Do Mormons & Christians Believe in the same God?

A fellow brother in the Faith, added me to a Facebook conversation about Mormonism and Christianity. His heart was to win back another fella we all mutually know who has drifted back again into the Mormon belief. In the process of him trying to do so, the fellow Mormons invited another Mormon. So my fellow brother invited some friends too. I happened to be one of those friends. I told myself I wasn't going to say anything. I resisted the early urges to read the thread between them. But this morning, the Spirit drew me to respond. The Mormon men were arguing that Mormons are nothing more than another denomination in Christianity...we all believe the same essentials just differ in the non-essentials. My response was an attempt to simply draw a line in the sand and show how we are not on the same team just with simple differences.

Here are my responses:
__________
"I'm not sure what all the going back [and forth] is for. Mormons and Christians believe in two different Gods.
1. Mormons deny the Tri-union of God––God the Father, God the Son (Jesus), God the Holy Spirit, all 1 God yet distinct in their divine personhood, and yet co-equal in nature and characteristics, and co-eternal. | 1. Biblical Christianity fundamentally holds to the essential truth of the Tri-union of God [see http://bit.ly/11WrVSB for more info on the Holy Trinity]. This is not a non-essential, it is [an] essential to salvation.
2. Mormons are polytheistic, they believe in multiple "Gods" not simply multiple little "gods". (Which those verses and terms mentioning men as "gods" [in the Bible] are taken way out of its original and historical context; but that doesn't change the fact the Mormon theology inherently believes and teaches polytheism). | 2. Biblical Christianity is monotheistic. The Bible only supports and teaches monotheism. There is only One God, only One (Deut. 6:4, Isa. 43:10; 44:6, 8; 45:5, 22, Rom. 3:30, Gal. 3:20, Revelation). This too is not a non-essential, for it too is [an] essential to salvation.

Just from these two, and not mentioning the numerous other things we fundamentally disagree on, we believe in two different Gods. We cannot be the same. It is logically incompatible. That's the same as saying nothing created something, an effect without a cause. It's fallacious.

This then leads to the greater concern, one of us is right and one of us is wrong. Two opposing beliefs vying as the same truth cannot both be true. That too is a fallacy. Only one of us truly is right.

There is nothing more to say. There is no reason to continue on with the inbox dialogue unless there is going to be a sincere, open, friendly, and reasonable meeting discussing which belief is right. Otherwise, we are simply wasting words and we all shall see once we die and stand before the True God which belief is right. I bet my eternity on the biblical God, YAHWEH, the Eternal Spirit, Jesus, the Incarnate. Are the rest of you willing to bet your eternity on your Mormon beliefs? (That is meant to be rhetorical). If you are, then we all shall see on that Great Day!

Please know that I write this from a place of love and not hate."
__________
There was a response telling me that based on the Mormon articles of faith (http://mormon.org/articles-of-faith), they believe the same thing..."The article of faith is in plain black and white. We believe in God the eternal Father, and His Son Jesus Christ and in the Holy Ghost."

Here is my follow-up response:
"Wow. Mormons have changed their statement of faith and core beliefs. I'm not sure if you know this [name deleted], but Mormonism was not founded on those statements on that link you shared. Why have they changed from what was once taught as Mormon truth to something different now? Truth doesn't change.

Secondly, showing two of our essential differences is just that, showing why we're not the same. And fellowship with the Body can only be with those in the Body. If we're not in the same Body, then we can't have biblical fellowship. We can hang out! But it won't be called fellowship. However, I can understand why it's hard for you to see that because that link states and reads like any other church would. But, that statement of faith still did not affirm belief in the Tri-union of God. Here is the Mormon's belief on the Trinity...."Godhead":

"Unlike Catholic, Orthodox and Protestant Christianity, Mormonism does not include belief in a Trinity, in which the one God consists of three persons. Instead, Mormons believe that the "Godhead" is made up of three distinct beings who are "one in purpose" but not in being." (Religionfacts.com/mormonism/beliefs/godhead_not_trinity.htm; dated 2005)

And this, "Among the most important differences with other Christian churches are those concerning the nature of God and Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit." (Mormonnewsroom.org/topic/core-beliefs)

And this, "Mormons believe He [God the Father] has a human-like body but is immortal and perfected. " (Mormonnewsroom.org/article/the-godhead)

And here's one of the Mormons belief on Jesus: "Mormons do not agree with mainstream Christians that Jesus is the eternal Word of God or God himself. In Mormon belief, Jesus was a created spirit and "son of God" before being given a physical body, just like all humans."
(Religionfacts.com/mormonism/beliefs/jesus_christ.htm; dated 2005)

