Get Real

True Truth

Before one can conclude something is false, there must be something that is true, otherwise, how could one determine the falseness of the subject at hand?

The word “true” is often used by carpenters as a reference to the straightness of a board as opposed to it being warped. This same term is used by scientists when referring to the earth’s axis rather than the magnetic poles, i.e. true north. Just recently, I heard two words used together that I hadn’t heard before:

True Truth

At first I saw true being used as the typical adjective as in true love. It merely described the truth. But after closer consideration, I see that the truth is true—noun. Truth is true because just like true north there’s only one degree of true north. There is not an almost true north. It either is or it isn’t. This applies also to truth—it either is or it isn’t.

Truth exists. As humans, we innately know right from wrong. The only difference is what degree of true truth do we use as our compass? One man claimed to be the compass:

"I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”¹

The man who made the claim was Jesus. The truth does not change based on who believes it. If I were trekking to the North Pole, I would want a compass that was properly calibrated and I would believe the research that proves true north is where it is.

I am trekking through life, using the compass known as Jesus the Christ who says he not only knows the way but is the way to eternal life--He is the Truth. Faith and research line up.

Have you done your research about True Truth? If so, what did you find? If not, why not?

You can find more intriguing writings like this at http://www.keytofreedom.org/resources.html

¹ John 14:6

Let Us Argue from Truth

Consider if you will:

1.    Our limited minds can discover eternal truths about being.

2.    Truth properly resides in a mind.

3.    But the human mind is not eternal.

4.    Therefore, there must exist an eternal mind in which these truths reside.

Where does truth reside?

You can find more intriguing writings like this at http://www.keytofreedom.org/resources.html

¹ Excerpted from  Handbook of Christian Apologetics

Let Us Argue from Consciousness

When we experience the tremendous order and intelligibility in the universe, we are experiencing something intelligence can grasp. Intelligence is part of what we find in the world. But this universe is not itself intellectually aware. As great as the forces of nature are, they do not know themselves. Yet we know them and ourselves.¹

So where does this intelligence come from?

You can find more intriguing writings like this at http://www.keytofreedom.org/resources.html

¹ Excerpted from  Handbook of Christian Apologetics

My Cat has Never Prayed

I love all animals. At some time in my life, I have owned dogs, hamsters, birds and chickens but I happen to own a cat right now. Sam cannot speak a language that I understand, but he lets me know when it’s his dinnertime. He can be extremely demanding at times and has been known to chase behind me and bite my leg in an attempt to get my attention. All of this comes from some mere instinct that he has, not a conscience.

Humans have a mind (that thinks and reasons), a soul (a basic self-conscious personality) and a spirit (the part that will live on after the body dies).

Compared to the animal and plant world humans are different in that they have a capacity to reason about God. We can worship self-consciously and God-consciously, while the animals do not.

My highest destiny is to know God. Sam’s highest destiny is to eat twice a day and sleep on a sundrenched cushion in the afternoons. It’s just the nature of the two different beings. I can pray, he can’t.

Do you agree? Do humans and animals have different reasons for being?

You can find more intriguing writings like this at http://www.keytofreedom.org/resources.html

Good versus Evil

Is there really evil in the world? You know, like the “dark side” in Star Wars or the evil force of the Dark Lord Sauron in Lord of the Rings?

Some would say no. There is no evil in the world it’s just one’s concept or perception of things that happen. This leads to another question. Do bad things really happen?

For those of you that think not, I am curious what you think of any type of harm that is directed at you, your family or someone you love.

If you’ve read my “About” page, you know that I am very biased on some issues. The very fact that we blog usually means we have an opinion on a matter. This subject is no different.

Yes, there is a source of good and a source of evil. My worldview concludes that all good comes from a righteous God and all evil comes from his adversary Satan who carries the title “the devil” (one of many).

What do you think? Is there really good and evil in our world today?

You can find more intriguing writings like this at http://www.keytofreedom.org/resources.html

A View of the World

In the 1960’s man seemed to defy the very laws of nature that previously kept him bound to earth’s atmosphere. He had finally designed an aircraft that would transcend him into the inky blackness of space. Volumes have been written on the data and the photos the few fortunate men gathered as they shared their visual view of the world.

It is unlikely that the common civilian will ever get to glimpse the world from that view. However, we all have a worldview.

A worldview, whether you’ve intentionally thought about it or not, is present in all of us. Consider your perspective on the following:

·         Humankind. Was he created, did he evolve, or something else? Does he have a free will/choice in his destiny?

·         Morality/Ethics. Are there absolutes? Who/what determines them? What makes an action right or wrong?

·         Knowledge. Can humans know anything? Is knowledge attainable? What is the role of reason?

·         Reality. What is real versus perceived? How did the world as we know it and the universe come into being? Is it steady/static? Is it closed or open?

