Recently, I was called unloving and “more like Richard Dawkins” as well as told that I only argue about petty things when I refered to the Bible and what it teaches to a certain blogger. This was because I was further expounding on more of what the Bible communicates to a girl on the internet who wrote a few blog articles that left much out of the Bible when expressing her opinions. She could not stand to be corrected because she felt she knew everything. She will not listen to anyone who has something else to say because she bases her entire faith on experiences rather than the Word of God. Such people as this girl use what I call the “Unloving Fallacy.” This is nothing more than an ad hominem attack that labels anything the attacker does not agree with as “unloving” or “unchristlike” without giving any biblical evidence to support their claim. These people only want to hear themselves talk and want to force people to agree with their views, or else they will write them off and walk away and ignore them. The girl who runs a blog that I am talking about told me that I can make my own blog post since she only deletes any comment I make on her articles that encouraging more thought on a subject. She does not like that. So I thought I would do what she suggested, but she said she does not like that type of energy. The reason she does not like “that type of energy” is because it proves her wrong and hurts her pride. This is a sinful attitude that she needs to repent of. She is disregarding a brother in Christ because of her ego.

        It has been popular for sometime for people to jump on the “Jesus loves everyone and accepts everyone and would never tell people they are wrong or that they believe wicked things!” bandwagon. In reality, Jesus showed His love by proclaiming the serious message of salvation from sins and eternal damnation to all people. Even today, His disciples are commanded to preach into all the world this message (Matthew 28:19-20). With the current liberal trend that society has only been heading deeper down into, Christians who promote the full gospel of sin, hell, wrath, redemption, atonement, love, grace, and salvation are constantly attacked by worldy and biblically ignorant people professing to be Christians. Usually, these types are actually heretics involved in a heretical view of the Bible in a heretical, liberal church group; but on lesser occasions these people are baby Christians who had some deep emotional experience when hearing about Jesus Christ; who now think they are enlightened and transcend the average Christian. They believe they know it all and must express their opinions to everyone. There is no room for correction for such immature believers at this point in their life, but hopefully later God will show them their ignorance and help them grow into mature believers as Colossians 1:28 expresses. This is a real problem with new Christians who lived a life of terrible sin who now think they know more than the average church people— who are real Christians that may not have participated in such sins and might have always went to church their whole lives since childhood. There is now a seperation of Christians where some think they are on a higher plane than other more mature, theologically wise, and experienced Christians. This is a problem that more people in the Church need to address and attack so people will be set in place and able to grow as mature believers.

        The following are verses and passages from the Bible that explain the need to debate, use apologetics, and flat out tell people they are wrong and that they believe in false things which only lead them to hell. The Bible teaches we must express the truth and the full gospel of God’s grace and not allow people to remain in false religions or counterfeit gospel teachings of heresy. Of course this MUST be done with love. The typical biblical Christian loves people and only expresses boldly the truth out of love for them and love with honor for God Almighty. This is not self-righteousness, but an expression of what is fact in order that men will be saved from the coming wrath and that the God who created all things is honored in correct worship. This benefits the Church body greatly and edifies everyone.

All other religions are demonic

        1 Corinthians 10:20-22 “No, but I do say that what they sacrifice, they sacrifice to demons and not to God. I do not want you to be partners with demons! You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons. You cannot share in the Lord’s table and the table of demons. Or are we provoking the Lord to jelousy? Are we stronger than He?”

This passage speaks for itself and the conclusion is: are we stronger than He? Paganism always teaches works based righteousness, but in reality no one can get to heaven by their own works. Only God can do it, are humans stronger than God’s power to save and give out grace and atone for our sins? No! A human cannot rely on his own merit and expect to make it to heaven.

Acts 4:12 further expresses, “There is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to people by which we must be saved.”

Leviticus 17:7 “They must no longer offer their sacrifices to the goat-demons that they have prostituted themselves with. This will be a permanent statute for them throughout their generations.”

Deuteronomy 32:17 “They sacrificed to demons, not God, to gods they had not known, new gods that have just arrived, which your fathers did not fear.”

Even in the Old Testament in Ancient times it was obvious to the followers of God that other religions are demonically and satanically inspired. And how many new demonic doctrines and gods have appeared throughout later history even up until today!

Argue for the faith!

        Acts 15:1-2 is an example of an argument against the idea that circumcision is necessary for salvation which occured between Paul and Barnabas, and some men from Judea. In verse 2 it is said that Paul and Barnabas engaged in serious argument and debate. People who use the “Unloving Fallacy” would oppose what Paul and Barnabas did if they were alive during their time.

1 Peter 3:15 commands the use of apologetics: “…but set apart the Messiah as Lord in your hearts, and always be ready to give a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you.”

Titus 1:15 claims that unbelievers are defiled and so are their consciences. Also, Titus 1:16 says, “They profess to know God, but they deny Him by their works, they are detestable, disobedient, and disqualified for any good work.” This could be said of many who use the “Unloving Fallacy” who are heretics in disguise as real Christians. The baby-christians on the other hand behave similarly because of ignorance though they have the ability to be corrected through the conviction of the Holy Spirit. Titus 2:8 says, “Your message is to be sound beyond reproach, so that the opponent will be ashamed, having nothing bad to say about us.” This is a command to shame opponents of the TRUE GOSPEL that the “Unloving Fallacy” users do not follow. They misunderstand this attitude from the Bible as unloving when in reality it actually is loving to protect the souls of “hearers of ideas” who could be misled, and also to hope that shaming the opponent turns them around to a correct view of God in repentence.

2 Timothy 3:16 says, “All Scripture is inspired by God and is profitable for teaching, for rebuking, for correcting, for training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.” A true believer will use the Scriptures for not only teaching but to rebuke and correct people.

2 Timothy 4:2 charges Christians to “…proclaim the message; persist in it whether convenient or not; rebuke, correct, and encourage with great patienceand teaching.” Christians should persist in explaining the full gospel truth to people and not waver, and keep saying it even if it is inconvenient. Many people are offended by the gospel because it exposes their sin and tells them that they are wrong. So what! We should persist in telling it to them anyway out of love for God and that they will be convicted and repent.

1 Timothy 5: 20 “Publicly rebuke those who sin, so that the rest will also be afraid.” The meaning of this is self-evident to true Christians.

Colossians 1:28 explains, “We proclaim Him, warning and teaching everyone with all wisdom, so that we may present everyone mature in Christ.”  Hopefully the “Unloving Fallacy” user will listen to the warning that they are promoting false ideas of what is Christian and will grow up and not stay on milk, but will eat solid food.

Romans 10:17 “So faith comes from what is heard, and what is heard comes through the message about Christ.” Obviously, no one will get saved if they do not hear the Word of God preached. A Christian does not only do nice deeds and help the poor or be nice to pagans and assume they will be saved by those acts alone. No, all pagans will be saved when they are convicted by the Holy Spirit Who is revealed from God’s Word.

Acts 28:23-24 is a passage that tells about how Paul persuaded people concerning Jesus from the Law of Moses and the Prophets (what we call Scripture) and some were persuaded, and some were not. In Acts 28:31 it tells us that Paul kept proclaiming the kingdom of God and teaching things about Jesus Christ with “full boldness abnd without hindrance.” Paul was not afraid to be bold and tell the full truth, his emotions did not hinder him. This is the problem with the baby-Christian, “Unloving Fallacy” user. They let their emotions get in their way and confuse boldness with being unloving.

Acts 20:27 “For I did not shrink back from declaring to you the whole plan of God.” Christans must declare not only grace, love, and mercy; but also wrath, damnation, and sin.

Acts 17:2 tells us that Paul reasoned with Jews using the Scriptures to prove them wrong.

Acts 4:29 is a prayer for boldness when sharing the gospel. Not a timid, overly cautious-careful not to offend-type of witnessing. Boldness does not mean to purposefully offend people yet that baby-Christian, “Unloving Fallacy” user thinks so.

Acts 2:37 explains that as a result of men hearing the gospel straight up without hindrance that these men were “pierced to the heart” and desperately wanted to know how to recieve salvation. This is what evangelism is about!

1 Corinthians 16:22 explains the serious condition that people are in if they do not love the Lord. Since all false religions are demonic and obviously do not love the true existing Lord God they are under a curse. The verse says, “If anyone does not love the Lord, a curse be on him. Maranatha!” This is the very verse from the Bible that this blog is named after. Sinners are under God’s curse and the bible says so. Is the very Scripture written by the Apostle Paul now unloving? No! It is just bluntly truthful!

