A Comparision of the Ethical teachings and Impact of Jesus and Buddha

June 9, 2013 By 10 Comments

The ethical teachings of Christ vs Buddha

Christ’s teachings :

Love God with all your heart , soul , mind and strength.

Love your neighbour as you love yourself .

Love one another , as I have loved you.

Loving your enemies .

Holy living – in thought , word and deed. Lust of the eye is equivalent to adultery. Anger is equivalent to murder.

Forgiveness of  friends and enemies.

Ten Commandments – No idolatory, no other gods, no killing, no lying, no coveting, honouring parents etc

Buddha’s teachings:Eight fold path [Read more...]

Filed Under: Comparing and Evaluating Religions or Worldviews, Evaluating Buddhism, Worldviews & World Religions Tagged With: , , , , , , , , ,

Description is not Prescription: A Tale of Interpretation

June 3, 2013 By 1 Comment

Imagine someone, let’s call him Jim, reading a chapter from a typical history book written on World War 2. In said chapter, one page says “Hitler was intent upon exterminating the Jews. The Nazis proposed a ‘final solution’ intended to wipe the Jews off the face of the earth.” [Read more...]

Filed Under: Biblical Apologetics -- Defensive Tagged With: ,

Book Review: “From God to Us” by Norman Geisler and William Nix

April 3, 2013 By 1 Comment

From God To Us (hereafter FGU) by Norman Geisler and William Nix provides a general introduction to a number of topics regarding the origins of the Bible. The book explores the inspiration, canonization, transmission, and translation of the Bible from the earliest roots until the modern era.

[Read more...]

Filed Under: Answering Challenges to the Canon of Scripture, Answering Claims of Historical Errors in Scripture, Biblical Apologetics -- Defensive Tagged With: ,

The Unlikely Story of the Women

March 30, 2013 By 3 Comments

Critics of the Gospel’s Resurrection accounts often allege the story of Mary Magdalene and the “other Mary” visiting the tomb of Jesus contains contradictory details. For instance, Matthew 28:8 states “And they departed quickly from the sepulchre with fear and great joy; and did run to bring his disciples word.” Contrast this with Mark 16:8, which says, “And they went out quickly, and fled from the sepulchre; for they trembled and were amazed: neither said they any thing to any man; for they were afraid.”

It seems we have a contradiction on our hands! Not so fast. There are at least two plausible suggestions for a resolution. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Evidence for the Historical Resurrection vs. Other Theories Tagged With: , , ,

Intolerance and Piers Morgan’s Recommendation to Amend the Bible

December 31, 2012 By 3 Comments

In the course of his interview with Pastor Rick Warren, Piers Morgan expressed an idea that is becoming increasingly common:

  • “The Bible and the Constitution were well-intentioned, but they are basically inherently flawed,” Morgan said.  “Hence the need to amend it.”
  • “My point to you about gay rights, for example, it’s time for an amendment to the Bible,” he said.

[Read more...]

Filed Under: Answering Opponents Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

Equivocation, Semantic Range, and Scripture

December 4, 2012 By Leave a Comment

I happened to be perusing the Internet recently (a very poor idea, I know) and came across the following meant-to-be-ridiculed scenario. “We are to fear God. We are to love God. There is no fear in love.” The idea is that the Bible is demanding a contradictory state of affairs, or something impossible to fulfill. This article shall demonstrate this is not a problem.

The Bible does indeed command us to fear God, in many places (Ecc. 12:13 and 1 Peter 2:17). It also tells us we are to love God (Matt. 22:37). Moreover, the biblical record does say “perfect love casts out fear” in 1 John 4:18. However, this supposed contradiction is demonstrably fallacious, on two counts.

[Read more...]

Filed Under: Answering Claims of Internal (incl. Moral) Contradictions in Scripture, Logical Laws and Fallacies Tagged With: , , ,

How Do You Read The Bible?

