months and years began. In the fourth century, however, the Rabbinic Jews (the ones that most Holyday-observing groups follow for the calendar) switched to a fixed system that standardized the number of days in a month and months in a year. The standardized system now in use is often a day or two off from the actual new moons and sometimes the year even begins an entire month off. I went much of my life believing that the current Jewish calendar lined up with scripture, but later found that this is not the case. Since I believe in proving all things and the current Jewish calendar often does not match up with reality, I can no longer follow it. This understanding has been difficult for me since it means I must go against the decisions of the church that we attend with regularly (LCG) and other members frown upon such decisions. Attending the Holy Days elsewhere makes us feel a bit like outsiders. However, God never promised that obeying Him would be the easy or comfortable route and I must follow God rather than man. If you're a Sabbath keeper, you likely believe that you shouldn't keep the Sabbath even one day off, so why then is it acceptable with the rest of the Holy Days? If the church decides to say that the week now begins on Monday and, therefore, the seventh day Sabbath is now on Sunday, we know that we couldn't follow such a change. The same is true if the church decides to say that a month or a year begins at any other time than what God has established. The Jewish calendar used by the church today is based on averages that more often than not miss the mark. It's kind of like saying we can keep Friday as the Sabbath one week and Sunday as the Sabbath the next week and, just as long as it all averages out, it's perfectly fine if we never actually keep the Sabbath on Saturday. God gives specific dates upon which His Holy Days fall and He doesn't work with averages. For a more in depth discussion on the topic, see: Proving the Calendar What do you mean you won't eat the fabulous ham I slaved all day preparing?See Deutreronomy 14:1-20. God set apart certain animals (including the pig) as unclean. God commanded not to eat the flesh or even touch the dead carcass of these animals (vs 8). The scripture does not specifically explain why these animals were deamed unclean, but by looking at the particular animals, you can see that they include scavengers and animals that eat the waste of other animals. The law of unclean animals appears to be a health law. God created the animals and certain ones were to serve the purpose of being the "cleanup crew". The same qualities that place them in the category of the "cleanup crew" (i.e. the eating of decaying flesh and fecal matter) quite logically make them unhealthy to eat. Regardless of the reason, however, God said not to eat them, so I don't eat them. Are you blind, there's soap right there at the sink...why did you pull out your own?Deuteronomy 14 not only tells us to not EAT the flesh of an unclean animal, but to not even touch the carcass. Many soaps and other personal products contain ingredients derived from animal fats...much of which comes from pork. It may seem extreme, but God said to not even touch the stuff, so I try not to to the extent that I am able. (Not to mention that the idea of slathering my body with ANY kind of animal fat is just yucky!) If you're interested in more information (and yes, if you're like most people, you're probably jumping up and down with enthusiasm at the prospect), check out PorkSoap What do you mean you don't eat gelatin? Don't you know it's so processed down that it's completely changed and the FDA no longer even considers it a meat product?Yeah, been there, used that argument and enjoyed the all the wonderfully squishy, gelatinous goodness that is J-e-l-l-o. However, I no longer buy into the argument because no matter how processed it is, it still started out with someone killing a pig for food which never should have happened in the first place if people were obeying God's commandments. What do you mean Church isn't a building?When many people think of "Church", they think of a building with stained glass windows and a tall steeple. To me that's not "Church" at all. In fact, I've never attended a church that even owned its own facility. My "Church" has always rented out a hall here or there, and sometimes even met in people's homes. The "Church" is the people...those dedicated to proving and living God's way of life...it's not the building and it's not any human organization.
