What was God doing before he made the world?

I chuckled to myself when I was asked this question. As innocuous as it sounds, the inability of most theologians to answer this question has lead the skeptics to ridicule the teachings of Christ. It was a few weeks ago when I came across a perfect answer for this question which was given by one of my favorite teachers, Ravi K. Zacharias. Heavily influenced by his words, I felt the need of disseminating the answer.

• What was God doing with all his time before he created?

The fifth-century A.D. Christian teacher Augustine had two answers to this question, one humorous and one serious. The first one was that God was spending his time preparing hell for people who ask questions like this! The serious one was that God didn’t have time on his hands, since there was no time before creation. Time began with creation. Before creation, time did not exist. The world did not begin by a creation in time but by a creation of time. But, you may think, if there was no time, what was there? The answer is, eternity. God is eternal, and the only thing prior to time was eternity.

Further, the question implies that an infinitely perfect being like God could get bored. Boredom, however is a sign of imperfection and dissatisfaction, and God is perfectly satisfied. Thus, there is no question of boredom. An infinitely creative mind can always find something interesting to do. Only finite minds that run out of things to do get bored.

Finally, the Christian God with whom I share a relationship with, has three persons who are in perfect fellowship. There is no way such a being could be bored or lonely. It is not the point of having someone to “talk to” but someone of perfect understanding, love, and companionship.

Pain And Suffering.

“I’ve been through so much anguish. Therefore I’ve got no reason to believe that there is a deity who loves me. If he existed, this wouldn’t happen to me.”

“I don’t believe in God because I hate the way Christians treat me.”

“Church has never accepted me for what I am. If this is what your God teaches, then I’m not willing to believe this God.”

This is what most ex-believers have to say on asked about their disbelief towards God. It is absolutely distasteful and disheartening when an ex-believers say these words. With much apprehension, I decided to make this post. “If your disbelief in God is because of the way the church treats you, your faith was in a building. Not in God.”  If disbelief in God is because you’ve suffered a while now, remember that pain and suffering are inevitable. Never did Christ ever tell us that we are not going to suffer. Instead Jesus said they are coming. Unlike some other religious leaders who wrote off pain and suffering as just being illusions, Jesus was honest. He told us the truth. He said in John 16:33, “You will have suffering in this world.” He did not say you might – he said it is going to happen. He warned us about suffering. But, he can save us from this suffering. The world is infected with pain and suffering. But to give a bold statement that God doesn’t exist is just like looking at the sky in the middle of the night and saying that the sun doesn’t exist. First Corinthians 13:12 says, “Now we see things imperfectly, like puzzling reflections in a mirror, but then we will see everything with perfect clarity. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.” The authenticity of the word is unquestionable.

Hanging onto the concept of suffering, it is imperative to talk about the biographical account of poetess/hymn-writer Annie Johnson Flint (1866- 1932). Hers is a story of both heartbreak and triumph. Born on Christmas Eve in the small town of Vineland, New Jersey, she was welcomed by Eldon and Jean Johnson as their greatest earthly gift. Three years later, little Annie would lose her mother, who died as she gave birth to Annie’s baby sister. Mr. Johnson, who himself was suffering from an incurable disease, willed the children to the Flint family who would bring them up in the Baptist faith. Latter part of her life i.e. a few years before she passed away, hers was a suffering which was so pathetic that no human can ever bear. Not one single day did she wake up without feeling the intensity of the pain. Her verses provided a solace for her in the long hours of suffering. Picture if you can the hopelessness of Annie’s position when she finally received the verdict of the doctors from the Clifton Springs Sanitarium — that henceforth she would be a helpless invalid. Her own parents had been taken from her in childhood, and her foster parents had both passed away. Her one sister was very frail and struggling to meet her own situation bravely. In later years, she always stated that her poems were born of the needs of others and not from her own need; but one knows full well that she never could have written as she did for the comfort and help of thousands of others if she had not had the background of facing those very crises in her own life. She could have given up her faith in God. There was no reason for her to draw breath. The marvelous thing is that Annie’s faith never faltered, and that she was at all times able to say, “Thy will be done.” 

