When it comes to God, do you practice contempt prior to investigation?

Here is a small segment of Gravity True For You But Not For Me: Evidence for God Existence and Identity

The entire book can be downloaded and read for free at www.god-evidence-truth or on Amazon here

http://www.amazon.com/Gravity-True-You-But-ebook/dp/B006XG0ID4/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1326574922&sr=1-1


Jury Box
Since we determined that truth is important to you, I believe you really want to know if the facts say God exists and the Bible is true, once and for all. To do so, you must be willing to consider the evidence in an honest and impartial manner. When it comes to God, many practice “contempt prior to investigation.” This has nothing to do with the evidence or the truth of the subject at hand. It’s about rejecting something based upon emotions or as an act of the will, prior to an honest and impartial examination of the facts."There is a principle which is a bar against all information, which is proof against
all arguments and which cannot fail to keep a man in everlasting ignorance-that principle is contempt prior to investigation." Herbert Spencer a 19th century philosopher adapted from and earlier quote from William Paley an 18th century British theologian In A View of the Evidences of Christianity , 1794, popular phrase in AA.


To make an impartial decision, you need to set aside any thoughts of how God may have let you down, how a Christian may have hurt you or any negative feelings about church. If you were forced to go to church as a kid and are using this as an excuse to reject God, you are allowing
those who controlled you then, to control you now, by using their errors as an
excuse to ignore the facts. If your life is a disaster and every Christian you have
ever met failed in your eyes, it does not prove the Bible and Jesus are false. You
also need to understand that Christians do not claim to be Jesus and thus
perfect, we claim to need Jesus because we recognize our imperfections.

As you consider the evidence, your goal is to see if it’s convincing beyond a reasonable doubt. A reasonable doubt is based on reason and common sense after an impartial examination of all the evidence in the case. Very little in life is convincing beyond all possible doubt including
the evidence you are about to view. The truth is, if we lived our lives
requiring proof beyond all possible doubt before making decisions, we would
remain paralyzed in bed. There is no guarantee our car won’t crash, our food
isn’t contaminated or our neighbor isn’t going to shoot us. Even in the most
conclusive cases offering the best evidence, jurors often walk away with a
measure of doubt regarding their decision.

Contempt prior to investigation and wanting proof beyond all possible doubt are really about our will and desire to ignore the truth and do as we want, answering to no one. In interviewing a
young man named Sly who claimed to be an atheist, I found he had no evidence to
support his atheism. This is common for most atheists I’ve met, but since they
are claiming to know that God does not exist, they need to back it up. I like
to point out to atheists like Sly that our best minds admit mankind knows far
less than ten percent of all knowledge in the universe. So if a person is
reasonable, they must admit that God could exist in the 90 percent we know
nothing about. Three times in our conversation Sly got honest and said, “I just
don’t want there to be a God.” To which I replied, “So what, if it’s true, what
you want won’t matter.” With Sly’s attitude do you think he would look at the
evidence impartially or look for ways to continue to justify his choices? If you have thoughts like Sly you must understand, ignoring the truth won’t make it go away. The best thing we can do
is face the truth now so we won’t collide with its consequences in eternity.

“Truth is like the sun. You can shut it out for a time,
but it ain't goin' away.” Elvis Presley. www.thinkexist.com

Who did Jesus claim to be?

There are many differant opinions about who people claim Jesus was, but who did Jesus himself claim to be. Read part of my new book (Gravity-True For You But Not For Me) below and weigh the evidence for yourself. Then read full book for free online at www.god-evidence-truth.com and weigh all of the evidence for Gods Existence and Identity.

Who Did Jesus Claim to Be?

Back on page 13 and 14 were listed a number of contradictory beliefs for Jesus
identity. Now we will look at who Jesus Himself claimed to be in the Bible:

1. Jesus Claimed to be God
In the Old Testament God calls Himself “I
Am” in Exodus 3:14. In the NT Jesus uses
the same name in John 8:58-59; the Jews realized what He was saying and picked
up rocks to stone Him because they knew He was
claiming to be God.

God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM.” And He said, “Say this to the
people of Israel”, “I AM has sent me to you.” Exodus
3:14.

Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham
was, I Am,” so they picked up stones to throw at him, but Jesus hid himself and
went out of the temple. John 8:58-59

2. Jesus Claimed to be the Object of Prayer
Jesus claimed to be the mediator between God and man, thus He was claiming to be God.
How would you respond if I asked you to pray in my name?

“Whatever
you ask in my name, this I will do, that the
Father may be glorified in the Son.” John 14:13

3. Jesus Claimed to Forgive Sins
We can all forgive someone for sinning against us personally. But of the numerous
times Jesus forgave sins, He had just met the people so they had not sinned
against Him personally. He was forgiving their sins against God, something only
God can do.