·         God. Does this “being” exist? Is their many or one? If he is a he, is he personal? Is he active, proactive, reactive?

When you have determined your stance on these issues, you have identified your worldview.

The question is, why do you believe what you believe? Is it right? Are you SURE?

You can find more intriguing writings like this at http://www.keytofreedom.org/resources.html

[i]

---

[i] For more info on this topic, check out So What’s the Difference, by Fritz Ridenour.

Hopeful Living or Wishful Thinking

“I wish I may, I wish I might, have the wish I wish tonight.”

I have no idea why that little verse is stuck in my memory bank. I’m not sure where or when I first heard it or if it’s in some children’s book somewhere. But, I can envision a little child looking out her bedroom window to the brightest star she can see and whispering those words. With all of her innocent and naïve heart, she has faith in something outside of herself and hopes her wish will come true.

Contrast the little girl’s wishful thinking into actuality—into faith in a real and personal God that cares about the lives and future of those who seek him.

Faith is the confidence that what we hope for will actually happen; it gives us assurance about things we cannot see…By faith, we understand that the entire universe was formed at God’s command, that what we now see did not come from anything that can be seen.[1]

Most of us grow out of wishful thinking. But then what?

·         What if you could always have hope that your current crisis would turn out okay?

·         What if you could wake up with confidence that no matter what happens to you today, somebody cares about you and your tomorrow?

·         What if you had assurance about the unknown future?

If you have hope, confidence and assurance not on a star but on God, you move from wishful thinking to hopeful living.

I’d like to hear your thoughts on this matter. 

You can find more intriguing writings like this at

http://www.keytofreedom.org/resources.html

---

[1] Hebrews 11:1-3 (NLT)

Do All Roads Lead to God?

I once heard a preacher say they did. But that statement can be very misleading unless I have insider knowledge about the Bible.

In the most profound doctrinal statement of Christianity, the writer of the biblical book of Romans says [every person] know[s] the truth about God because he (God) has made it obvious to them. For ever since the world was created, people have seen the earth and sky. Through everything God made, they can clearly see his invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature. So they have no excuse for not knowing God.[1]

So in one sense any person living anywhere on the planet can find the road that leads to God. However, there is only one gate. All who want to get to God, must pass through the “gate” known as Jesus Christ the son of God who paid the entrance fee with his life on a cross.

So, what do you think? Next time you see an amazing sunrise or sunset, do you think you’ve seen the invisible qualities of and eternal God?

You can find more intriguing writings like this at

http://www.keytofreedom.org/resources.html.

---

[1] Romans 1:19-20 (NLT)

Trifecta, Tricycle or Trilemma

Trifecta, tricycle, trilemma. An interesting trio, don’t you think? Most of us are familiar with the first two, but the third may not be so familiar.

C.S. Lewis uses the idea of this “trilemma” to describe what you will have as you wrestle with three vary different conclusions concerning Jesus Christ. Once an agnostic Lewis writes, “I am trying to prevent anyone saying the really foolish thing that people often say about him: ‘I’m ready to accept Jesus as a great moral teacher, but I don’t accept His claim to be God.’”

Jesus claimed to be God, if he was not, he wouldn’t be a great teacher, he’d be a liar. However “someone who lived as Jesus lived, taught as Jesus taught, and died as Jesus died could not have been merely a liar. What alternatives are there?”

He’d be a lunatic. If he were crazy enough to think he was God, that might also explain why he spoke words that eventually got him crucified. But, historians and psychologists report his teachings were those spoken by a man with mental clarity. Now what?

He must be as he claimed, the Christ, the Son of God—Lord.

All three choices of the trilema are possible, but which is most probable? Who you decide Jesus Christ is cannot be determined by some “idle intellectual exercise. You cannot put him on the shelf as a great moral teacher. That is not a valid option. He is either a liar, a lunatic, or Lord and God.”[1] You must make a choice.

I’d love to hear from you. What do you think? What will you do with this trilema?

You can find more intriguing writings like this at http://www.keytofreedom.org/resources.html.

---

[1] Adapted from Josh MacDowell’s More Than a Carpenter

See also MacDowell’s Evidence that Demand’s a Verdict

A True Athiest?

I read of a conversation the other day between two men. The first claimed he was an atheist. The second replied:

It may be of no concern to you what my opinion of that statement is, but I would like to ask you one question. I know from the [Bible] that a man who says there is no God is a fool, [i] and in the [original text] this means that he is insane. Now the question is this: Were you telling the truth when you said you did not believe that there is a God, for I want to know whether you are crazy or a liar.[ii]

What about you? Do you think there is a God?

---

[i] Psalm 14:1, 53:1

[ii] Donald Grey Barnhouse, Man’s Ruin, Volume I, (Wheaton, IL: Van Kampen Press, 1952), 294