We are believing in two very different things bro. And that's why I said one of us is right and one of us is wrong. We can't both be right."
__________

I shared this to help anyone who has asked or thought about this question, "Do Mormons and Christians believe in the same God?" The answer is no, we do not; (and the same can be said for Jehovah's Witnesses, see http://bit.ly/10NtKQO for more on this). Mormons are not Christians. Christians are not Mormons. We both believe in completely different Gods. And there is so many, many more differences between Mormonism and Christianity than the two that I shared. But these two are adequate enough to show how we don't believe in the same God and we both cannot be right/true.

Be sure to know what you believe and why you believe it.

2013

Genesis Contemplations I

GENESIS CONTEMPLATION I

Adam & Sin vs. Evolution & Evil
In the beginning God made the first human being, Adam. Adam is the Father of mankind/humankind (Gen. 2:7). We all come from Adam’s sperm/seed. When Adam disobeyed God’s command (Gen. 2:16-17; 3:1-11), that act was what produced sin—the missing the mark of God, the erring from God’s way, disobedience to God—and death*, and because we all come from Adam we therefore are all born into sin and death (Rom. 5:12). Thus all the evil and chaos and bad crap in life, from Adam to the last day, is due to the sin and death consequence from Adam’s act of disobedience.
     Those who don’t believe that God created everything as it states in the Genesis account reject this origin of the problem of evil and so on as insufficient or unscientific. Ok, well let’s look at the only other theory for human life in this light then, evolution. The theory of evolution says, loosely, that we as humans evolved from other things, etc, etc. If we trace the “other things” back to its first beginning, some type of unformed substance, what eventually came from this—according to natural selection—survived by killing off (or outliving) its opposition or hindrance to survive (that’s an act of self-centeredness and violence). And so on the evolutionary process goes. From this we see, even the “in the beginning” of evolution an act we now consider an evil—violence—and a problem—selfishness—is integrated in the very fabric of this process. Evolution is secular science’s equivalent to Adam as the origin of humankind, and so we can deduce the same conclusion from Adam for evolution: Because we all come from the evolutionary process we therefore are all born into the evil produced from evolution. Thus all the evil and chaos and bad crap in life, from the beginning to the end, is due to the beginning acts of the evolutionary process (self-centeredness and violence).
     We can see regardless to which view one holds, the problem of sin/evil originates at the very beginning. The difference is, and it’s a big one, every ideology (aside from one) has no, nada, none, zero, zilch of an adequate answer or solution to this problem, except death—which without a 100% certainty there is no afterlife “death” may not even be an answer/solution but a greater eternal problem. However, I can say this with all the confidence in the world, one will find the only adequate answer to this problem in Jesus Christ*, if one looks without prejudice or discrimination to the good reasons and ample evidence that is available on His behalf.

A Talking Snake?
The Bible reports a cunning serpent as the culprit behind the deception of Eve which led ultimately to Adam’s disobedience to God. People who don’t accept the Bible’s account of the beginning think it is preposterous to believe in a talking snake, though it’s easy for them to believe that we evolved from this glob thing, and then another thing, and then more things, and then finally monkeys (so it is said and widely accepted in the secular scientific community but still debated). Yet it’s preposterous to believe in a talking snake, hmm. For all we know, especially because empirical science* cannot pose absolutes only probabilities, natural selection could very well have us evolving from snakes and we can talk, hmm. Doesn’t sound so preposterous after all now does it?
     Evolution doesn’t explain away God as so many atheists suggest. In certain cases the theory of the evolutionary process actually shows plausibility for God’s existence and the trustworthiness of the Bible. For example, Genesis 3:14—written thousands of years before the theory of evolution—records, “So the LORD God said to the serpent, “On your belly you shall go…all the days of your life.”” Evolution shows this as probable for the ancestry of snakes. So whether true or not, (though I believe Darwin’s theory of evolution is false and the Creation account in Genesis to be true), evolution does not necessarily explain away God or the credibility of the Bible. People simply choose to use evolution as a scapegoat for not accepting the Covenant God’s existence, to which the Bible attests (Rom. 1:20-21).

Take away whatever you can from these two topics. I do hope this was a help in some way. It was a simple contemplation of mine as I journey again through the book of Genesis. I will post more as they come along during this journey of mine.