I grew up attending the Worldwide Church of God. If you check out their website today, it won't even remotely resemble what it was while I attended there. When it's founder, Herbert W. Armstrong died in 1986, those who took over began making changes to fundamental doctrines. By 1995, the changes had become so drastic that my family stopped attending. Many splinter groups broke off here and there and the "Church" became scattered. Being only 15 at the time, I hadn't really been paying enough attention to notice many of the changes and was quite shocked when my parents dropped the bomb that we were leaving the church organization I'd been a part of my whole life. It was at that point that I really started studying and digging in to prove God's truths for myself. So many people think that a Religion is just something you're born into, but that's not true. Religion is a set of beliefs along with practices based on those beliefs. Nobody can tell you what to believe. It's something you have to prove for yourself. If you've yet to embark on that journey, it's one that I definitely recommend. We all like to think that we're intelligent and not easily fooled, but it's quite enlightening to see how many things we've simply "believed" just because someone told us it was the truth. Through the twists and turns the "Church" has gone through, we've learned that we've still got a lot of learning to do. We try our best to never believe something just because someone tells us it's the truth. In John 8:31-32, we're told that if we abide in God's word, we will know the truth. That's an absolute (and AWESOME!) promise. The only requirement is to abide in God's word. Abiding in God's word doesn't mean just believing on God, but also doing the things that He says. God often uses other people to help teach us His truth. However, we must always continue to prove all things (1 Thessalonians 5:21) and never follow something just because it comes from the same person who brought us some other wonderful truths. We are only to follow man AS he follows Christ (1 Corinthians 11:1). If God shows us that what someone tells us to do is against His commands, we have to follow God first. What do you mean yes you'd like very much to be saved, but no, you don't want my incredibly informative pamphlet on how to become saved today?Sorry, but I don't believe that you (or any other living person) are (or even can be) saved in this life. Matthew 10:22 The scriptures referring to being saved are in the future tense (as in Matthew 10:22's "shall be" saved). This verse further specifies that being saved requires us to "endureth to the end". Being saved isn't a one time deal that I can achieve just by accepting Christ. As long as I have life, I have the ability to give up and reject God's way of life. It is only those of us who "endureth to the end" that "shall" be saved. What do you mean you don't want to spend all of eternity sitting on a cloud and playing a harp? Isn't that the absolute picture of paradise?Not only does it sound incredibly boring to sit around all day with nothing to do, but play a harp, but it also couldn't be further from what the Bible tells us about life after death. Ecclesiastes 9:5 Psalm 6:5 Psalm 115:17 When we die, we go into the grave. We know nothing and are unable even to praise God. Beyond that, the Bible specifically states that no one other that the Son of man (Jesus) has gone to heaven: John 3:13 When we die, we are simply dead. There will come a time in the future, however, when the dead will be resurrected: Revelation 20:4-5 One thousand years after the first resurrection comes the time when the rest of the dead are resurrected and come before God for the great white throne judgement: Revelation 20:12-13 Some feel comfort in the idea that their deceased loved ones are up in heaven looking down on them. To look at it from a different perspective, however, how peaceful would it be for someone to look down from heaven onto all the saddness and sorrow that continues on the earth? With God's plan, our deceased loved ones wait in silence and the next thing they know will be the joy of God setting up his Kingdom and wiping away all tears! Revelation 21:1-4 What a great and joyous event! And for our loved ones who are no longer with us, this is the very next thing they will know! Never will they know (or even be witness to) pain again! What do you mean Hitler is not burning in hell?Despite popular "Christian" teachings, just as no man has gone to heaven (see previous question about playing a harp for eternity), no man has gone to an ever-burning hell fire either. When the Bible speaks of people going to hell when they die, it's simply speaking of the grave. What do you mean there's only one truth?If we're looking at the same thing and I believe that it's a tree and you believe that it's an pig, well I'm sorry, but one of us has to be wrong. Who knows, maybe we're both wrong...but I can assure you that (save for the possibilities of crazy scientific experimentation or some play-on-words you may be quickly scrambling to come up with in your head) we can't both be right. If two beliefs directly conflict with one another, they simply cannot both be true. Therefore I don't buy into the whole ideology of multiple "truths" and choosing to believe whichever of those "truths" works best for you. I believe in proving for yourself what is true, so kick that silly thing and if it squeals and runs away, maybe it really is a pig. But if it just stands there fastened to the ground with big strong roots and tall, leafy branches, no amount of insisting that "to me it's a pig" is going to change the truth that it's really a tree. What do you mean yes I have the right to choose, but there's only one right choice?God did give us all freedom of choice, but in matters of right or wrong, there is only one path which leads to life. If we simply choose the path that seems right to us, it may end in death. Proverbs 16:25 Deuteronomy 30:19 While the above scripture is not specifically referring to the issue of abortion, it is interesting to note that the right choice allows both you and your children to live! If you choose abortion, not only does it not allow your child to live, but it sets you down the wrong path toward death yourself. In Jeremiah 1:5, God told Jeremiah: Even if a pregnancy is unplanned from our perspective, God knows that child before it is even formed in the womb. From God's perspective, that child has life. Although we have the ability to choose to end that life, that choice will never be the right choice from God's perspective. Pro-choice activists use the slogan "Every child a wanted child". The idea is that, supposedly for the sake of the children, they don't want unwanted children brought into the world. I say, every child IS a wanted child. If you say the child is not wanted, you're simply asking the wrong person. Do you realize how difficult it is to adopt a child these days? Somebody wants that child! What do you mean God allows U-turns?What if I've already made the wrong choice? Does that mean I'm destined down the road leading to death? No! Repent and turn back to the road that leads to life. God allows U-turns! If He didn't, we would all be lost "for all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God" (Romans 3:23). While we cannot take back the sins that we have already committed (and depending on our sins, we may still have to live with the consequences brought on by them), we can stop sinning and start doing right. As Jesus said to the woman caught in adultery, "go, and sin no more" (John 8:11). Have more questions? Feel free to Contact Me. |