Monday, March 11, 2013

The Logic Behind Creation


I feel I have never made it one hundred percent clear what my actual train of thought is regarding God and my actual system of belief. In this post, I will explain, even using scientific reasoning, why I believe in creation.

I do not believe in creation simply because I became a Christian. I am not a brainwashed, manufactured believer in God. I know there’s Christians out there who have been forced into the Church from a young age, which has confined their thought process. Many Christians and believers never dare to explore and critically think about what they believe and WHY they believe it. They just take what everyone else tells them as truth. Well, that’s not me at all.

So why do I believe that God created the universe and is the author of space, time, and matter? It’s actually quite logical, but I am aware that people would rather try to refute what I say because to acknowledge it would be to acknowledge God could exist.

The two points of emphasis I rely on for my view are as follows.

1. Something cannot come from nothing.
2. Infinite qualities cannot be attached to finite things.

I know there’s many other assumptions and theories based off presupposition that attempt to explain these two points regarding the Big Bang Theory, but I am leaving them out because they are just that: theories. My two points of basis are scientific facts.

Something cannot come from nothing. If I took a typewriter, some ink, some paper, and threw it in a fire and it exploded, would a book come out? Of course not. To think the universe came to exist in a random, unexplained, coincidence is far-fetched in my opinion.  The Big Bang Theory contends that the explosion was the beginning to space, time, energy, and matter - nothing existed before that. 

So I ask four questions:

How can the absence of energy give rise to energy?

How can the absence of matter give rise to matter?

How can the absence of space give rise to space?

How can the absence of time give rise to time?

Scientifically speaking, they can’t. This is why the Big Bang has no origin and why it happened cannot be explained, despite the brilliant, semi-psychotic theories thrown out there by many great men. Richard Dawkins, author of “The God Delusion”, resorted to just telling his followers to believe it happened because there is no explanation. Yet non-believers call those who believe in God brainswashed? At least I can present an explanation for my root belief about the universe.

Now, let me tell you why God creating the Universe is actually quite logical if you can get past the part where you have to, for a few minutes, entertain the thought that God exists.  The usual question here is “well, who created God?” That question in itself is a fallacy. God always existed. The three descriptions of God in nearly every Holy text are: immaterial, eternal, and omnipresent. This means God is not bound by space, time, or matter. If he is eternal, he existed before time as we understand it. If he is immaterial he does not need space or time to exist. He exists outside of time. This is why the Bible says God is the same “yesterday, today, and will be forever.” God did not need to be created, he is the alpha and the omega. He existed before this world came to be, and will exist after it.

Now some may ask “well what If the Universe always existed, that means there is no need for God?” True, if that statement were true. But it isn’t. To assume the Universe always existed brings me to my second point of emphasis. You can’t attach infinite properties to finite things. Time and matter are finite. Time is the measure of change. There could not have been an infinite amount of changes before right now, because we would have never reached this moment in time. Both the Big Bang and creation say that time had a beginning. Everything that has a beginning has an end. This makes time finite.

Matter is finite. Take the closest thing to you and think how many times you’d have to add, subtract, multiply, and divide it against itself to reach infinite. Once again, the Big Bang and creation contend that matter had a beginning, so it has an end. So, if time and matter are finite and had to begin somewhere, they had to be created by something infinite. How about space? Space is the distance between matter, and if matter ceased to exist there would be a vacuum, there would be no space. If matter is finite, then space is finite because there’d only be a finite amount of distance between the two furthest pieces of matter in all of reality. Once again, you cannot attach finite qualities to things that are infinite.

Matter, space, and time are finite, they are not eternal. This means they had a beginning.

If something infinite created matter, time, and space, it would have to exist outside of matter, time and space.  If something exists without time, it never changes, it’s just a very long right now. As I alluded to earlier, God never changes. If something exists without matter, it is immaterial. It can’t be touched, or seen. If something exists without space, this means it is omnipresent, everywhere. Not bound by spacial restrictions.
The only thing that could have created matter, time and space is something that exists outside of matter, time and space = immaterial, eternal, and omnipresent. The very traits of God.

Something cannot come from nothing. If nothing existed before the Big Bang, it doesn’t make sense to assume that the nothingness gave birth to the elements required for the Big Bang to occur. If something existed before the Universe came to be, something that existed outside of time, space, and matter, then the nothingness has an explanation.

God is eternal, existed before creation, and is the author of the Universe.

