Refutations #001

The memes starts with questioning the knowledge of God. We know that God is all knowing (Psalm 139:4, Job 24:31, 1 Samuel 23:10-13, Genesis 20:1-7 and many others). Therefore, yes, He was and is well aware of the sin to come.

From there is the assumption that God is not just because He knew that we would rebel and punishes us anyway. But, we know that God is a just judge (Hebrews 4:13, 1 Samuel 2:3, Job 34:22-23, Ecclesiastes 12:14 and many others). I’ll throw in that God does not judge by what we don’t know. He judges but what has been made plain to all of us already. It’s really important to remember this one (Romans 1:18-19).

It does get one thing right. In God’s righteous judgement, the punishment for sin is indeed death (Psalm 145:10, Matthew 25:46, Galatians 6:7 and many others). And that’s where the message ends. It completely omits the gospel.

From those verses, we know that God is both all knowing and the just judge. If God is just, He has to punish evil. We all sin, so in all fairness, the just judgement against us is death. Yet, God loves us so much that He personally paid the cost in our place in the person of Jesus Christ (John 3:16). This is an illustration of God declaring the end from the beginning (Isaiah 46:10). Yeah, He did know we were going to sin and He also had a plan already put in place to reconcile us to Him. Instead of accusing God of being unfair, we should be more grateful that He’s actually not. Why should God be punished for what we’re guilty of? Where is the fairness in that?

All we’re left with in the end is a truth claim made by a skeptic, who can’t do that without borrowing from God to begin with. Remind these people that they’re not standing on their own ground when they take this stance. They claim a reality based on chance over time, a reality in which you can’t really say you know anything for certain, yet they make truth claims because they know that God holds all things together (the induction principle).

Why does truth matter in a world of meaninglessness? Why is it important that people be honest when debating about anything at all? The world is not meaningless and the truth is important because God has declared it to be so. The truth claim at the end makes this meme self refuting.

Just Say Yes

Recently, I decided to stop wearing my “I Am Second” wristband. I’ve worn it pretty consistently over the past two years. It’s an important statement, an ice breaker, a conversation starter, and a personal reminder to me. This is what my life is about. This is what confirms meaning and purpose for me. This is why I have the hope that is within me. But, I decided that it was time for me to put that to rest.

Being a Christian calls for boldness. I take pride in the fact that it’s what I’m most recognized for in the social circles I’m a part of. It’s something I take to heart when it’s not obviously seen in me. I’m not sure how much I show it, but it’s really troublesome to me to have more than one encounter with someone and to have them walk away without realizing that I’m a Christian. My walk, my walk, my dress, my interests, my friends, my hobbies, my everything should be a constant declaration of that fact at all times. That’s why I decided to stop wearing the wristband.

I don’t want to consciously or sub to rely on things like that to convey what my life is about. I crave that bold as a lion bravery (Proverbs 28:1) we’re called to have. That’s the kind of bravery that Christians go to the cross for still even to this day. I’ve seen all manner of execution from hanging, to beheading, to drowning, to being set ablaze. Still, those Christians died with the hope that Christ will honor all of His promises to us. I have to look myself in the mirror everyday and ask the question “Have you counted the cost?”

Sure, my faith has cost me some friends. There are some people that don’t like what I have to say about popular opinion on a number of issues. I’ve had people I love say some terrible and hurtful things to and about me simply because of my faith. I’ve watched the demeanor of strangers instantly change after realizing that I am serious about my faith. Their disappointment can be difficult for them to hide. Some people get confused and don’t know what to make of it and that’s fine too. As long as my faith in Jesus is recognized, the reactions don’t really matter much.

You (probably) never know for sure until you have to make a decision, but I’m sure I’d say “yes” if I had to choose between living and denying my faith. I already don’t care much for living in this life anymore. What keeps me going are the people that love me and I them in return. I think about all the good that can be done to change lives for the better while I’m still here. I feel like God has given me something special to influence people around me for the better than I haven’t learned to completely tap into to its full potential yet. I think it would be a shame if I died before I managed to, but I trust that God’s plan can’t be stopped on  account of me.

This all the more confirms how real Jesus is to me. How many darwinists would die for the sake of making the statement “everything is random and meaningless”? How could a person consistently believe those things and die for a cause? They can’t. How could a person that touts survival of the fittest justify self-sacrificial love? They can’t.

I want my love for God to be so obvious that I wouldn’t even be given a chance to make the choice I’d obviously make anyway. It would be an honor to die for His name’s sake. I couldn’t think of a more fitting way for my life to end. I just hope that maybe, just maybe, the people that ignore the things I say and do would question their unbelief if they witnessed me facing death and being at peace with it.

If God would use my life and death as some sort of catalyst, it would be worth it. I wonder if those that lose their lives are thinking about that when death is imminent. Are they thinking about going to be with Christ? Are they thinking about their loved ones? Are they thinking about things they wanted to accomplish in this life?

“I will say YES!”