Why God Punishes Evil

Exercise of free will determines punishment.

Scripture bears the truth that God does chastise His people for being disobedient to His will and for continuing to live in an unacceptable manner.  God delivers that sort of punishment meant to correct a person, with the hope of teaching them not to repeat the wrongdoing.

When God placed Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden everything was perfect.  It was a beautiful paradise with every animal and bird of nature and God had given them everything they would ever need.  Adam was told that he could live forever and be happy forever if he listened to God’s instructions. God told Adam that he could eat the fruit of every tree in the garden, except one.  He clearly outlined the penalty of eating of this one particular tree.

Was Mary The Mother Of Jesus?

Mary - the mother of Jesus

For one to pose the question "Was Mary Jesus' Mother?" would lead a rational person to believe that the one asking the question not only believes in Jesus, but also holds some belief in a woman named Mary.

All accounts of the life of Mary must come from the scriptures and there is much debate as to whether Mary was a normal mortal human being or a divine creation like Adam and Eve, who were created and not born in the traditional sense. In reading the scriptures about Mary, we can sometimes find more questions than answers.

In the Islamic faith, Mary is certainly considered to be the mother of Jesus as we can plainly see from the following verses from the Quran:

"O Mary! Behold, God gives you good news of a word from Him, who shall become known as the Messiah, Jesus, son of Mary..." (Quran 3:45)

"Indeed the likeness of Jesus to God as the likeness of Adam; He created him from dust, then said to him, Be,' and he was." (Quran 3:59)

Christianity vs Religion

Christianity consists of beliefs based on the Bible

In order to clearly understand the differences between Christianity and religion, we must first
understand the meanings of these two terms.  The dictionary defines religion as

"A specific fundamental set of beliefs and practices generally agreed upon by a number of persons or sects." , 

while Christianity is defined as

"The religion derived from Jesus Christ, based on the Bible as sacred scripture, and professed by Eastern, Roman Catholic, and Protestant bodies."

According to these definitions, religion can be a set of beliefs on just about anything, while Christianity consists of beliefs based on the Bible and the teachings of Jesus.

Should The Bible Be Used As A Textbook In Our Schools?

The Bible can teach children things they need to know.

The question "Is the information in the Bible relevant to today's classroom as a textbook on every subject?" is a very complex question and must be broken down into its separate parts.

First, the answer to the question "Is the information in the Bible relevant to today's classroom?" would be a definite yes. The problem here is in determining just which Bible we are referring to. Just the nature of the question would suggest that we are referring to the Christian Holy Bible, but other faiths have their own version of the Bible and its teachings would be just as relevant to the children of that particular faith.

God's word and the teachings of Jesus are extremely important to any child who must struggle through this world of hatred and greed, where we tolerate just about any kind of behavior or lifestyle.

Should Christians Work On Sunday?

Certain jobs must be done, even on Sunday.

The Bible makes no particular reference to working or not working on Sunday.  The Old Testament Exodus 20: 8-11: scriptures teach the following, found in

"Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy.  Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work:  But the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates:  For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it."

The Sabbath day that the bible speaks about is Saturday, the seventh day of the week.  People of the Jewish faith continue to observe a holy day of rest on the Sabbath, from sunset Friday until nightfall on Saturday.  For some reason, Christians moved their Sabbath to Sundays in recognition of Sunday being the day of Jesus' resurrection.

Show Me Proof That God Exists

Proof that God exists is all around us.

Skeptics may ask "Is there proof that God exists?" and will demand to be given some type of mathematical formula or biological evidence that will scientifically prove the existence of God and will not accept any religious or moral philosophy.

There are many things in the history of the world which we take as fact but have no scientific proof; the existence of dinosaurs is a perfect example. Sometime in the early 1800s a man found a large bone, called it a dinosaur and the rest is history. So why is it difficult to believe that the world and everything in and upon it was created by God?

In the history of our nation we find the belief in God was the inspiration which allowed us to be free. Today, God has a significant presence in our daily lives by being minted on all of our coins and currency and being a part of every oath of office from the new enlistee in the armed forces to the President of the United States.

We Should Get Inspiration From Bible Heroes

The heroes of the Bible were just ordinary people.

The Bible is filled with stories of inspirational characters whose divine influence changed the lives of many people. Many of these Biblical characters could actually be described as heroes.

We find that some dictionaries define a hero as:

"a person who, in the opinion of others, has heroic qualities or has performed a heroic act and is regarded as a model or ideal".

Heroes might be more clearly described as ordinary people who do extraordinary things. In the book of Hebrews, Chapter 11, we find the names of several inspirational Biblical heroes, including Abraham, Enoch, Noah, Sara and others. There are many more chapters of the Bible containing the names of those whom we could classify as heroes, but here we will take a closer look at only five.

Is Hell A Real Place Or Just Imaginary?

Hell is a real place for the condemned.

In answering the question, "Is Hell a real place or a metaphor to deter evil-doers?", the simple quick answer would be "both", but before elaborating on this issue, we must first understand some reasoning behind the question.

First, one must assume that the person asking this question would know the difference between right and wrong and secondly, this person believes there are consequences for doing evil.

If we look up the term "hell" in a Thesaurus, we find that hell is defined as "place of the condemned;  bad situation".  We also find the following synonyms: "Hades, abyss, affliction, agony, anguish, blazes, bottomless pit, everlasting fire, hell-fire, misery, pit, place of torment, purgatory, suffering, torment", among others. The only antonym I can find is "heaven".  I think we would all agree that most of these terms refer to real places.

Was Jesus Really Crucified?

We live by faith and that's what it's all about.

Crucifixion was an ancient method of execution, in which the victim was tied or nailed to a large wooden cross and left to hang there until dead.  History tells us that crucifixion probably originated with the ancient Persians.  Captured pirates were crucified at the port of Athens in the 7th century BC.  The Romans adopted this custom in the 1st century BC, and used it during the Roman Civil War and the destruction of Jerusalem.

There is no scientific evidence that Jesus was crucified and died on the cross, but keep in mind, we've never exhumed Abraham Lincoln's body to see if that is really him either.  If we did, we certainly don't have any of Lincoln's DNA to prove scientifically it's him.

Christian beliefs are founded in a book called the Bible and we believe this book to be the inspired word of God. The Bible is filled with accounts of Jesus' birth, his teachings and yes, his death on the cross. We are secure in these beliefs and have no need to ever question the facts of the creation or Jesus' death. We live by faith, and that's what it's all about.

Are Christians Losing Christmas As A Holy Day?

Christmas is a celebration of Jesus - today and forever.

What would you do if you opened your morning newspaper and saw these headlines? - "Will
Christians Reclaim Christmas As A Holy Day?"

Did you know that there was a time when Christmas was cancelled? Yes, there really was a Scrooge. In the mid-1600s, when Oliver Cromwell took over England, he officially cancelled Christmas.

In 1789, when the first congress was in session under our new Constitution, it was in session on December 25, 1789. Finally, in 1870 Christmas was declared a federal holiday.

Should Churches With Small Congregations Be Banned?

"Where two or three are gathered together in my name . . . "

It is very confusing and somewhat alarming to hear that some would desire to "disband" churches in these United States with what they term "small" congregations.  It is a fact that most Christians in the United States attend small churches. The problem lies in the fact that it is the "mega churches" who get all of the attention.

Here are the qualifications of different sized church congregations according to USAChurches.org:

• Mega Church: Average weekend attendance is more than 2,000 people.

• Large Church: Average weekend attendance is between 301 and 2,000 people.

• Medium Church: Average weekend attendance is between 51 and 300 people.

• Small Church: Average weekend attendance is less than 50 people.