Therefore we conclude with one of  Annie Johnson Flint’s most popular songs which is based on three Bible promises “He giveth more grace.” (James 4:6); “He increaseth strength.” (Isaiah 40:29); “Mercy unto you, and peace, and love be multiplied.” (Jude 2)

1. He giveth more grace as our burdens grow greater,
   He sendeth more strength as our labors increase;
   To added afflictions He addeth His mercy,
   To multiplied trials He multiplies peace.
2. When we have exhausted our store of endurance,
   When our strength has failed ere the day is half done,
   When we reach the end of our hoarded resources
   Our Father’s full giving is only begun.
3. Fear not that thy need shall exceed His provision,
   Our God ever yearns His resources to share;
   Lean hard on the arm everlasting, availing;
   The Father both thee and thy load will upbear.
4. His love has no limits, His grace has no measure,
   His power no boundary known unto men;
   For out of His infinite riches in Jesus
   He giveth, and giveth, and giveth again.

A Belief Straightened Out.

“Death and struggle for life is a wonderful thing. That’s how we get ahead.” Quoted from Charles Darwin “On The Origin Of species”, 1859.

Well coming back my belief, the creation view says that there was a flood (During the time of Noah). A universal flood. Based on which I would like to make to make a few scientific predictions.

1. Prediction that the earth will have hundreds of layers of strata. (Floods automatically do that. Get a jar of dirt, add water, shake it up and settle down and in 20 seconds we’ll have layers forming. It’s known with the name “Hydrologic Sorting” in science.)
2. Based on the Bible teaching of the flood, Prediction that there will be billions of fossils including coal and oil found in those layers.
3. Prediction that there will be huge canyons and deltas showing evidence of rapid erosion.
4. Prediction that there will be legends of this world wide flood found in cultures all over the earth.
5. Prediction that the Bible would predict that we would find the above things.

I would leave it to our own conscience if the above stated predictions have come true.

Meanwhile let me take a few minutes of your time and define “Science” and “Religion”. “Science is Knowledge. Knowledge gained by observation, study and testing.” “Religion is a system of faith”. I love science. There is absolutely nothing against science in this post. But it is against using lies to support a theory. The contention is that is there is nothing scientific about the “Evolution Theory”. Our evolutionists say they have evidence for evolution. What sort of evidence do they give? We’re just about to see. Now to breakdown what evolution really teaches, we have:

• Cosmic Evolution – The origin of time, space and matter. i.e. the Big Bang.
• Chemical Evolution – The origin of higher elements from Hydrogen. (It is teached that the Big Bang produced Hydrogen. How did we get the other elements? Are we supposed to believe that uranium evolved from Hydrogen? If the answer for this is that the fusion of stars made it, then make a note that no one has ever observed the fusion or formation of stars. Also we have a “Chicken – Egg” problem. What came first? The elements made stars or the stars made elements?
• Stellar Evolution – Origin of stars and planets. ( Again, No one has ever seen them form. Hence not observable. It has been estimated that every person on earth can personally own 11 trillion of them. “Astronomy and the Bible, Donald Deyoung”. That’s how many they are. But no one has ever seen one form. Something to think about.)
• Organic Evolution – Origin of Life. (Not observable.)
• Macro Evolution – Changing of one kind of plant or animal into another kind. i.e. Monkey to man. (We have never see it happen.)
• Then we have variation within kinds. This is observable. But there is no evolving of something here. A dalmatian dog gives birth to a dalmatian dog. A pug gives birth to a pug. They are variations of dogs. But all are dogs. Not any other animal.

If mine is a religion as it’s based on faith, the evolution is a religion too. If a scientific atheist believes in the evolution, then they can. But they certainly shouldn’t call it Science because it can’t be observed, studied or tested. The above mentioned types of Evolution are religious. Not a shred of evidence to back it up. If they call Christianity a religion, they are forgetting the very own fact that theirs is a religion too. And before it slips off of my head, Fossil Record cannot possibly be used as an evidence for evolution as my brothers and sisters, Fossils do not come with time and date. And also the prediction of the biblical view that fossils would be found has already been made. So duh! And also if you still base the argument that the Big Bang is true, then my friends, please take time to go through #post2 which is “Why creationism is the only possibility”. Even if my theory is false, I think I certainly have the experiential evidence of my faith in the word of God.

#CogentConscience, spreading the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Note: The post contains references from Dr. Kent Hovind’s research material.

Mere Christianity.

My argument against God was that the universe seemed so cruel and unjust. But how had I got this idea of just and unjust? A man does not call a line crooked unless he has some idea of a straight line. What was I comparing this universe with when I called it unjust? If the whole show was bad and senseless from A to Z, so to speak, why did I, who was supposed to be part of the show, find myself in such violent reaction against it?