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*1. There are 4 parts to the death consequence if Adam disobeyed God’s command. The first part of death is death by separation from God (Gen. 2:23-24). The second part of death is death by violence (Gen. 4:8). The third part of death is death by the natural (Gen. 5:5). The fourth part of death is death by destruction (Gen. 6:7).
*2. Jesus the Son of God and God the Son distinguishes Himself from the “Jesus” of Jehovah Witness, Mormonism, Christian Science, the Jesus Seminar, or any other beliefs spun off of the historic Jesus of Nazareth found in the Holy Bible.
*3. Science generally and largely makes empirical claims and deals with empirical issues, meaning there claims and issues can be solved by experience, either directly by observation or indirectly by experimentation. Empirical science is obviously verifiable, but an unspoken fact of empirical science is that it is also falsifiable (capable of being disproved). This is why empirical science can never deduce (assume, conclude) absolutes only strong or weak probabilities (e.g. theories, hypothesis).

2009

A Defense for the Hope: Does God Exist?

Somewhere around 6,000 years ago someone declared, from a personal encounter, there is only one true Higher Power/Supreme Being– also known as, GOD. This declaration of theirs they passed on to the generations after them and told them to do the same, and it has gone on until this present day in time.
     From this point in history on people have made it a life endeavor attempting to prove this age old claim to be false. Now some will say that this age old claim was made from an assumption taken from independent reasoning. With this said, we can now see from the studies of certain things like *Astronomy, *Cosmology, and *Biology that those centuries ago who declared God exists aren't looney; which in turn means the burden of proof is truly on those who oppose this claim to not simply show reasonable doubt but “foolproof” doubt. Yet, if one who accepts the existence of God can show even an ounce of solid, concrete evidence for it the case against it, no matter how sophisticated it may be, is no more. For who can truly prove that something doesn’t exist if there is even one shred of solid evidence that says it does?
     Here are three things I believe is solid and simple evidence for the existence of God.

The Universe
Scientists say, by way of their “Big Bang Theory”, that the universe has always existed, originating in a coalition of energy: gravity, electromagnetic, strong nuclear, and weak nuclear. Well, using their theory, energy––an effect and also a cause, but in this case an effect because of its four manifestations––cannot exist (come to be, occur) without the direct result of some other “cause” (action). In order for this such “cause” (i.e. action by somebody or something else) to create/cause this such “effect” (i.e. energy [and eventually matter] that makes up this immeasurable universe), this such “cause” would have to be something absolute––the origin/starting point of all “CAUSE”, something that always was, is, and will be. Otherwise, this universe remains an effect (a state) of energy (and eventually matter) without a sufficient “cause” (action by some “thing” completely separate from the “effect”), and that’s scientifically impossible. In all of the efforts to explain the “Big Bang” (the origin of the universe aside from a Higher Power), it still doesn’t and will never be able account for how the “Big” was provided for the “Bang” to take place.

The Earth
Earth is too perfectly placed within this galaxy. Any closer to the sun it would be too hot for life and any further away it be too cold for life, and it’s not blocked by the Asteroid Belt having a perfect view to view the rest of the universe. It's too perfectly suited for the different kinds of life forms on it to be an accident, chance, or luck. The percentage of that happening is in the billions times billionth percentile. Again, this is far too scientifically improbable to explain with certainty without some Higher/Supreme Power causing it.

Humankind
Evolution? Scientists from the same field aren’t all on the same page with evolution. (Scientists from the same field aren’t all on the same page on a lot of things, but that’s for another discussion). Scientists can only tell us educated guesses (empirical claims) not precise, absolute facts. They theorize from pictures of space, equations, certain species, and so forth of how life on earth came to be. (The same is to be said for their explanation for the universe and earth as well). For example, stories and reenactments from ages ago where we do not have anything credible or tangible to support them are fictitious and speculative not absolute or necessarily true. So the stories and reenactments we read and watch about dinosaurs, life ten’s of thousands to millions and billions of years ago, and so on, have no such support for how they are being told or described. Thus they are speculative not definite. They cannot tell us from a first person position only a third person position, and a third person position is not solid enough to be accepted as first-hand facts (in this case); which is exactly why they’re still called theories and not absolutes. Therefore, there is no “fail-safe” scientific way to explain the existence of humankind except for a Higher/Supreme Power; that is, atleast starting the process of “evolving” or something of the sorts. Again, humankind is such an “effect”, like that of the universe or the position of earth within the galaxy, that it needs such a “cause”.