Wednesday, February 27, 2013

You need God to have true morals

Recently, I was on the topic of evolution, the age of the Earth, and all that good stuff that come with opening proclaiming a belief in God. Before I get into the actual point of this post, I'd like to clarify a couple things regarding my thoughts on creation, evolution, etc.

I do not turn a blind eye to science. I have never said forms of evolution haven't taken place. I've never said the Bible doesn't have contradictions, translation misconceptions, and probably even some lies. But, disproving parts of the Bible does not disprove the existence of God.  People tend to spend too much time trying to disprove the Bible and bashing my Christianity that they lose sight of the main reason I believe in God: intelligent design makes a lot more sense than the Big Bang. Even if the Earth is older than the Bible says, even if man did evolve and the creation story in Genesis isn't true, this doesn't make God any less or more real to me.

Throw everything else out the window, and consider intelligent design and the Big Bang Theory. The Big Bang boiled down says basically that something (the universe) came from nothing. Science has been unable to explain its origin, or why it happened. Everything has a beginning and end. To think a random cosmic blast produced micro-organisms that over millions of years somehow became man from an organic puddle is much more far-fetched than creation. Creation has an origin and explanation. The universe is perfect. Earth is perfect for our existence. It REALLY looks like an intelligent designer put everything where it is. Now people don't like to acknowledge this concept if they don't believe in God, because they'd have to proclaim some belief that intelligent design is more than possible. I believe it to be the truth and origin of the universe. 

Now, let's talk about God and morals. One of my good friends told me "you don't need a 'god' to have morals." I think this is wrong for several reasons. First being that without God, this means man is God. This means there is no standard of living or authority to answer to. No expectations to live up to regarding morality. You need a standard to have morals and carry them out. This standard is set by what Jesus taught on Earth.

To say you don't need God to have morals is like saying you don't need a playbook to score touchdowns on a football field. I believe most of humanity is naturally on the side of evil even if they don't realize it. Think about it, you can be a good person but if you could steal a million dollars with no consequences, most people would. Having morals isn't a pick and choose thing, even though we all struggle because we are human. If you don't follow Jesus as a standard of living, you're setting your own standard. That means you're free to change your moral view anytime you want depending on the situation. That, my friends, is not having morals. It's a cop-out to justify the sinful things you do. But with belief in God and a standard set by Jesus, these sins are already washed away and you don't have to feel guilty for making poor moral choices.

There's always been a problem with authority. Whether it's man making himself God and setting his own standards or a rebellious teenager disobeying his parents. Everyone seems to be in the "I do what I want" mindset, not wanting anyone or anything telling them what to do. I am not saying don't be an individual and do things to find yourself. But sorry, disrespecting your parents and having low morality is no longer rebellious, because everyone is doing it. 

Adhering to the authority of God as your moral guide is the truth. Selfish desires often overcome people who may WANT to have good morals, because the only standard they've set is their own. If you only have to live up to your expectations, where will that get you? Not far, believe me, been there done that. I was quite unfulfilled. It is not conforming, or giving away your "rebellious" nature if you adhere to the moral standards of Jesus Christ. As a matter of fact, the way the world is today, I believe following Jesus is the only true rebellion left.















Wednesday, February 20, 2013

What determines YOUR self-worth?

Something is going on in today's society. All you have to do is scroll down your Facebook timeline to see people fishing for compliments, sympathy, and attention using a variety of superficial reasons. Why is this so?

I will tell you why. Because in today's society, God (even the idea of God) is being slowly weeded out. In his place we see money, power, possessions, status, sex. It's a horrifying thought to think these physically tangible things, that will all fade away at some point, are the determining factors in how a person sees his worth. If you have a  lot of money and beautiful women worshiping at your altar (like many celebrities do), society  adores your success. If you're a person of power, people look up to you. If you have a big house and big cars, people envy that. It is precisely for those reasons that self-worth is no longer determined by your spiritual fruit or your actions.

First, I'd like to say that you should be free from the judgments, hypocrisies, and standards of others. Know what you stand for and what you live for, and just because you don't have a million dollars or a new car, others don't determine your self worth anyway. Should I care if Joe Schmo up the street doesn't think much of me because I don't have girls all over me, or should I care that the money I donated at the grocery store is going to help a kid read? We've completely lost sight as a society of what self worth is, what creates it, and who determines it.