Examples of Jesus

        Jesus Christ Himself in Matthew 23:33 told opponents of the gospel that they were “Snakes!” and a “Brood of vipers!” and asked them bluntly how they are going to escape hell. The “Unloving Fallacy” user would be shocked at Christ’s very words when dealing with heretics and false religions. Yet they seem to not realize such a passage actually exists in the Bible.

Mark 11:15-19 is the famous story of Jesus getting extremely angry, making his own whip out of chords, and then using that whip to attack greedy charlatans who were using religion as a means for personal wealth instead of honor for God. He cleared out the entire temple complex overturning tables and spilled out out money changers. He would not allow anyone to carry goods through the temple. He flat out blocked them from entering and scared them away! He then began to teach people not to profane the temple of God with their greed. This is mighty zeal for the Lord and the same fire in the Christians heart should burn against such evil corruption. Yet the “Unloving Fallacy” user has a hard time explaning Christ’s behavior.

Mark 16:14 claims that Jesus Christ rebuked people’s unbelief for not believing the witness of people who saw Jesus. Likewise in our time many in a lot of cases need to be rebuked for denying the reality of Jesus Christ rising from the dead.

Luke 10:13-16 is the story of Jesus Christ condeming unrepentant towns while He shook the dust off of His feet toward them in an insulting manner because they rejected His message.

John 6:60-65 explains the reaction of people being offended by His gospel and Christ’s rebuke of them for being offended.

John 7:24 commands people to stop judging by simple outward appearances, but to “judge according to righteous judgment.” The users of the “Unloving Fallacy” love to ignore this passage and only state the first part of the verse that says “do not judge according to outward appearances.” They love to call people judgmental and judgers. Yet they fail to realize the point of Christ’s teaching that we should still “judge according to righteousness.” How else can anyone discern what is correct or true if they do not judge? This is exactly in accordince with 1 Corinthians 5:12 that implies we should judge people claiming to be Christians who are immoral.

John 8:24 is a serious warning and is said matter of factly: “Therefore I told you that you will die in your sins. For if you do not believe that I am He, you will die in your sins.” This is the point of the gospel message! To warn people that they are in danger of dying in sin under God’s wrath! A loving Christian will warn people of the danger so they can repent and be saved! The “Unloving Fallacy” user is actually the unloving, uncaring person in this situation who has no concern to save a person walking into death.

John 11:33 and 11:28 both explain that Jesus got angry. Yes, the loving Lord and Savior of mankind actually got angry. Why else did he clear out an entire temple complex with a whip and call people names like Snakes and Brood of Vipers and flat out warn people they are going to hell!

The “Unloving Fallacy” user is a fool

        I already mentioned that Proverbs 18:2 explains that such people who label anyone who argues or debates for Jesus Christ unloving are foolish and only interested in hearing themselves talk. More verses explain the danger of this behavior. Proverbs 24:24-25 states,

“Whoever says to the guilty, “You are innocent”—
people will curse him,
and tribes will denounce him;
but it will go well with those who convict the guilty,
and a generous blessing will come to them.”

Such people who are guilty of the “Unloving Fallacy” are only communicating to people in danger of hell that they are innocent. Christians must convict the guilty by proclaiming the gospel so that they will repent.

        People like the girl who runs the blog I was reading who call me unloving and much like “Richard Dawkins” in spirit, as well as claiming that I only am arguing about “petty things,” these people who reject comentary that disagrees with them as well as reject friendship from biblical believers are never going to become sharpened people who will grow in the faith. Something has to happen in their life that only God can show them to change their behavior. They are lacking “iron sharpening iron” as Proverbs 27:17 states. They are becoming detestable as it says in Proverbs 28:9 that “Anyone who turns his ear away from hearing the law— even his prayer is detestable.”

        It is not a suprise that many unbelievers who hear the gospel want to walk away from an evangelist once he starts talking about the law. Many churches and baby-Christians need to learn the fact that the gospel comes with the law and without understanding the law men are never going to understand what Christ did on the cross. Turning an ear away from hearing the law is detestable and many of these liberal church milk-drinkers are in danger of praying detestable prayers.

        It should be self-evident to any biblical Christian that sharing the gospel or promoting the faith is going to come with arguments from opponents that one must counter-attack to shed light on the Word of God. Christians should not live to impress unbelievers and try hard not to offend them. No we should not! 1 Corinthians claims that we will be slandered by god-haters, yet we will entreat them and show God’s love anyway, and even so while we are spreading the FULL gospel message, we are going to be considered as “…the world’s garbage, like the filth of all things.” This is because darkness hates the light as John 3:19-20 talks about. The light exposes their evil deeds.

        I doubt this girl who runs her blog and calls me unloving, and implies that I am unchristian and hateful, will ever read this. Or, if she sees this article I doubt she will even get past the first paragraph, but I wrote this article because this is a common occurence in the evangelical world that real Christians have to suffer through. The know-it-all-new-milk-drinking-baby-christians who think they lived it hard and are somehow on a higher spiritual plane than the average long time battle-worn Christians who go to church and believe in biblically conservative values need to get a reality check! They cannot boast in themselves or claim their past somehow makes them superior and more evangelistically knowledgable! They need to sit down, stop preaching, stop yelling out the “Unloving Fallacy,” and listen to other Christians who know more and want to help them grow. Hopefully, more new converts to Christ will be spiritually empowered with wisdom and a passion and boldness for the truth without fear. This will bring about proper evangelism as well as edification for the entire Church.

         I recently saw a TV show called 1,000 Places to See Before You Die. It is about a newlywed couple who travels around the world experiencing all kinds of things in different countries. The TV show has them boasting about how they “put their lives on hold” so they can go travel around the world. They act like their friends think they are crazy for putting everything off to go travel. But I say yeah right! They did not put their lives on hold to go travel around the world! The TV show they are on is their job and they get paid to be the hosts of the show which allows them to show off all of their pretentious cultural knowledge and other nonsense. They reek of yuppie-ness and are obviously rich. The average person cannot afford to go travel around the world and go to 1,000 places before they die. This show acts as if it is a hard thing to do to go travel around the world and stop working at regular jobs that everyone else is working at in order to be paid to go travel to these locations.

        What they feature on the show are all of the places you most likely will never get to go see unless you of course are extremely rich and can afford the airfare, hotel accommodations, transportation , food, and not to mention other expenses. Most people in theUnited Statescan’t even travel around in their own country to see their nation’s landmarks let alone their own state all the time. I find this attitude of “I need to go and experience all kinds of things and accomplish goals before I die” as totally futile and stupid. Everyone dies and life is short and what we do on earth for ourselves means nothing in Eternity. So many people act as if their experiences somehow make them more sophisticated of a person and better than everyone else as they boast about what they did on all of their “ultra cool” vacations. They act as if they have some insight of world cultural knowledge that no one else has just because they traveled. In reality these people are every bit as ignorant about life as they were before they left. People of Intercultural Studies or Anthropology are far more qualified to speak on world culture and geographical issues because they studied them and understand the deeper concepts of world culture. Such students don’t have to see every single landmark in the world to be more than capable of being cultured. It takes more than being rich and going places to really understand things. Many people could be uptight, snobby jerks and go to another country and act the same way in that country they would at home and leave thinking they are somehow smarter. This is ignorant.

         The Christian understands that life is not about sensing things because we are simply biological masses with no spirit or soul, and everything is physical as all we can do is use our 5 senses to understand the world. This is what the atheist foolishly believes. The secular mind has no desire to understand the purpose of life in God. All they care about is self-gratification through their physical senses as they try hard to suppress the truth in their conscience about God (Romans 1:18). It is interesting how Ecclesiastes 1:18 claims, “For with much wisdom is much sorrow; as knowledge increases, grief increases.” Yet, so many secular minds will suppress the truth of sorrow as well. Most of the world travelers that can do anything and go anywhere are enjoying the benefits of their earthly wealth that gives them the opportunity to experience the world’s pleasures in every country of the world. They ignorantly forget the pain and suffering, or at least ignore it and never think about it again as seeing the poverty worldwide ruins their vacation if they dwell on it. Or they simply only stay at tourist areas and never go to the real local cultural areas of the countries they visit. 

