Today Dory And I Had An Interesting Discussion Over Lunch

TODAY DORY AND I HAD AN INTERESTING DISCUSSION OVER LUNCH ~ First she asked, "Why do the Palestinians and Arab nations hate Israel?"  We can go back and look for Biblical reasons, but today I believe the main reason is that throughout the millennia their children were, and are, taught from birth that it is an honor to hate and kill a Jew. 

The Bible tells us in Proverbs 2:6,  "Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it."   The inverse of that is true also, when teaching a child to hate - and that is what we see in the Middle East today.

After the October 7, 2023, genocidal rape and massacre of over 1200 Jews by Hamas Terrorists and the taking of several hundred prisoners - men, women, children - acts which constitute crimes against humanity, reporters in Gaza interviewed several young middle school age children.  Those children proudly bragged about those killings and said that it is an honor to kill a Jew. 

Hearing that the first thought in our minds should be what we read in Proverbs 2:6,  "Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it."  That is the source of the adult terrorists surrounding Israel.

Our discussion then moved on to Atheism, how can anyone not believe in God?  I shared with Dory that it is my belief that the vast majority of people who claim the Atheist religion (yes, it is a religion, for a religion is a belief system - and Atheism is a belief system) know there is a God, but their problem is "control." 

Many times in dialogues during my 8 years on the TimesDaily Religion Forum and more years on Facebook, I have heard the declaration, "Nobody controls me!  I am totally in control of my own life!" 

That outburst occurs for one reason:  If a person admits there is a God, a Creator - then that person has to be accountable to that Creator - or suffer the consequences.  They honestly believe that as long as THEY control their lives, there will be no consequences.

Let's take a moment to look at three of the most renowned Atheists today:  Richard Dawkins, Christopher Hitchens, Madelyn Murray O'Hair.

(1) Christopher Hitchens was a devout Atheist, and one of the many books he wrote was titled:  "God Is Not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything."  If there is no God as Atheist claim, then why write about Him, why travel the world debating about God, why even worry about God - if He does not exist?

The ironic thing is that his brother, Peter Hitchens, is a Christian believer and has often held public debates with Christopher on the subject of God.  Christopher Hitchens died of cancer about 10 years ago. Now he KNOWS that God is real.

(2) Richard Dawkins, probably the world leading Atheist, has often held public debates with Christian scholars and theologians - on the existence or non-existence of God.  Dawkins even paid to have a large sign posted on the side of a London double-deck bus which reads:  "There's Probably No God. Now Stop Worrying And Enjoy Your Life"

PROBABLY no God?  Or ABSOLUTELY no God?  Does that sound like Dawkins is starting to lean away from his Atheist position?

(3) Madelyn Murray O'Hair, one of the most evil Atheist Activist in America during the 1960s to 1990s - who, along with her buddies at the ACLU, took their case all the way to the Supreme Court - and successfully had God and Prayer removed from America's public schools - and had Traditional Moral Values replaced by Relative Moral Values, aka, Relativism.  What is Relativism?

Relativism is the belief that there's no absolute truth, only the truths that a particular individual (regardless of age) or culture happens to believe. If you believe in relativism, then you think different people can have different views about what's moral and immoral.  (From "Relativism." Vocabulary.com Dictionary"

In other words, according to the mandate forced upon American schools in 1963 and since, like a cancer, Relativism has spread to all aspects of our public, personal, and family lives.  For that we can thank Madelyn Murray O'Hair.  O'Hair's stated reason for pushing this evil - was that her son, William, was in grade school and she did not want him taught to pray or to believe in God.

Irony upon irony!  In 1995, Madelyn Murray O'Hair, along with her younger son and granddaughter, were murdered by her own followers and buried in her back yard in Texas.  Yet for many years, William Murray, her oldest son, has been a strong Christian believer, very actively fighting for Christians in Washington DC.

"Her son, William Murray for whom she supposedly started this whole 'Take God Out Of Schools' battle - is now an author, Baptist minister, and social conservative lobbyist.  He serves as chairman of the Religious Freedom Coalition, a non-profit organization in Washington, D.C. that lobbies Congress on issues related to aiding Christians in Islamic and Communist countries."  (Wikipedia)

And during my our lunch discussion today with Dory, I was led to share my own personal journey along a similar path.  I can never recall a time when I did not believe that God truly does exist.  I was not yet a believer, but I also was not a denier that God exists.