Many people are insecure, and cover up the fact that their souls and spirits are empty by using the superficial, physical things I mentioned above. Now I am not saying don't strive for happiness, success, and a comfortable life. But when these things no longer matter in 40 years and you're out of the limelight, what will you have left?

 I will get into what I personally believe in my faith in future posts, but for right now let's just say I truly think God has very little bearing on the physical world. The highest point a person's soul can reach is total fulfillment, which after physical death I believe to be Heaven. Without being religious, or even believing what I believe, you have a spirit whether you like it or not. Your life should be a journey of fulfilling this spirit by following the examples Jesus set of kindness, compassion, love, patience, and humility. Do good deeds, help others, read, pray, see nature, learn an instrument, take a class. Any rewarding activity that can build you spirit up. It is when your spirit starts to manifest that you truly see your self worth, and nobody can take it away from you.

On the other side, if you ignore the longings of your spirit and only use tangible things for temporary happiness, you will never find the fulfillment you are longing for deep down. All the money in the world won't satisfy your soul. So you may seem like a "god" to society because of what you have, these things will not and cannot last. Your self worth should not be determined by such things. Like I said, you don't have to believe what I believe, but I am sure you have all had that longing for something more deep down at one time or another. 

This is your soul crying out for food.

Feed it.

A full soul is all the self worth you need, regardless of what anyone thinks.




Tuesday, July 3, 2012

Thoughts of a rebellious Christian

I've read some interesting things lately. Things that I relate to one hundred percent. They spoke of the gloom and doom air of Christianity. The way non-believers and skeptics look at us as though we walk around in fear of breaking sets of rules. The fear of confining our lives, thoughts, actions, words, and evolution of our being. Let me elaborate.

Most Christians live very productive, spiritual, Godly lives. Nothing wrong with that, I commend them. But personally, I have realized that most of these people also confine their own souls. How so? Think about every human impulse or desire one can experience. We've been taught that any of these desires that don't align with someone else's preconceived notion of Christianity must be Satan. The paradox is that these desires come from your inner being, your soul. We've been taught that wanting to make a lot of money, sexual thoughts, or yearning the night life are all the work of the devil. That's pure nonsense. It's the nature of human impulse.

Confining yourself to only one way of thinking also confines your ability to think, enlighten, and evolve as a human. Does not being scared to embrace what others relatively deem "bad" make me love Jesus less or follow his teachings less? Absolutely not. When I say embrace, it doesn't mean I go out and partake in such things. It simply means I don't make myself feel bad or convict myself for being human. Your Christianity is not based off how often you can ignore desires to gain the approval of your fellow Christians or authority figures. If you're constantly worried about if others approve of how you live, you'll never actually live. 

Now that's not to say act on every single impulse and run around sinning like a maniac. It's not a cop out to justify foolish deeds. But, to ignore your own thoughts that speak to your own individuality is tragic. God created us all different. We all have our own values, ideas, and insight just ready to come out.

We're not here to all think, talk, walk, and act the same. Being a Christian, seeking God, and listening to your soul is a different journey for everyone who looks to do so. God gave us the power and ability to think on our own, and constantly re-create ourselves in a way that we see fit. Ultimate spiritual happiness comes from your journey to be one with the Lord, not from others opinions on how to do it. I'd rather think on my own, form my own ideas, and create myself in a likeness that makes me happy instead of constantly worrying about approval from those who are not in my shoes.

I am not a halfway Christian looking to justify my shortcomings. After all, we all fall short, right? I am simply saying don't convict yourself next time you feel a desire that isn't in accordance of what you've been taught by people who are not you. You're free to think on your own, form ideas on your own, for your soul is your own. Doesn't mean I run around having sex with every girl I see, doesn't mean I am a slave to alcohol, and surely doesn't mean I don't follow Jesus any less. I'm a fan of thinking. And when you decide to confine your own thinking in favor of what others have told you is "right" and "wrong" is not Godly. If God wanted us to all be the same, the creation power he gave us would be obsolete. I urge everyone to use that power to be an individual, not a conformist.