        For the Christian, he knows that life is about serving God wherever you are and in whatever circumstances you are in. There is a reward after death for all Christians and that is what he lives for. There is no point in trying to pursue achievements. King Solomon said, “When I considered all that I had accomplished and what I had labored to achieve, I found everything to be futile and a pursuit of the wind. There was nothing to be gained under the sun” (Ecclesiastes 2:11). The secular person does not understand this and thinks that life on earth is all that exists so they desperately strive to achieve and experience as many things as they can possibly experience through their senses before they die. After this there is judgment for them. If they only understood the truth of the gospel and who God is they wouldn’t pointlessly pursue such futile things and would serve God and escape judgment. Romans 4:4 says, “Regarding them: the god of this age has blinded the minds of the unbelievers so they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.” The Christian on the other hand does “not focus on what is seen, but on what is unseen; for what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal” (Romans 4:18).

        Think about what is unseen and the pursuit of the glory of God in order to proclaim the gospel wherever you go and do not worry about experiencing everything in the entire world; accept your circumstances and live for Him. The things we will experience for eternity cannot be compared to the small futile pursuits humans strive for on earth.

        Pain will never end during earthly living and every year there is going to be a new battle to fight. It could be spiritual inside at war with the mind and flesh, or it could be a physical problem or illness/injury you have to cope with and still be able to praise God. Whatever it is, make sure you are biblically grounded in the Christian faith and you will do well.

        Every year I want to start over fresh and new, but it is impossible. The old man always creeps up and I have to keep killing him over and over, but sometimes it seems he is always ressurected through demonic mischief that is thrown at you through temptations and sinful desires that your flesh craves. The only weapon we have to kill these old men and women with is the Word of God. Slay it right when its head creeps up as it seems to be lifted up by demonic hands that deceptively pull it out of the grave.

        For example, on the other end of the sepctrum, in my life, not only do I have to keep saying no to Satan’s temptations, but I have to cope with the reality of my failing body. I have so many injuries and joint problems because when I was a teenager I was hit by a car. I love martial arts and I always wanted to be one of the best fighters in the world and run a martial arts school and have high ranks in different styles of combat. The problem is my body will not allow me to express my desires through martil arts the way I used to be able to. I’ve had several surgeries including six knee surgeries, three on each knee. I am coping with slow recovery as I just had the last two done a month ago at the time of this writing. I have to realize that God takes away things for His purpose and all I can do is praise His name and keep living for Him. Could it be pride, idolatry or worse if I had been the best fighter I could be? Possibly God did me a favor in taking away my physical abilities. All I know is every day when I wake up with the intense pain in my body I am always humbled and remember that none of the pain I go through: arthritic joints and breathing problems, is anywhere close to the pain Jesus Christ went through when He died on the cross and was nailed after being beaten up, kicked, punched, whipped with cords that had spikes made out of glass and thorns that shredded his skin open, and forced to carry his own cross piece that he would be raised up on later while wearing a painful crown of thorns. Jesus Christ not only took the physical pain that poured out His blood all over the ground, he also took the pain of rejection by the Father. The rejection we do not have to endure since we are sealed with Christ’s blood. Isaiah 53:10 says, “Yet the LORD was pleased to crush Him, and He made Him sick.” Further Isaiah 53:12 tells us that the reason Christ died was because “He bore the sin of many and interceded for the rebels.” If He had not done this we would have to suffer eternal death in hell. Those who reject Christ will suffer this fate, but the elect are given God’s unmeritted grace.

        So remember this year that God’s Son has died for you and the new sins you will commit this year are already put to death on the cross through Jesus Christ. Have a repentant heart and destroy the sinful old man or woman that comes back from the dead in order to destroy you. Demonic influence from the evil doers of the world whose vileness is displayed in front of you enticing you to join in; as well as your own sinful desires that embrace sins without the Devil’s help; are always going to be a challenge. The pain of earthly living and the fact the LORD takes away things and also gives new things back is a test for you to remain pure in the LORD and trust in Him. He is doing what is good. Be encouraged and strengthened. Serve the King and spread the gospel! Spread it through your way of life as well as opening your mouth and explaining the message. Do not be silent, both in word and deed!

        As I write this it is New Year’s Eve 2011 and tomorrow will be New Year’s Day 2012! All we can say is this is one more year closer to the return of Christ so live this new year off expectantly waiting in alterness. In 2011 we saw the Middle East rebell against kings and dictators and a huge political upheavel against Christianity and Israel is happening. We know that the bible teaches that there will be a one world ruler and a onew orld religion. The great apostasy seems to have already started since the early 2000′s and it is always finding ways to be more deceptive and more camoflauges to attach itself to true to get inside the churches and lead people astray. Remember that a half truth is still a full lie.

        Also all of the hype about 2012 being the last year of the world is nonsense. The Bible contradicts and exact date and we should not listen to it. Historians and archeologists have debunked this myth as well.

        So I hope you all will keep on evangelizing, encouraging other Christians and living for the Lord. Remember how much we failed each year, remember how much you failed last year. Relax in the forgiveness of God through Jesus Christ. Have hope you are still in the faith and desperately tryt o purge evil from among yourself. Romans 7 talks about the war with the mind/spirit and the flesh. This new year is going to be full of its own unique battles and maybe some of the old types of battles you have faced before. Gather with other saints and be strengthened and grow in Christ! Have a Happy New Year 2012!

        Many of us are getting ready for the Christmas holiday coming. We are excited about presents and Christmas parties with lots of cookies, chocolate, great coffee, hot chocolate, eggnog, and even beer or wine for those Presbyterian brothers and sisters out there; and most importantly a good time. While having joy in such activities is great fellowship, we should be careful to make sure that our ultimate joy about this season is about God: the Eternal One who chose to enter into humanity through the birth of Jesus Christ from his human mother Mary; yet conceived entirely by God through the Holy Spirit to become our Savior.

         It is significant that Jesus Christ was born into human flesh in order to pay the penalty for our sins. He was born to die for us, and those who believe can have a relationship with God and enter Heaven. Merry Christmas! The best gift of all is the Son of God.

        In Luke 1:31-33 the angel named Gabriel spoke to Mary who was the human mother of Jesus Christ and told her the following,

                                 “Now listen: 
                                 You will conceive and give birth 
                                 to a son, 
                                 and you will call 
                                 His name JESUS.
                                 He will be great
                                 and will be called
                                 the Son of the Most High,
                                 and the Lord God will give Him
                                 the throne of His father David.
                                 He will reign over the house
                                 of Jacob forever,
                                 and His kingdom will have no end.“
                                 (all emphasis mine) 

The significance of this passage is God’s command for Mary to name her son JESUS (which means “one who saves” in Hebrew, a form of Joshua), who is also given the title Son of the Most High. No other human on earth was given the title of the Son of the Most high, so this is unique and not simply a play on words to simply explain that He is a human created in the image of God. Nowhere else in the Bible has any human being ever been lifted up and called Son of God in the sense of a special title or rank. So it is obvious that this passage is explaining that Jesus Christ was literally the eternal God coming in flesh. The Father of Jesus Christ was God the Father, and not a human father. This shows further that no mere human has ever been able to claim God as His literal biological father. Mary was a virgin and did not have sex before the birth of Jesus. Joseph her husband did not know her intimately until after Jesus was born.

        The next verse down from the above passage is Luke 1:34-35 which explains,

 ”Mary asked the angel, ‘How can this be, since I have not been intimate with a man?’ The angel replied to her: The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. Therefore the holy One to be born will be called the Son of God.“

This speaks of Jesus literally coming from God and having God as His Father. No human sperm was used to make an embryo. If Jesus came from God then He has the essence of God in Him. Further, the angel Gabriel told her that the Holy Spirit would come upon her, so Christ was conceived by the Holy Spirit and not by the human, male sperm impregnating her. The Holy Spirit is the “Spirit of God.” Since there is only ONE GOD, the Son of God’s essence is not a separate god-essence, but the exact same singular essence of the Triune God.  “Isaiah 43:10-11 explicitly quotes God saying, “No god was formed before me, and there will be none after Me. I, I am the LORD, and there is no other Savior but Me.” This invalidates any possibility that Jesus Christ in any way was another god, or being created like God. It was God, with God, begetting God: the second person of the Trinity born in human flesh through Mary. Jesus Christ is completely God as the Father is completely God as the Holy Spirit is completely God. Jesus Christ is fully God and fully human.