“Son, your sins are forgiven.” Now some of the scribes were sitting there,
questioning in their hearts, “Why does this man speak like that? He is blaspheming! Who can
forgive sins but God alone?” Mark 2:5-7

4. Jesus Claimed to be Worthy of Honor Due God

The Father judges no one, but has given all judgment to the Son, that all may honor
the Son, just as they honor the Father. Whoever does not honor the Son does not
honor the Father who sent him. John
5: 22-23

5. Jesus Claimed to be the Messiah – God in the OT

The woman said to him, “I know that Messiah is coming (he who is called Christ).
When he comes, he will tell us all things.” Jesus said to her, “I who speak to
you am he.” John 4:25-26

Caiaphas asks Jesus, “Are you the Christ, the Son of
the Blessed?” And Jesus said, “I am, and you will see the Son of Man seated at
the right hand of Power, and coming with the clouds of heaven.”
Mark 14:61-62

6. Jesus Claimed to be Equal in Authority with God

“Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.” Matt. 24:35

And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.” Matt. 28:18

7. Jesus Claimed to be Yahweh (LORD)
In the Old Testament, God is referred to in many ways. In the New Testament, the same
attributes are applied to Jesus and suggest He is God in the flesh.

Old Testament Name New Testament
Psalm 23:1 Shepherd Heb. 13:20
Isa.44:4 First & Last Rev. 1:17
Isa.40:28 Creator Col. 1:16-17
Isa.62:5 Bridegroom Mt. 25:1
Ps.27:1 Light Jn. 8:12
Isa. 43:11 Savior Jn. 4:42
Isa. 42:8 God’s Glory Jn. 17:5
1 Sam. 2:6 Giver of Life Jn. 5:21
Deut. 32:4 Rock 1 Cor. 10:4
Joel 3:12 Judge 2 Cor. 5:10

Revelation
tells us it is “The Revelation of Jesus Christ.” Revelation 1:17-18 are Jesus’
words claiming to be the First and Last, an Old Testament title in Isaiah 44:6 reserved
for God. He also says “I was dead and behold, I am alive forevermore,” which
only fits Jesus.

When
I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. But he laid his right hand on me,
saying, “Fear not, I am the first and the last, and the living one. I died, and
behold I am alive forevermore, and I have
the keys of Death and Hades.” Rev. 1:17-18

8. Jesus Accepted Worship on Nine Occasions
Mother of James and John - Matt. 20:20, Possessed man - Mark 5:6, A blind man - Matt.
28:17, Doubting Thomas - Jn. 20:28, The women at the tomb - Matt. 28:9, A
Canaanite woman - Matt. 15:25, His disciples - Matt. 14:33, A healed leper - Matt.
8:2, A rich young ruler - Matt. 9:18.

Jesus was also a Rabbi and the first duty of a Rabbi is to point out blasphemy. Yet
Jesus never rebuked anyone who worshiped Him and even commended Thomas in John
20:29. In contrast, the apostle John tried to worship an angel in Revelation
22:9 and was rebuked. Jesus, on the other hand, accepts worship reserved for
God alone. He was more than an angel.

9. Jesus Claimed to be One with God the Father
Despite the claims of many popular books today, it is clear the Jewish witnesses had no
trouble figuring out Jesus was claiming to be God. They did not believe He was
God, so in the end they crucified Him for blasphemy (claiming to be God, using
God’s name in vain). They would have been right if He was not in fact God.

“I and the Father are one.” The Jews picked up stones again to stone him. Jesus
answered them, “I have shown you many good works from the Father; for which of
them are you going to stone me?” The Jews answered him, “It is not for a good
work that we are going to stone you but for blasphemy, because you, being a
man, make yourself God.” John 10:30-33

10. Why Does Jesus Call Himself the Son of Man?
In the first verse below, Daniel 7:13, “Son of Man” is the God figure in the Old
Testament. In John 8:28 Jesus calls himself the Son of Man, which He does 82
times in the (ESV) version the New Testament.

I saw in the night visions, and behold, with the clouds of heaven there came
one like a son of man, and he came to the Ancient
of Days and was presented before him. And to him was given dominion and glory and
a kingdom, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve him; his
dominion is an ever-lasting dominion, which shall
not pass away, and his kingdom one that shall not be destroyed. Dan. 7:13-14

So Jesus said to them, “When you have lifted up the Son of Man, then you will know
that I am he, and that I do nothing on
my own authority, but speak just as the Father taught me.” John 8:28

No matter who you or anyone else in popular culture think Jesus is, based on the
evidence it’s ludicrous to say that Jesus never claimed to be God.