Tuesday, May 29, 2012

Human Traits That Point To Being Godly


I look at the facts of the Earth and how they relate to our existence. Everything is perfect: its size, its distance from the Sun, its moon, its oceans, its temperature, its atmosphere, etc. Even genius physicist Stephen Hawking (who has always denied the existence of God) has maintained that it's a "miraculous coincidence" that life on this planet exists - and given the circumstances under which life can exist, he is right. So I ask you to consider this - is this really coincidence? Or design? In my humble opinion, this is much more likely to be design. Who designed it? I have to say that I think God did. Humans are his most precious creations, and there are a few traits humans possess that illustrate this:



Morality

Humans are the only beings in existence that naturally have a feeling of something being right or wrong. However, without an unseen and unknown higher standard, there is no way to explain why we naturally know right from wrong. It is a spiritual feeling deep within our conscience, regardless of your physical circumstances, everyone feels and knows the difference between the two. If there was no God, we would not know a higher standard, and we would not know nor care about right and wrong. We can read all we want about the subject, but that still does not explain why morality is already engrained in our conscience and spiritual makeup. The same is true for all feelings - love and hate, good and evil, joy and pain. This is the precise reason God allows evil to exist. We are allowed free will to abide by our natural moral makeup, yet the bad side of things needs to exist, otherwise we wouldn’t know the opposite. If we didn’t know evil, we wouldn’t know good. If we didn’t know pain, we wouldn’t know joy. If we didn’t know wrong, we wouldn’t know right. This is only fair, because if God manifested himself in an undeniable powerful demonstration, free will would be obsolete and everyone would be forced to follow and believe in God. It would even stifle human advancement and progress concerning intelligence and technology. Free will is a gift, and evil exists only so we can know good. It is easy to blame God for all the suffering and evil we see in the world, but these are nothing more than man’s free will choosing evil over good for, among other things, power and money.


Desire

Why do humans desire things? Think of every desire someone can have, and realize that it is attainable in the world. Sex, money, fame. Then there’s that other desire. The want and need for something more, something higher. It’s the desire of the unknown. The desire for God. If God did not exist, this desire also would not exist. Similar to morality, this desire is engrained in our makeup, and we don’t know why. That desire in the back of our minds is our calling to a higher purpose. In my eyes, it is the calling of God to find our purpose in life beyond earthly desires. Without God existing so we can know what that desire for something more feels like, then we wouldn’t have that desire.








Thursday, April 12, 2012

Why I Believe in Jesus.

I've had plenty of people question my faith in God, where it came from, why I believe, and what has been the driving force behind the changes in my life. So I decided it's not only time to give them an answer, but also my friends who are believers that are skeptical of me. It's not fake or a facade anymore. It's not to impress anyone. This is real. This is a testimony. My testimony.


"Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me;
your rod and staff, they comfort me." PSALM 23:4


Not many people know that when I was born, I was three months premature. I was brought into this world by C-Section, weighed three pounds, battled pneumonia, bronchitis, and a collapsed lung in the first months of my young life. Many babies born in my condition would have died. The grandmother of one of my friends called me a "miracle" some years ago. At the time I didn't know what it meant, but that always stuck with me. When I found my faith again, I finally understand what she meant. God saved me for a reason. I could have very well died when I was born, but I lived to find my higher purpose. But throughout my tumultuous life I ignored that, and it took another awakening to remind me that I should be seeking to find Jesus and why I am really here. A couple years ago, I was involved in a car accident that could have been tragic, luckily no serious injuries occurred. Looking at the circumstances, it's almost amazing. The car I was in flipped across the road at 55 miler per hour. I was ejected out the back window and thrown more than 50 feet. I landed on my feet with barely a scratch and not one serious injury. If that replays ten times, nine out of ten something much worse happens to me. Once again, I was spared from death or serious injury. I could have been, and maybe should have been dead, twice. That's enough to know that Jesus has something special planned for me.

"Now the spirit of the Lord departed from Saul, and a harmful spirit tormented him." 1 SAMUEL 16:14


I've had my share of dark days, but I doubt those who knows me are aware of this. I'm pretty good at smiling when I'm dying on the inside. There was a time about four or five years ago when I had so many questions. God was always in the back of my mind, but I was looking for reasons to not believe. I saw how bad the world can be, and thought "there can't possibly be a God." One night, I was alone at my apartment, and these thoughts of doubt were flooding my mind, even though I didn't want them to. I felt literally tormented, like there was a realm of despair I fell into without knowing it. As I was falling asleep, I felt a dreadful, almost evil presence. I tried to ignore it and closed my eyes. It was then the presence felt like it was right over me, suppressing me. I tried to yell, nothing came out. I tried to fight, I could barely move. In my mind I asked God to make this presence and feeling to go away. It stopped immediately thanks to Jesus' intervention. People will say I freaked myself out being alone, but that's not the truth. I know what I felt and experienced. I know that my serious doubts and cynicism about God allowed these negative spirits to invade my mind. There's a spiritual world and realm out there, and that was revealed to me even though it was a horrible experience. God was showing himself, slowly but surely.