        John 14:7 says, “The Word became flesh and took up residence among us.” This implies God decided to live in flesh with humans. God became a human (without losing any of His deity: known as the hypostatic union) in order to live exactly like us and suffer through what we suffer without committing any sins. This includes Jesus Christ’s ability to be tempted by Satan, yet following through with temptation and actually sinning being impossible for Christ to do since He was God. This shows God humbled Himself and went through the same experiences as all humans do and had human emotions. Philippians 2:6-8 reveals that Jesus Christ,

“…who existing in the very form of God, did not consider equality with God as something to be used for His own advantage. Instead He emptied Himself by assuming the  form of a slave, taking on the likeness of men. And when He had come as a man, in His external form, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death— even to death on a cross.”

This explains that God in every way became human and kept His God-essence and also had human flesh. This is known in theological terms as the dual nature of God the Son, Jesus Christ.

        The flesh of Jesus Christ was a vital part of the salvation of humanity, for without flesh there could be no satisfactory punishment in Christ for sins, since all sin can only be pardoned with righteous bloodshed. Hebrews 9:22 says, “According to the law almost everything is purified with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.” Without Christ coming in human flesh, suffering and experiencing human hardships willfully, and most importantly, without sinning even once there could never have been a way for humanity to be forgiven for their sins and be given righteousness so that they can enter heaven and live eternally with God. Also, if Jesus Christ did not live up to these perfect standards He would not have been God. Now we know He was God because of what He accomplished and also through the resurrection that proves He was God. He returned from the dead and proved Himself resurrected with hundreds of witnesses!

        Remember to celebrate this Christmas and the ones after it for the right reasons: that God loves us, wanted to redeem us from eternal hell, willfully suffer the punishment for sins in our place (the death sentence that we deserved) and was killed violently on a cross instead of us. He was then raised from the dead and will return soon to rule over the world with His eternal kingdom. Christmas is about the birth of the Son of God in human flesh solely for the purpose of His death and resurrection that is our gift given to us by God through the Holy Spirit and loved by the Father. This is good news so proclaim it loud this season and celebrate! Our Christmas presents are simply a symbol of the great gift that God gave us because he loves us (our symbols pale in comparison). Dwell on these things and worship God for it. MERRY CHRISTMAS!

        There are a fair amount of internet atheists who love to claim that eastern religions are “atheistic” and acceptable to them, and that such religions are far better for the world than Christianity. You can find such atheists on youtube as well as internet forums. These kinds of atheists speak out of ignorance. They make claims that religions like Buddhism, Jainism, Taosim, Confusionism, and Shintoism are all just forms of atheism. If one takes a closer look into these religions they will find out that eastern religions are in no way compatible with atheism because atheism is naturalistic in its philosophy on the universe. The website dictionary.com gives the defenitions of naturalism:

“a. the view of the world that takes account only of natural elements and forces, excluding the supernatural or spiritual.

b. the belief that all phenomena are covered by laws of science and that all teleological explanations are therefore without value.” (dictionary.com)

        Harold Camping failed again after his correction of the May 21st 2011 rapture prediction to October 21st 2011 was in fact INCORRECT! Now hopefully this old false prophet will finally shut up, even if it means his old age takes him away. It would do the world better for a short amount of time, at least, until another false prophet starts opening his mouth. Which indeed will happen; just wait. But at least we can now put Harold Camping to rest, and we can count on God doing just that pretty soon. (The guy is in his 90s! So we can only hope he repents before then, if not oh well it was predestined). Meanwhile be on the lookout for the next famous false prophet who will aggrivate all of us faithful Christians who understand what the Bible says:

Now concerning that or hour no one knows—neither the angels in heaven nor the Son —except the Father. Watch! Be alert!  For you don’t know when the time is [coming]. Mark 13:32-33

 

*Before anyone gets mad and wants to ignorantly argue that since I am not a Filipino I have no right to speak about such topics, or that I am somehow racist, they need to know that I have been around Filipinos for years and have personal experience talking to Filipino Catholics as well as being told about Filipino Catholic mentality through word of mouth from Filipino friends who were discussing this topic. I have also been to the Philippines. And one thing a person cannot argue with is Scripture! Keep that in mind.

Priests tell Filipinos what to believe

        A lot of Filipinos tend to think that a part of being Filipino is to be nothing else but Roman Catholic. Catholicism and “Filipinoness” have coincided to equal the same thing in some circles. What they tend to forget is that the only reason Catholicism is even in the Philippines is because of the Spanish colonizers that ruled the Philippines for hundreds of years. Colonial mentality has made the Catholic Church to be a prestigious organization that you must join in order to “stick with your roots.” As Filipino overseas workers go abroad they maintain ties with Catholic churches and think that is what Christianity is. Really though, if Filipinos wanted to truly stick with their religious roots, they would practice spiritism, animism, witchcraft, magic, sorcery, and other occult nonsense. These were the religions of tribal people groups who originally inhabited the Philippines before the Spanish (Roman Catholics) and Chinese (who influenced the islands with Ancestral worship) showed up. A few tribal groups still exist and worship their nature dieties and spirits as well. To be perfectly honest though, the majority of Catholic Filipinos in a way do maintain such roots because of their syncretistic mentality to mix Catholic religion with paganism and superstitions. This is because Catholicism is a “cause and effect” religion just like paganism. Catholicism goes well with superstitious beliefs because a person has to “do” in order to “get” a desired result. Catholicism is itself, a form of paganism.

The Catholic Church is pagan idol worship

        The majority of Filipinos who are Catholic do not understand the Bible and barely ever read it. In fact, Catholics in general most often do not know what is in the Bible because the Roman Catholic Church does not emphasize Bible study or strong teaching from God’s Word. They are too busy promoting prayer practices, recitations of Church creeds and pre-written prayers. Most Catholics pray to Mary or some other dead person more often than they do to God. This is idolatry. Most of the time when a Filipino Catholic even reads the Bible it is for superstitious purposes, not for study. They treat the Word of God like incantations, this is blasphemy.

        Most Filipinos stick to Catholicism because of family tradition and intense fear of being abandoned by their parents. If a Filipino reads the Bible and becomes a true Christian, as in born again into a new life with Christ, then there is a chance the family will reject them and isolate themselves away from him. This fear of becoming disloyal to the family is only another one of the Devil’s schemes that binds Filipinos into a false religious system. The other fear of becoming disloyal to the Church gives a person the fear of damnation since catholicism teaches that salvation can never be obtained outside of the Roman Church. The effects of this evil bondage makes it so that a person can witness to a Filipino, and prove to them the truth of the Bible, that the Catholic church is a lie, and they still are blinded by their fear of offending their parents and local priests. In fact, priests impress this fear on their church members, especially if a young person starts to question Catholic dogma.

Self flagellation, a mockery of Christ

        Most Catholic Filipinos will be highly offended at what evangelical Christians believe or claim. They appeal to emotions about how something cannot be offensive and also be true. This is a fallacy. In fact, the Bible says that gospel is offensive. In Galations 5:11 Paul mentions that the cross is an “offense.” This is because unbelievers are people who only think in the flesh and cannot please God (Romans 8:8). True believers understand the power behind the message of the cross, but the Catholic church has profaned it and made it into something else which is a lie: it is just a small gesture in the way for salvation that Christ died on the cross as it does not save anyone unless they do works. Most Filipino Catholics have absolutely no understanding of what the cross even means and do not really comprehend why Jesus Christ died on it. 1 Corinthians 1:18 says, “For to those who are perishing the message of the cross is foolishness, but to us who are being saved it is God’s power.” So the interpretation of the true message of the cross when told to most Catholics, the fact that Jesus Christ died for the sins of those who believe and are given free grace without any works, is seen as foolish. The most bizzar underatanding of the cross can be seen in the Filipino Catholics who mix extreme superstitions with the Catholic idea of pennance. These Filipinos parade through the streets practicing mortification of the flesh. They practice self flagellation with spikey shards on a cord whipping their back over and over as they walk and carry a cross. After this they are literally nailed through the palms with nails and feet and put up on a cross to act like Jesus when He died. These activities are not officially approved by the Roman Catholic church but it is only an extension of where superstitious Catholicism based on works-righteousness can create. The Roman Church also does not condem these acts as blasphemy either and allows such people who are ignorantly mocking Jesus Christ to remain members of the Catholic Church.