November 22, 2012 By Leave a Comment

The Bible

The Bible: Learning How To Read It

It’s sad to say but quite a few people within the body of Christ are not that Biblically literate, which just shouldn’t be so. It’s apparent that far too many rely on their pastor’s sermon, a seminar, retreat, etc to understand it. Those means are all beneficial but should never take the place of our personal study and meditation on the Word of God. We should know it for ourselves, after all, Paul commended the Bereans for searching the scriptures daily to see if what he was telling them, was according to scripture. [1] A former pastor of mine used to frequently tell the congregation “shame on you” if we weren’t checking up on him on what he was preaching. When one doesn’t know the Bible for themself, it makes them easier prey for cults, heresies, and other such false beliefs/teachings. I have seen this all too often.

[Read more...]

Filed Under: Interpretation of Scripture Tagged With: ,

Is God A Mystery?

November 17, 2012 By Leave a Comment

mystery-150x150Many people think that God is basically mysterious.

This is both a pop sentiment, like, “OMG! God is like, so, you know, mysterious! I mean, God is GOD, so that’s BIG!”

And it seems to be the careful explanation of sophisticated thinkers. For instance, a famous hymn by William Cowper begins with the stanza:

God moves in a mysterious way
His wonders to perform;
He plants His footsteps in the sea
And rides upon the storm. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Answering Internet Atheists, Answering Philosophical Objections to Scripture Tagged With: , , ,

Archangel: Jesus of Jehovah’s Witnesses

November 12, 2012 By 2 Comments

Jehovah’s Witnesses are taught that Jesus is archangel Michael (Jude 9) since He speaks “with the voice of archangel”. Watchtower’s “Aid To Bible Understanding? ” claimed:

Scriptural evidence indicates that the name Michael applied to God’s Son before he left heaven to become Jesus Christ and also after his return. Michael is the only one said to be the “archangel” […] At 1 Thessalonians 4:16 the voice of the resurrected Lord Jesus Christ is described as being that of an archangel, suggesting that he is, in fact, himself the archangel. This text depicts him as descending from heaven with a “commanding call.” It is only logical, therefore, that the voice expressing this commanding call be described by a word that would not diminish or detract from the great authority that Christ Jesus now has as King of kings and Lord of lords. (Watchtower 1971:1152)

Going alongside this understanding of 1 Thessalonians 4:16, Jehovah’s Witnesses point out that Michael is called “the archangel” (Jude 9). “This suggests that there is only one such angel. In fact, the term “archangel” occurs in the Bible only in the singular, never in the plural.”(Watchtower 2005: 218-9) Hence Jesus is Michael. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Did Jesus claim to be divine?, Evaluating Jehovah's Witness, Interpretation of Scripture, Was Jesus divine? Tagged With: , , , , , , , , ,

Jesus, Michael And Jehovah’s Witnesses

November 8, 2012 By 1 Comment

In Watchtower’s “What Does The Bible Really Teach?” Jehovah’s Witnesses are taught that “the Bible indicates that Michael is another name for Jesus Christ, before and after his life on earth.”(Watchtower 2005: 218) They maintained:

While there is no statement in the Bible that categorically identifies Michael the archangel as Jesus, there is one scripture that links Jesus with the office of archangel. In his letter to the Thessalonians, the apostle Paul prophesied: “The Lord himself will descend from heaven with a commanding call, with an archangel’s voice and with God’s trumpet, and those who are dead in union with Christ will rise first.” (1 Thessalonians 4:16) In this scripture Jesus is described as having assumed his power as God’s Messianic King. Yet, he speaks with “an archangel’s voice.”(Awake! 2002: 17)

Does the Bible really indicate that Jesus is archangel Michael? Contra to Watchtower’s theology, I contended in this series of articles that 1 Thessalonians 4:16 does not indicate that Jesus is an archangel Michael but the Lord God himself (Psalm 47:5; Micah 1:3; Zech. 9:13; Isa. 27:13;). I explored the meaning of this text, how early Church(ca. 30- 325 A.D.) understood it to mean and Angelology. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Biblical Defense of Essential Doctrines and Historical Truth of Christianity, Defending the Trinity, Evaluating Jehovah's Witness, Was Jesus divine? Tagged With: , , , , , , , , ,
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