"Naked I came out of my mother's womb, and naked I shall return; The Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away." JOB 1:21


August of last year to March of this year may have been one of the most difficult times in my life, because I had to face my own demons and look in the mirror, rather than blaming anyone and anything else for what had occurred. God put a very special girl in my life, and requested of me one thing. That I learn to resist temptation, and put Him first in the relationship I thought I was pursuing with this girl. I looked at her being my spiritual mentor, as she helped me and taught me along my walk towards regaining faith. Ultimately, our physical temptations got the best of me, I failed to put God first in our relationship. Not to mention, I wasn't making permanent changes for her like I said I would, I was adapting to situations, but I was not changing. God saw right through my weak faith and fake attempts to fool her into thinking I was someone I wasn't. God took her out of my life for this very reason. Immediately afterwards, I almost fell back into my old ways of life, because I just wanted to forget the hurt. Then I sat and thought one night, that this is a test. Jesus wanted to know that I could come to Him on my own, without having a girl to impress. He wanted to know that I could pick myself up and gain real faith in Him. I wrestled with these thoughts for months, until one day I decided I would go back to God before I would walk right back down the wrong path. I asked Jesus to once again come into my heart and spirit and show me which way to go, I felt relieved. It's not mass hysteria. God gave her to me, and then took her away so I would learn a real lesson of faith and trust in Jesus. Once I accepted this cross to carry, we have become friends again, my faith is strong, I am telling people about Jesus, and I just feel an authentic change in my being. None of which happened until I asked Jesus to come back into my heart and guide me.

"Therefore if any man is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come." 2 CORINTHIANS 5:17


I know many people hear of the changes Jesus makes in the spirit of a person, and call it psychological. I am here to say that is not true. I tried many times to change things I was doing when I didn't have Jesus in my heart, and I failed miserably. I tried faking faith for too long, and decided it's time to get real with it. It took me to this very moment in my life to come full circle, realize the lessons God was slowly teaching me, and actually take a step to make permanent life changes. It's happening faster than I can even keep up with. My urges for the old habits and things I was doing are fading. This doesn't mean I will disown any of my friends, as a matter of fact it's my mission to bring Jesus to them. I am here to say, without a shadow of a doubt, that Jesus is real, His spirit is in us, and once you ask Him into your heart you'll feel an undeniable change. But, as I learned the hard way, you also have to pursue and live in that spirit before your eyes can be revealed to the greatness of it.

This is my testimony why I believe in Jesus Christ, welcomed His spirit into my heart, and took Him as my Lord and Savior. I will never push my beliefs upon anybody, but please respect them as you yourself would want respect. Thank you.













Monday, January 16, 2012

Come Again.

I'm praying you bless me, cause Lord I miss you. It's time for you to come again. Here I go again. 2012.

What's up everyone? Must say I did miss my folks. It's been 5 months and some change since the most important person in my life decided I was no longer worth using and made my existence feel smaller than a grain of sand. If you've been through it, you know it's not an easy thing to deal with. I don't think I'm even completely over it.

It took so long for my inspiration to return I was starting to doubt it ever would. My once strong faith was burned to ashes. And through all of that, I never once blamed God for what was happening. Even when I hit rock bottom and wanted someone to blame, I didn't blame God. He gives, and he takes away. It's the taking away that hurts most. Then I remembered that I've always said when things are the absolute worst, if you don't give up, good things will happen.

I woke up this morning with an overwhelming urge to be positive and take positive action to not only better myself, but everyone around me. It seems like some of the prayers I have been saying to just make it through hard times are starting to be answered, I can feel it in my attitude and heart. I knew Jesus didn't leave me, but man did I feel alone for quite some time. And once again, if you've ever felt that way, it sure isn't easy.

But here's to a new start for 2012. I'm here to tell you things aren't always going to be perfect, but slowly and surely things get better. Just keep your faith. My faith now rests in whatever reward He has planned for me after everything I've been put through. There has to be a point to it all, and I know something good is right around the corner. Just have to keep the faith.

Amen.