        Catholicism teaches that the worshipper must practice self-expiation of sins and earn grace from God. So grace is not given freely, but it is earned through human merit. This contradicts the Bible where it says in Romans 3:28, “For we conclude that a man is justified by faith apart from works of law,” and 4:5, “But to the one who does not work, but believes on Him who declares righteous the ungodly, his faith is credited for righteousness.” And Galatians 2:16 says,

“…yet we know that no one is justified by the works of the law but by faith in Jesus Christ. And we have believed in Christ Jesus, so that we might be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the law, because by the works of the law no human being will be justified.”

So the Bible clealy shows that salvation is by faith in Christ alone and not earned by human effort. The Bible contradicts the Catholic Churches teachings. Human effort does not save anyone from hell and only adds to their sins because it rejects God who saves; and it promotes self-rightesouness.

        Now what is truly offensive is what the Catholic Church teaches as anethamas. An anethema is an ecclesiastical ban or a curse. It results in a person being excommunicated from the Catholic Church. According to Catholicism there is no salvation outside of their church, so if you become anathema you are basically being damned to hell. Guided by Truth has a list of anathemas found in the Catechism of the Catholic Church, Complete Word Study Dictionary, and the New Catholic Dictionary that will damn people to hell according to the Catholic Church which can be seen here: http://blog.guidedbytruth.com/anathema.php. Notice that salvation by faith alone is considered anathema as well as believing in the completion of the Bible without the Apocryphal books. The belief that infants do not need to be baptized, belief that the eucharist is not really Christ’s blood and body present in the bread and wine, the doctrine of repentance to recieve salvation permanently and freely, and more are anathematized by the Catholic Church. In fact, the Roman Church would burn people at the stake and label them heretics for believing such truths. This means that Roman Catholicism damns every evangelical to hell. This is considered law and inspired by God to them and if you do not agree you are not following God. No matter what anyone claiming to be Catholic says, they cannot change the facts of the Roman Church’s teachings. Many Catholics will try to dillute such hard teachings and claim that somehow evangelicals can still go to heaven eventually, but this is not what the law of the Church really teaches.

        The Bible contradicts what the Catholic Church teaches for salvation as it is very clear on how a person is saved. Sola fide in theological terminology means “faith alone.” This means that salvation is not by works, but by faith only, so no one can earn salvation by doing good works as the catholic Church teaches. The following is a list of some verses from the Bible that teach salvation by faith alone:

Rom. 3:28-30, “For we maintain that a man is justified by faith apart from works of the Law. Or is God the God of Jews only? Is He not the God of Gentiles also? Yes, of Gentiles also, since indeed God who will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through faith is one.“

Rom. 4:5, “But to the one who does not work, but believes in Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is reckoned as righteousness,“

Gal. 2:16, “nevertheless knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the Law but through faith in Christ Jesus, even we have believed in Christ Jesus, that we may be justified by faith in Christ, and not by the works of the Law; since by the works of the Law shall no flesh be justified.“

Eph. 2:8, “For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God.“

How can a Catholic argue against these verses or somehow claim the Church domga is the same as the Bible? They cannot! Does God lie? Does He contradict Himself? No!

        Filipino Catholics need to stop being lazy within their culture and get out and research their religion. Filipinos tend to live fatalistically and unconcerned with change or preparing for things. This attitude is known as bahala na which is Tagalog for “come what may.” This is part of the reason why many Filipinos do not care to leave the church or strive to find truth. When confronted with the Biblical passages as well as historical facts about Catholicism they just shrug their shoulders and say things like, “I am Filipino man! This is who I was born as and I will neve change!” Some will get angry and say, “I will be Catholic until I die! I am Filipino! I will be Catholic till death!” This is ignorant behavior and only leaves these types of people in spiritual darkness based on an oppressive works based religion.

        The atrocities of the Catholic Church are numerous and with a little research many Filipinos could know the truth of Catholic Church history. One major atrocity is the fact they have pushed their religion on Filipinos in the past who overwhelmingly embraced this false church because of the racist colonial mentality caused by the Spanish Catholics. Filipino Catholics need to get rid of pride and arrogance and humble themselves. They should really research through the Scriptures for what God is teaching people. Their eyes will be opened as most Filipino Catholics go to churches where the Bible is never opened, never explained or even spoken of. It is sad. Hopefully, any Filipino Catholic will be inspired by this blog post to open up their Bibles and really see the truth. Filipinos involved with Catholicism need to stop being lazy with their spiritual lives by letting priests tell them what to believe and stop behaving ignorantly about religion and seek out truth!

        Several days ago I recieved a comment by an angry Sikh who was mad about my article about Sikhism and my temple experience in Los Angeles with a group of them there. The person went by the name “onlypath” and wrote me an angry leter accusing Christianity and my intentions of why I visited a Sikh Gurdwara. His letter is quoted and my response is underneath in italics. Here it is:                  

“<<>>>”

         *Yes he wrote that to me, and I have no clue what the heck he was trying to do.

How “Christian” of you to go to a Sikh Gurdwara accept their hospitality, accept their love  and friendship, accept their trust in you, spend the night there, eat their food and make polite chat with them but all the time your mind was false, you intensions we dishonorable and your actions were deceitful. So you believe we are in a “Satanic” grasp and we are a false religion, I say that a religion is false that has to use underhand tactics and deceitful acts to try to draw in people.”

       First of all, nothing we did in my class was dishonorable or deceitful. My professor arranged a meeting with the open minded Sikhs who enjoyed having us over. Everyone knew we were evangelical Christians and were not going to convert to Sikhism. The point was for us to learn about a culture and religion that was different from our own. The Sikhs also got to learn from us as well, and they enjoyed giving us hospitality! Isn’t it part of your religion that you MUST give a traveler or anyone who passes through a Gurdwara hospitality? From my understanding no matter what, Sikhs are to give food and shelter to people. In this case we were not just passing by but were INVITED by the chief of the temple to sleep over night in their Hollywood Gurdwara and share meals and have great discussions. They used this for an opportunity to teach us their religion and witness their god to us. They had every chance to convert us if we would believe. When we showed up all we did was ask questions in a non-judgmental way and the leaders of the temple answered them to the best of their ability. None us of presented the gospel of Christ or even tried to convert anyone. All we did was listen. Nothing was deceitful and you should be ashamed for saying such a thing because it will only keep open minded individuals from experiencing your religion. In no way did we draw any Sikh into our religion at all. If anything the students in my class could have been drawn to yours.

        The Sikhs at both temple locations gave us all kinds of respect and were extremely nice to us. I have nothing but the utmost respect for these Sikhs and enjoyed our conversations.

“Tell me, you believe in the bible, yet this form was created by politicians at the council Nicea two hundred years after the death of Jesus. There is theNew Worldedition, the King James edition, there is a feminine edition, it has been manipulated to much where is the truth ? Where is the original? You read a translated version anyway what about lost-in-translation? Why was the gospels of Mary, Judas and others left out ? You do not even follow the faith of Jesus, for Jesus said that the soul comes from God and will ultimately return to God. You follow the religion as set out bySt Paulwhich is wholly different to what Jesus preached, so my friend who is following a false religion?”

        Sorry, but God’s Word was not created 200 years after Jesus. Maybe there was the council of Nicea that RE-AFFIRMED the Bible as complete which already existed before that council, but I assure you nothing was left out of the Bible. The gospels of Judas and Mary were never even allowed in the Bible to begin with. They teach wholly contradictory things that the Bible does not. For more information please see my page called “Doctrinal Statement on Scripture” so you can better understand what constitutes as the Bible and why. Also, the Bible first began milleniums ago and was written down and more books were added as God revealed His teachings up until it was completed near 70AD. The latest biblical Scripture was written about 650 years before Islam, which was written hundreds of years before the Sikh collection of books you worship.