I was just afraid that if I became a Christian, and with the worldly lifestyle I was living, I would surely go to hell.  I started running from God at the age of 12 when a traveling Pentecostal Revival Preacher came into my life, forcing me to say I believed - but never telling me what it meant to believe. 

For me, traveling Revival Preachers became like the storybook sailor - a girl in every port, here today and gone tomorrow!  And that traveling Revival Preacher messed up my life big time - and then went on to the next port.

From the age of 12 until I was 50, I ran from God.  But still that little nagging, that question, or something within held my attention:  With the life I was leading, i.e., parties, drinking, female adventures, etc. - will I go to hell?  That was my big question.  And not being sure, I wandered in and out of many churches, many denominations - and in between I wandered into many bars, night clubs, and affairs.  Yet hell still loomed large in my conscience thoughts.

My solution:  Find a church which teaches that hell is not real!  Simple, right?  And at the age of 20, I found what I was looking for in a Presbyterian Air Force Chaplin.  When I talked with him, he assured me that hell is only a myth, that God will not send anyone to eternal suffering.  My reaction?  "Hallelujah!  Now I can party-hardy and not have to face any consequences!  I have found religion!"

Dory's next question:  "Why would a Chaplin from a major Christian denomination teach that there is no hell?"   Because that is what I was looking for, an ordained pastor who would assure me there is no hell.  And there are many pastors, scholars, theologians, etc., who wrongly believe and teach such things, declaring them to be in the Bible.

If we look at John 3:16 we can clearly see how churches, pastors, and such from both ends of the theology spectrum and some in between - can find their proof for their far differing theologies in that one verse.

John 3:16, "For God so loved the WORLD, that He gave His only begotten Son, that WHOEVER believes in Him shall not perish, but HAVE Eternal Life."

Ask a Calvinist about the word WORLD - and he will assure you that what God really meant to say was, "For God so loved 'all of the Elect in the WORLD chosen before the Creation' who believe in His only begotten Son. .  ."

Ask an Arminian about the phrase "HAVE Eternal Life" and they will assure you that what God really meant to say was, "they will HAVE Eternal Life IF.  .  ."  IF they do this, IF they do that, i.e., IF they continue to do works until the moment of death - they will have Eternal Life.  Otherwise, don't look for a happy ending.

Folks in those two bookends of the Theology Spectrum - read the same Bible, and yet find totally opposite meanings from what is written.  Or they are sure that God left out a few words, that He must have forgotten to include those needed words when He inspired those 40 men He had chosen to write His Bible.

That method of Bible reading and study is called Eisegesis, i.e., reading INTO the Bible what they want it to say - to support their man-created theology.

The true way to read and study the Bible is called Exegesis, i.e., reading FROM the Bible what our perfect, omniscient God has inspired to be written in His Bible.

My Friends, Christian brethren, and others who read my blogs know that I love to include visuals in my writings.  And two of my favorite are shown below.  The first has a sincere believer in a BIBLES "R" US store asking, "Can I get a Bible that works for my church?  A Bible which agrees with what we teach?"   My Friends, that is a perfect example of Eisegesis, reading INTO the Bible what you want it to say.

My second favorite comes from the Peanuts cartoon, when Lucy is writing a letter to John MacArthur:  Dear John MacArthur, I wish Exegesis and Eisegesis had the opposite meanings - because Eisegesis sounds like, "I see Jesus" - and Exegesis sounds like, "Exit Jesus."  Thanks for reading this. Lucy

"Exit Jesus" - sounds kind of like "Elvis has left the building."  I pray that Jesus has not left YOUR building!

Did Dory and I have lunch - or a Bible study?  That thought takes me back about 15 years.  My Friend and Christian brother, Bob Ginger, was at my home while I worked on his computer.  About 10:00 o'clock that evening we decided to go for a late dinner at a local Norm's restaurant. 

Waiting for our food, Bob had questions on the book of Revelation and the End Times. I pulled out my Bible and we went from there.  While we were talking the waitress came by, and since it was late and the restaurant was not busy - she stopped by and the three of us had a long discussion.

As Bob and I were leaving, walking to the car, I told him, "Do you realize that we just had a Bible study?"  Actually that is my favorite kind of Bible study.  Two or more just start chatting about something on our minds - and let it evolve into a discussion on a pertinent Biblical teaching or issue.

And as Dory always tells me, "Get you started and we cannot pull the plug!"  Hey, when we get a good discussion going on some aspect of the Bible, God, eternal life, etc., why stop too soon?

God bless, have a wonderful, blessed day,

Bill 

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