Ten Points, Source: Bible, format adapted from Dr. Frank
Turek’s video series. I Do Not Have Enough Faith to Be an Atheist.

“Additionally there is an enormous difference between who Jesus claimed to be when compared
to other leaders of different beliefs. Jesus claimed to be able to forgive
sin, He accepted worship numerous times, and He said He was the only way
to the Father. Only Jesus claimed equality with a sole, supreme deity. According to E.O. James, an authority on comparative religions, nowhere else had it ever been claimed that a
historical founder of any religion was the one and only supreme deity. Only
Jesus spoke on his own unquestioned authority. Zoroaster and Muhammad acted as
spokesmen for God, while Socrates and Buddha urged every man to consult his own
conscience.”Edwin M. Yamauchi, Professor Emeritus of history, Miami University. http://www.irr.org/yamauchi.html

“Indeed, it’s shocking to me how much of Jesus’ life can be established, including his
radical personal claims, his crucifixion, his burial in a tomb, the discovery
of his empty tomb, his post-mortem appearances, and his disciples’ coming to
believe suddenly and sincerely that God had raised him from the dead. We
therefore have quite solid reasons for believing in Christ on the basis of the
historical facts preserved about him in the gospels.”
Dr.William Lane Craig. http://www.reasonablefaith.org/

Conclusion – Jesus’ claim to be God is supported
in many ways. He gave us the ultimate proof by rising from the dead
as He predicted. Therefore Jesus is God who came in the flesh.

I thought Jesus was the Son of God He is the Son of God; He shares the nature of God with the Father and the Holy Spirit. This is what is called the Trinity. One God as the Bible clearly tells
us but in three distinct persons: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. A very simple but limited analogy that seems to help people understand the Trinity is H2O. It can be water, ice, or steam - but
the nature of all three is H2O. It is the Father, Son and Holy Spirit but the nature of all three is
God. The Trinity is hard to fully comprehend, but it’s not contradictory since it
does not state there are three Gods and one God at the same time.



How could Jesus be God and Man The Bible tells us Jesus was a man and God
incarnate; Deity willingly clothed with humanity. When reading through the
Bible it is important to consider who is speaking and who the audience is. For
example many people who do not believe in the Bible, claim that Jesus said, “God
forgives” and think it applies to everyone. But in context, this is spoken only in reference to those who have placed their faith in Jesus. So it is obvious how important context is.
Therefore when you ask a question about Jesus a similar situation arises. The question needs to be asked in two ways.Was the Father greater than Jesus? As God no, as man yes. Did Jesus know the day and hour of His return? As God yes, as man no. Did Jesus get hungry? As God
no, as man yes. Did Jesus get tired? As God no, as man yes. Did Jesus die? As
God no, as man yes. Next, Dr. William Lane Craig uses an analogy that utilizes
the movie Avatar, to explain the two natures of Jesus:

“I explained the doctrine of Christ's being one person who has two natures and used the movie Avatar to illustrate the doctrine ("Avatar" is another word for incarnation.) The movie tells the story of Jake Sully, a disabled marine who becomes an avatar among a race of extra-terrestrials called the Na'vi. He becomes physically incarnated among them as one of them. At the same time he doesn't cease to be human. So Jake has both a human nature and a Na'vi nature. In the movie these two natures have strikingly different powers. If you were to ask, "Can Jake Sully run?" The answer would have to be, "Yes and no: yes, in his Na'vi nature but no, in his human nature." “I told the audience that if you can make sense of Avatar, you can make sense of Christ's incarnation. For in a similar way, Christ has both a divine nature and a human nature. These natures have different powers. In his human nature Christ experienced all the limitations intrinsic to human nature. But in his divine nature he had supernatural powers. Just as Jake Sully in his Na'vi nature became the Savior of the Na'vi people, so Christ in his human nature becomes the Savior of mankind.” William Lane Craig, Christian Philosopher and Theologian debate with Yusuf Ismail. www.reasonablefaith.org

Many people want to claim that Jesus was just a man or a good teacher but C.S Lewis rightly stated that for any peson to make the extraordinary claims that Jesus made does not leave the title of simply a good teachers or a good man. Jesus claimed to be God and if this is untrue Lewis said he was either a liar or a lunatic. If it is true he said then the only thing left to call Him is Lord.

Read the entire easy to read 132 page book free online at www.god-evidence-truth.com. Download it and send it to friends and family for Christmas. Get print copies for under a buck and hand them out. Gravity - True For You But Not For Me