        Do Sikhs read a translated version of the Guru Granth Sahib Ji? How many times has it been translated into other languages, especially English so Americans can understand it? Is that a sin? Also, from my understanding Sikhs burn old copies of the Guru that are damaged, old and unusable, and more. So where are your ancient manuscripts to prove that your Guru has been translated correctly without any mistakes? How old is the oldest manuscript you have transcribed into your book? How does it differ from other religions that possibly used some of the same texts? The truth is, there is not enough archeological evidence to suggest your book was transcribed corretly without any mistakes. On the other hand, there is a multitude of archeological evidence that suggests the Bible has been written perfectly without any mistakes. We have thousands of New Testament copies from ancient times not more than 100 years after Christ’s death. How old is the oldest Guru Granth Sahib Ji? Oh wait, you probably burnt it. There is no evidence. Also, we have found the Dead Sea Scrolls that prove the Old Testament has been transcribed correctly. Research this. So your claim that the Bible has mistakes in its translation is rediculus.

        On the topic of different translations of the Bible, some are heretical and wrong, but most are not. Even so, we still have ancient texts to look back on to know the truth. We can tell the difference between the newly recent heretical bibles and the true Bibles. Most English translations are just different modern language translations from the Old English language we don’t speak anymore. But all of the English translations (minus a select few heretical versions: feminine translation, the Message, New World Translation, Lamsa etc.) say the same thing! It’s just different ways to say the same thing in English.

        What part of the Bible are you referring to where Jesus said, “The soul comes from God and will ultimately return to God?” I am not sure what Bible you were reading. The soul was CREATED by God and when we die we will return to God and be judged (Hebrews 9:27). But that is not to say our souls join with God. That is not in the Bible, but comes from Sikhism.

        Also, where did you get the idea that Paul teaches something else from Jesus? Can you explain where in the letters of Paul he contradicted Jesus and was teaching another way? Because if you actually read the Bible you would see that Paul actually teaches the same thing as Jesus Christ. 

        Another issue about the translation of the Guru Granth is that the hymns inside the book are written in several different languages. Or they originally were. The languages are Persian, Marathi, Medieval Prakrit, Hindi, Marathi, Multani, Old Punjab, and a lot of other local dialects. Also there are Sanskrit and Arabic portions. This causes your holy book to be extremely difficult to translate. If anyone has translation errors it must be your book and not the Bible. The Christian Bible was written simply in 3 languages: Hebrew (practically the entire Old testament), Aramaic (in very small portions), and Koine Greek (Entire New Testament). Plus you burned your old copies.

“God is all loving, all forgiving and all embracing, He created everything and nothing opposes Him. We are separated from Him due to our own actions, that is what has put a distance between us and Him. To get to Him we need to love Him as a father , and Him alone, not a three way tie of father, son and ghost, but HIM alone for there is no one else. He resides in us all and out of us all, He is unfathomable and we will merge into Him with His grace. There is no spirituality in Christianity, you eat everything, drink everything and make merry and then expect to be saved by Jesus. Well, Jesus is looking down on you and he does not like what he sees as a cult built up around him, he had tried to show you the way to God but instead you have made him your God.”

        I agree that God is all loving, all forgiving and all embracing. God loves and gives grace to His people. But on the other hand God is full of justice and punishes evil. Do you believe that God brings justice? Do you believe in justice? Didn’t Sikhs constantly fight the Muslims in India with mortal combat to free the land from Islamic persecution? Sikhs even have their own martial arts as a part of their religion. Sikhs carry a knife everywhere they go as part of their faith. It is a necessity to carry it. The symbol of your religion is a weapon (the Gatka). To me, that screams, “JUSTICE SHOULD BE SERVED! AND WE WILL FIGHT FOR IT!” Sikhs believe in justice and even killing enemies to protect their people. Sikhs are some of the greatest soldiers and fought in many wars, even the British hired them as military units in their colonies. Well, you can be assured that God is full of justice and brings wrath on evil. The problem is that Sikh’s don’t believe in evil but believe in simply “bad things” which are not evil just different. Sikhs contradict their own teachings that God is all loving and evil does not exist when they believe in fighting to kill enemies who oppose them.

        When you say we are separated from God due to our own actions, that is true. The problem is that you have a misunderstanding and don’t call the actions sin. You just call them “not the best” behavior. Evil is the reason humans are rejected by God and separated. If Sikh’s don’t believe in evil and actually think if it does exist (which you don’t call sin or evil but “bad things”) then God created it; so then there is a problem with your logic. The Sikh God tolerates evil or “bad behavior” and even creates it. The Christian God is 100% holy and pure without evil. The God of the Bible does not create evil and also distinguishes between sin and righteousness. Along with God’s justice this sin WILL be punished. This is why Hell exists. Such horrible evil which is against God who is eternal deserves an equally holy and eternal punishment. When you commit a crime a human judge will judge you according to the law. Well likewise, God will judge you according to His Eternal Law. Sin must be punished with bloodshed. The great news that gives us hope is that Jesus Christ died on a cross 2,000 years ago and took the punishment for our sins in death, and killed sin for Christians in the flesh of His own body. Now that is true love! Now we have a way to be given righteousness. It is a gift and not something that can be earned.

        Sikh’s on the other hand believe that you must EARN righteousness and be good, that humans can be good. Well the Bible in Romans 3 says, “NO ONE IS GOOD! NOT EVEN ONE!” Yet, Sikhs try tirelessly with no gain trying to be righteous. They have so many rules and laws: can’t cut your hair, must eat certain foods, cannot judge, must go to Gurdwara and worship Guru, put the book to bed and wake it up each morning, wear a turban, carry a knife, practice meditation, cover your hair with a turban or cloth when reading the Guru, must not eat meat or drink alcohol, and many others! What is interesting about this is that Sikhism was created in the 15^th century to the fight legalism of Hindu rituals and Islam fundamentalism. Yet they just took out a lot legalism and replaced them with their own.

        You have said that we can only get to God by His grace, yet everything Sikhs believe is not grace, but simply something earned. Grace is not something you earn, grace is grace, not earnable and is a free gift. For that is what the word grace means! Paying and working hard to earn favor is nothing even close to grace. And as a human you have to be honest with yourself that you are not a perfect person and are full of sins. How many times have you lied? Lusted after a woman? Hated someone? Stolen something? You cannot possibly earn holiness. Also, you believe in reincarnation and karma. How can you do enough good for thousands of lifetimes of sin and pay for them to earn heaven? It is impossible! How many people have obtained god? 11 Gurus? Out of the entire history? Also, every other race is not a Sikh nor are they Punjabi and did not spend their life following Sikhism so what hope do they have? They must wait and HOPE to be reincarnated as an Indian Sikh so they can get to God? This is racism my friend.

        In addition, you have a misunderstanding of the nature of the triune God. The Bible explains that God is ONE BEING, but exists in three distinct persons. This is not 3 gods, but ONE GOD. Jesus Christ is fully 100% God so we worship Him just as the Father and Holy Spirit are both 100% God. God is one in Christianity so research this.

        Now about how we drink everything and eat everything. What you are describing is self-righteousness. You boast in your accomplishments and the way you follow rules and judge everyone else who does not follow. You act as if you are perfect and good when deep inside you know if reincarnation is true you won’t obtain it. You are imperfect and a sinner. You are not holy or righteous and need a Savior. Jesus Christ taught that He is the Savior and we must repent and admit our guilt and we will be given grace freely and enter heaven. Then we are given a life change that desires to obey God. We are not God and do not merge with God. We simply get to be with God in heaven. God created everything, but everything is not God; it is separate. Your problem is a misunderstanding of who God is and what He is. You cannot become God!

“Guru Granth Sahib Ji is the living word of God, the word has been revealed to the Sikhs and as such we give it the utmost respect. Can you say the same about the bible? I remember at school the kids used to keep the bible in their desks, along with their training shoes and games kit, is this the sort of respect you have for your , allegedly, word of God? There is no Buddha teaching or Baghvand teachings in Guru Granth Sahib Ji only the compositions as revealed to those enlightened souls who God bestowed such blessing. Every shabad/hymn or composition in the Guru Granth Sahib Ji is a revelation about God and how to unite with Him. There is no vengeful God here, no jealous God here, no wrathful God here, just the true God, God of all , God of love , please I implore you, give up your ways, they will not get you anywhere, you follow Jesus but he can only get you to the level which he attained, that of heaven, but heaven is quite a low level and there is a greater journey then that to merge with the Almighty. You heaven is only temporary I am afraid, so please join with me.”