A man feels wet when he falls into water, because a man is not a water animal: A fish would not feel wet. Of course I could have given up my idea of justice by saying that it was nothing but a private idea of my own. But if I did that, the argument against God collapsed too – for the argument depended on saying that the world was really unjust, not simply that it did not happen to please my private fancies.

Thus in the very act of trying to prove that God did not exist – in other words, that the whole of reality was senseless – I found that I was forced to assume that one part of reality – namely my idea of justice – was full of sense. Consequently atheism turns out to be too simple. If the whole universe has no meaning, we should never have found out that it has no meaning: just as, if there were no light in the universe and therefore no creatures with eyes, we should never know it was dark. Dark would be without meaning.

#CSLewis

Why was God resentful in the Old Testament and loving in the New Testament?

Admirable question by an atheist friend!

It is a false dichotomy that God was judgmental and bitter throughout the Old Testament. How can I approve this statement? Well look at the Old Testament, you need to first see what it is that was being accomplished there. The moral law was given to the people with a dynamic attendance of the supernatural and the miracles. Go through the book of Exodus. Punctuated miracles, from the time of creation, the time of Moses, the time of Elijah and Elisha. Those were the classic periods of miracles and when the dramatic disclosure of God was attended by incontrovertible evidence like food coming from the heaven, double portion coming before the Sabbath, when the bitterness from the water is taken away. And in proportion to the nature of the dramatic miracles, it was a rightful expectation of God for compliance and obedience, because if you don’t obey in the phase of such dramatic revelation, you will never obey no matter what happens.

Secondly God was building a covenant to people through whom he was going to disclose himself and in that covenant relationship, we hear such extraordinary statements which portray his love. For example Isaiah 5:4 says “What more could I have done for you that I have not already done? Why, when I expected it to produce good grapes did it produce worthless ones?” That statement is a magnificent exposition of the love of God. The book of Hosea where the prophet Hosea marries a Harlot who wherefore goes back to the brothel to please the other men, God commands Hosea in Hosea 3:1 “Go, show your love to your wife again, though she is loved by another man and is an adulteress. Love her as the Lord loves the Israelites, though they turn to other gods and love the sacred raisin cakes.” Now this is the ultimate expression of Grace.

Therefore when we come to a conclusion that the Old Testament is a hard concept of law and judgement, we are missing that the proportion of compliance and obedience that God expected from the people was never returned back to him. Hence we conclude with the book of Malachi which is the last book in the Old Testament which begins to say “I have loved you. And yet you say how have you loved us?” The love of God is the central feature of the Old and the New testament.

#GodBlessUsAll

Limits of Scientific Atheism

It sure feels orthodoxy or monotonous when a believer says that “There is one God, God is Omnipotent, The God is Jesus, Jesus is our Savior.” Over the years I’ve realized and I’m still realizing that it doesn’t feel any divergent when an atheist comes up to me and says “There is no God, Man made God, God is a myth, Man is the creator.”

They are both equally monotonous. They are both arguable. The difference is that one is adamant. Which one? The one who walks with faith or the one who needs the evidence? I’d love to conclude this argument with the words of Dr. David Berlinski and dedicate the following to all of my atheist brothers and sisters.

• Has anyone provided a proof of God’s inexistence? Not even close.
• Has quantum cosmology explained the emergence of the universe or why it is here? Not even close.
• Have the sciences explained why our universe seems to be fine-tuned to allow for the existence of life? Not even close.
• Are physicists and biologists willing to believe in anything so long as it is not religious thought? Close enough.
• Has rationalism in moral thought provided us with an understanding of what is good, what is right, and what is moral? Not close enough.
• Has secularism in the terrible twentieth century been a force for good? Not even close to being close.
• Is there a narrow and oppressive orthodoxy of thought and opinion within the sciences? Close enough.
• Does anything in the sciences or in their philosophy justify the claim that religious belief is irrational? Not even ballpark.
• Is scientific atheism a frivolous exercise in intellectual contempt? Dead on.

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

Evidence for God’s love was Christ’s sacrifice.
Now doesn’t the history tell us that a person named Jesus walked on the earth and was crucified 2000 years ago? You might want to rethink before you ask #evidence for his existence.
Now that you know that he existed, you might want to rethink before you ask evidence to God’s love.