        You give your holy book so much respect that you wave a feather over it, put it to bed and wake it up each morning. You worship paper and binding on a fancy large book. How can that be God? Also, if God is everything and we merge with God how is that book special? What kind of god sleeps and has to rest? And can only sleep or rest by humans giving effort to sing it to sleep, carry it and put it in a bed, and cover it with sheets! The Christian God is omniscient, omnipresent, and omnipotent. He does not sleep nor does He need to rest. He knows all things, all the time, eternally. The Christian God of the Bible is more powerful that your god of the Guru Granth.

        Christians do not worship pages in a book, or any physical book as God. The Bible is simply a text we use to study about God who is completely separate from material things. He created everything. Your self-righteous protection of a material book, whom you also burn if they get old, keeps you from understanding the true nature of God. You have limited God to pages and script bound together. It is awfully silly. I wonder why you as a Sikh went to a Christian school.

        You said there is no Buddha teachings or Bhagavad gita teachings in your book. Well aren’t some of your hymns Sanskrit or Hindi? Don’t you teach reincarnation and karma? Those religions do too. Also, the chief of the temple told me some of the parts of the Guru contain a few Hindu and Buddhist writings as well as some Islamic ones. If he is wrong you should inform him.

        Don’t Sikhs believe that the cycle of reincarnation is infinite and that when you do get to God it will eventually start over again anyway? Jesus Christ was God and we cannot become God, or on His level of perfection. Christ gives us the way to God beause He is God and we are forgiven for our sins through repentance and faith. This is the only way. The true God is a God that is just, the Sikh god is not just and allows sinful humans to earn merit and be with him. Also, Sikhs are supposed to be non-judgmental, but all you did was judge me and tell me how bad and nasty I was.

        Nothing that happened in the Sikh temple was deceitful or underhanded. It was a great experience and I enjoyed sleeping there and eating the wonderful vegetarian food. The point is, I am true to my faith that says sinners will go to hell. All other religions are not true and keep people dead in their sins and they will go to hell. Satan creates false religions to keep humans in bondage away from God. If you are open minded you should accept my beliefs and let it go. In America we have freedom of religion, not freedom from religious discussions. You should not care that much about criticism of your faith since you believe in reincarnation anyway. There is no hell and we all get billions of chances to be reincarnated and do it right according to you. There is also no evil, correct? So then it should not matter if I say your religion is Satanic. God will just reincarnate me as something low and I can work my way up. The problem is that my original article about my Gurdwara experience convicted you and upset you. This is because the truth is only found through the Bible and the loving God of the universe who gives REAL GRACE, not acceptance of human merit, also is a God of justice because He is holy. So I am sorry, I cannot join with you.

       The point is that I hope you will repent of your sins and know the true God who administers justice and also shows infinite love to His children (those who believe) who is found only in the Bible. I have nothing but love for Siks and I hope all Sikhs come to saving grace in Jesus Christ the Lord. Christianity is not about being better than Sikhs, and I cannot force you to believe in my God, but only through the Holy Spirit can you be convicted of your sins and repent.

Hello Mr. Hardcore!

*This is a gospel tract for punks, hardcore kids, skinheads, metalheads etc…all the heavy, angry music kids. I made this a few months ago and I pass it out at malls, music events, and around stores where these types of kids might be scene. I will allow anyone to copy and print this and pass them out to kids as well so the gospel can be spread to them. I was a total skateboarder punk kid growing up as a teenager and I would go to all kinds of shows and even made a grindcore band and did vocals, so I decided it’s about time to finally make a specific gospel tract for such people of that subculture. So far, I havn’t seen or heard of anyone else doing such a thing, only that rediculus Chick Tract that says Satan is causing kids to listen to punk music and commit suicide (lol). I still listen to heavy, fast, loud music and sometimes go to shows so I am not ignorant of the music scene or what the kids are thinking, and what they stand for. Even scene poser kids can learn something from this tract. God loves even these types of dark people and many of them are the elect who need to be redeemed.

*Click on images for full size to read

Side 1

Side 2

The text of the track       

                              (Ehud’s 18 Inch Dagger Publishing, 2011)

Escape death only to die anyway…

        Hello Mr. Hardcore! You have probably heard many stories about near death experiences, or people who almost died in some freak accident, but lived to tell about it. Stories like these: a cancer patient is told they will die in 6 months, but somehow they live because the cancer goes away. Or a man might have been kidnapped and about to get his head cut off by some criminal/terrorist organization, but just in the nick of time the U.S. Special Forces snipe the bad guys and the prisoner is freed. Or maybe a man was given a death sentence in a foreign country, but was freed for some political reason right before he was to be executed. A couple might have lived through an airplane crash and were the only survivors, or possibly a person had a near death experience where their heart stopped beating for 5 minutes, and the doctors jump started the person’s heart and brought them back to life… Stories like these are numerous, what does it all mean?

Time is short…

        “To escape death” are the words people use a lot. A similar phrase used is “to cheat death,” but in reality is this true? Do people really escape or cheat death? Nope. No one can actually escape death, because death will never go away; it is always behind a person waiting to snatch them out of this world. God has a time for every person and no one can escape the time God has set for that person to die. So what is the point in people coming so close to death and ending up surviving through an ordeal? They survive only to prolong their existence until death captures them eventually anyway. Everyone will die eventually no matter what; even you. There is a book in the Bible called Ecclesiastes; Ecclesiastes 9:3&5 states, “This is an evil in all that is done under the sun: there is one fate for everyone. In addition, the hearts of people are full of evil, and madness is in their hearts while they live —after that they go to the dead…For the living know that they will die, but the dead don’t know anything. There is no longer a reward for them because the memory of them is forgotten.” Even if you haven’t had a near death experience, there are some things you need to know.  

        “Whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life because of Me, and the gospel will save it” (Mark 8:35). You cannot preserve your life. No one lives forever, and “the wicked are prepared for the day of disaster” (Proverbs 16:4).  

Exceedingly wicked…

        The human heart is full of madness, envy, and lies. Isn’t it obvious with all of the irrational murderous rage, criminals, thugs, sex obsessed perverts, rapists, drug addicts, pedophiles, drug dealers, jealous back biters, betrayers and backstabbers walking around? With all of the evil in this world, one wonders if justice will ever be served and people will be held accountable. God says “Yes.” Jeremiah 9:10 says, “I, the LORD, examine the mind, I test the heart, to give each according to what his actions deserve.” God will punish the wicked. While you live, if you are honest with yourself, you will come to understand that life is full of pain and misery. It’s because people live to please themselves and live for their own glory at the expense of others. Even you, if you are honest, have to admit you desire things you should not, and have done things you feel guilty about. Have you told a lie? Coveted something that wasn’t yours? Stolen something? Hated another person? Lusted sexually after a person who you are not married to? Cheated on someone? This is because you have an evil heart. Jeremiah 17:9 says, “The heart is more deceitful than anything else and desperately sick —who can understand it?”

You will drink of wrath…

        There are probably some people in your life who you wish would be held accountable for their actions done against you. The problem is that other people probably hope you will be held accountable for offenses you committed against them as well. You see, everyone is guilty of evil. This is because everyone sins. Romans 3:23 states, “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” Romans 3:10 & 12 says, “There is no one righteous, not even one…all have turned away, together they have become useless; there is no one who does good, there is not even one.” The worst part is that by these evil actions you (and everyone else) have offended God, who is eternally holy, and who created you and gave you life; so this makes you deserve punishment as well. Even the righteous actions you have accomplished are seen as nothing but filthy menstrual cloths to God (Isaiah 64:6). How sick is that? So that makes you a wretch in need of redemption. Hebrews 9:27 says, “…it is appointed for people to die once—and after this, judgment.” The punishment for sin is the death penalty, that is why all humans die. This is God’s law that He set in place when He created everything. Hebrews 9:22 says, “According to the law almost everything is purified with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.” Committing evil gets you the payment of death. Romans 6:23 states, “For the wages of sin is death…” Not only do all humans die as a consequence of their sins, but if you are not forgiven for your sins then you will spend eternity in hell after death. This is because you have offended a God who is eternally holy and pure and full of justice; so you deserve an equally, eternally holy punishment for your sins. You have turned your back on God who gave you life. Luke 12:15 says, “But I will show you the One to fear: Fear Him who has authority to throw people into hell after death. Yes, I say to you, this is the One to fear!” Fear means respect. Everyone in the hardcore scene wants personal respect, but most have no sense of respect for God. In fact many hate God. The U.K. punk band The Exploited says that “Jesus is dead nobody gives a toss” (“Jesus Is Dead”). The popular hardcore band Hatebreed says, “…the bastard maker. The fairy tale. The nonexistent creator” (“Puritan”). The black metal band Dark Funeral exclaims about Christ: “A crucified whore, that’s what you are” (“Hail Murder”). The 80’s hardcore band Minor Threat responsible for the Straight Edge movement says this about Christianity and God’s Word: “You picked up a bible. And now you’re gone. You call it religion. You’re full of shit” (“Filler”). As you can see many hardcore kids, punks, skinheads, and metalheads totally disrespect their Creator. This is blasphemy and it is a serious sin. Why follow in their footsteps? How is it hardcore to be a mindless follower? Does it make you more punk rock to hate Christianity because it somehow gets you scene points when in reality many of the shows you enjoy contain some bands with members who claim to be Christian (As I Lay Dying, For Today etc). Most of the hate towards Christianity is ignorant as most kids haven’t even read the Bible; they just hate it because a band or “Mr. Hardcore Joe” scene-king said to hate it. Think for yourself!  

Are scene/punk rock/hardcore points really valuable?

        What hope do these bands give in return for their antichristian philosophies? What answer is there for the evil in this world and the pain we suffer? The late Christian doom punk band World Against World speaks about these types of scene kids in their song “Scared Silent” which says “Kids they scream. Bands they play, but what does it amount? Mindless tongues, we’re following a follower…I choose not to protest in vain. Surrounded by hopelessness I am not ashamed.” It seems as though today in the heavy music subculture that as long as you are socially active, wear the tightest, most colorful jeans possible you bought from the mall, and hate God you are now acceptible to go to a show. This is a joke. Don’t you realize that you are just following the trends of huge record labels that caught onto the marketability of the early hardcore punk and heavy metal scenes’s rebel image? Just watch MTV2. You are buying into it. The record companies and mallmetal stores along with MTV sell you hate towards God through merchandising. There is no originality or truth in any of this. “There is nothing new under the sun…Can one say about anything, ‘Look, this is new’? It has already existed in the ages before us” (Ecclesiastes 1:10-11).  It is at the expense of your soul you are joining in the trends and high school mentality that the hardcore/punk/metal scene has become. As the Bible says, such rebellion and disregard for the one, true, eternal God deserves the punishment of Hell. Hell is described as a lake of fire in Revelation and all people who are not forgiven of their sins will be thrown into it for all eternity. It is a place of outer darkness full of weeping and gnashing of teeth (Matthew 25:30). You will be alone suffering immensely beyond your imagination for all eternity if you die in yours sins. The gore-grind band Carcass talks about burning alive in one of their songs which says, “Burnt to a crisp. Your fat’s on fire, devouring you whole like a cadaver-stoked pyre” (“Burnt to a Crisp”). The Lake of Fire will consume you like that for all eternity and worse, because your body will never die; but you will continually feel the pain which is unrelenting and it will never stop.  Contrary to popular belief, Hell is not a place where you will be partying with Satan and his demons while head banging to Slayer forever. There will be no rest or any kind of enjoyment. The worst part is that you will never receive the love of God He wanted to give you; and you will be emotionally tormented eternally along with burning day and night forever. Revelation 21:8 states, “But the cowards, unbelievers, vile, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars—their share will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death.” Do you fit into ANY of these categories? James 2:10 says that “whoever keeps the entire law, yet fails in one point, is guilty of breaking it all.” It is perfectly just that God has created such a place (originally for the Devil and his demons) to punish wickedness. You know it yourself that you demand justice for evil committed. If a judge let a murderer, or a rapist go free and did not judge the criminal under the law of our government to the full extent you would be pissed! Admit it! The death metal band Cannibal Corpse even says, “Evil people with evil minds slaughter their victims with ripping knives. They should be caught and put to death. Strapped to the chair, they should die there…They should be caught and punished For what they have done” (“Put Them to Death”). If mankind desires to punish evil people, is it any wonder that God would do even better and eternally kill evil for good? Humans punish evil people under man-made-laws, but God’s law is eternal. God will make all unforgiven sinners drink the cup of his wrath which is mixed full strength (Revelation 14:10), from the winepress of his fierce anger (Isaiah 63:3).

This world is dark…

        This world is full of darkness and a lot of chaos is rampant right now. But there is a light that shines truth on the reason for existence. That light is Jesus Christ, the Son of God, who willingly paid the price for sin by dying in the place of sinners over 2,000 years ago on a cross in Israel. The cross is one of the most heinous torture devices ever created by man. The pain is said to be excruciating. In fact the word excruciating comes from the Latin word “excruciātus” meaning “to crucify,” from crux meaning “out from the cross.” The cross was so painful that they had to create a new word for a new kind of pain. Jesus Christ who is the Word of God as well as God (John 1:1) came down in the flesh (John 1:14) in the form of a human (Philippians 2:6) and lived a perfect life without sin (Hebrews 4:15). He was the perfect sacrifice for sin in the world as He was like a spotless lamb (1 Peter 1:19). He came to teach the good news that God has prepared a way to forgive humans for their sins and put righteousness on them. In fact God loves His people and desires to have a personal relationship with them. The only way for this is through bloodshed (capital punishment) but not your demise as it should be; but Christ replacing you and dying on the cross instead of you. Sin was killed in Christ’s flesh for eternity making a way for you to enter God’s eternal rest in Heaven. Jesus Christ rose from the dead 3 days later and ascended into Heaven with the Father. God has so much love that He sacrificed His own Son to atone for sin (John 3:16). God is all powerful and His sacrifice is enough to cover your guilt and cleanse you from sin. Not one sin you committed is too ugly to be forgiven by God. God’s wrath was satisfied in Christ’s death on the cross once and for all. All those who believe are “born again” (John 3:3) into a new life that is no longer a slave to sin. “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9). You must admit your guilt: that you are a sinner, a wretch in need of a Savior. Then repent of your sins and confess them to God alone and believe that Christ died for them and that He rose from the dead and you will be saved from the coming wrath. “I have taken out of your hand the cup that made you stagger; from that cup, the goblet of my wrath, you will never drink again” (Isaiah 51:22). Make Jesus Christ the Lord and Master of your life and you will be free from the bondage of sin and be given eternal life. The Holy Spirit, who is God, will come to you (John 14:16-17) and indwell you; and guide you in life. God will help you understand all of the answers to life which are found only in the Bible. “He saved us not by works of righteousness that we had done, but according to His mercy, through the washing of regeneration and renewal by the Holy Spirit” (Titus 3:5).                                 

When are you going to die?

        The truth is that you never know if you will die tonight, tomorrow, or whenever. Death is always right behind you waiting to snatch you out of this world. If you feel that God is granting you repentance because you feel convicted and desire answers in this world then repent. Why wait? Do it now. Your soul is in jeopardy. Every breath you breathe right now is a gift from God and He desires to be your friend. In Christ, there is hope; there is purpose, meaning, and a future. There is love, forgiveness, grace, mercy, and justice. There are answers in the Bible and you should pick it up and read it. Study it! Don’t remain in ignorance about Christianity and assume that what atheistic, political hardcore, scene kids say is correct. Hardcore scene points are worthless, take a risk and look for the answers because they are there. Salvation is by grace alone and not by works of the law. You cannot earn salvation, it is a free gift (Romans 3:28, Ephesians 2:8). Galatians 2:16 explains that we are justified by faith in Christ. There is no other way except through Jesus Christ (John 14:6). No other religion or belief system teaches free salvation. Only Christianity worships the true God who gives freely to those who thirst (Matthew 5:6). Hardcore punk is not evil in itself, nor are shows sinful. Throwing down in the moshpit can be “good clean fun” (HC-band-name-pun intended), but the lifestyle and message some bands and scenesters promote is sinful and dangerous to your spiritual well being. Life is never going to be easy, even as a Christian, but there is a reason for life which is to give God the glory He deserves for creating you and giving you the gift of life. He has sacrificed His only Son for you to give you a clean slate and to refresh your relationship with Him so that you can enter Heaven and have rest from the chaos and pain of earthly living caused by sin in the world. God will bring His holy justice on the world and bring retribution on the wicked. Repent and believe today! † † †