Conclusion
I read somewhere, “People claim to not believe in God because it is “not scientific” or “because there is no proof.”” Yet, we can see that not believing in a Higher Power is actually what is “not scientific”. These three alone give ample enough evidence that there is a God out there who atleast is the cause for the universe, the positioning of and the situating of life on earth, and then humankind; as well as reasonable doubt on the allegation that there is no existence of God. It’s after acknowledging the existence of a Higher Power that we have to ask the question of, does this Higher Power want something to do with us, or did it start it all and leaves it to it’s own devices? This is where I believe some of the different faiths/beliefs come from, trying to answer this question. Nonetheless, the reality of the existence of God is much more credible than that of those who adamantly disagree. Even well-known, non-Christian scientists agree. Renowned astrophysicist and evolutionist Stephen Hawking said,

“The universe and the laws of physics seem to have been specifically designed for us. If any one of about 40 physical qualities had more than slightly different values, life as we know it could not exist: Either atoms would not be stable, or they wouldn’t combine into molecules, or the stars wouldn’t form the heavier elements, or the universe would collapse before life could develop and so on.”*

And again he said,

“It would be very difficult to explain why the universe should have begun in just this way, except as the act of a God who intended to create beings like us.”*

Even Charles Darwin himself said,

“The impossibility of conceiving that this grand and wondrous universe, with our conscious selves, arose through chance, seems to me the chief argument for the existence of God … I am aware that if we admit a first cause, the mind still craves to know whence it came, and how it arose.”*

There’s an old saying I like to close with, “A fool says in his heart, there is no God.”* And that’s because you’d have to be a fool to not see the evidence of the existence of a Higher/Supreme Power, or dim-witted enough to cover ones eyes and say, “I don’t see anything.”


Here's a link to another site that shares a lot of information on this same topic:
http://www.bcrevolution.ca/collapse_of_evolution.htm
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*1 - Astronomy is the scientific study of the universe, especially of the motions, positions, sizes, composition, and behavior of celestial objects.
*2 - Cosmology is the scientific study of the origin and structure of the universe.
*3 - Biology is the science that deals with all forms of life, including their classification, physiology, chemistry, and interactions.
*4, 5, 6 - One Heartbeat Away, Mark Cahill. Retrieved from http://audio.markcahill.org/Heartbeat.pdf, pg. 22, 24, 25.
*7 - Psalms 53:1

2009

A Defense for the Hope: True or False Witnesses

• Why would eleven Jewish men (thirteen including Matthias and later Paul) follow, live, and preach a Hebrew prophetic message that they knew they would be killed for, just as the one who taught it to them was, if they didn't believe it to be true (fulfilled)?
• Why would they lie about something as serious as the prophesied Messiah?
• What would be their reason for lying?

People lie or are deceitful to gain something or avoid something. These eleven had nothing to gain or avoid from this message if it was a lie. No money, property, respect, power, etc, was to be gained nor was any reason for avoidance from what they preached/taught. They had no reputation to lose if it was false. They had no reputation to gain if it was true. There was nothing to be gained, lost, or avoided from the message they were preaching/teaching. So why risk their lives; unless they knew what they knew was worth the consequences of preaching/teaching it.
     We can see during the first century that even though every Jew is taught of and awaits the promised Messiah, nobody was really analyzing each person to see if they were He. The Jewish people then went about their lives normally just as we do today––same stuff, different day. Again, why would normal, everyday Jews put all their eggs in one basket and risk their life for a false Messiah who did numerous miracles, feats, and such just as it was prophesied of Him to do? Why would normal, everyday Jews teach/preach the prophetic message (that they had come to learn) to every other Jew they came across (even the teachers), if what they had personally witnessed in the life of Jesus was not in accordance with the prophetic scriptures taught by the teachers of the Law? Why would the writers of the Gospels misquote or manipulate prophetic scriptures? Again, they had nothing to gain or avoid from this alleged deception. These Jewish writers, with the exception of Luke, were no more educated then whom they were writing to. To misquote or manipulate the holy Hebrew Scriptures simply to get other Jews to believe the message or follow their cause was truly not worth the consequences they would face––inevitably––if they were right or wrong.
     These Jewish followers of Jesus had a prime opportunity to let this blasphemy die out. Right after Jesus' crucifixion they were no longer in the public eye. They had all scattered. This was a perfect set-up to lay low and let everything die down if Jesus' was a false Messiah. So, as for the many who deny Jesus as the Messiah and only way to God, why would His followers further risk their life and steal His body just to cover up the so-called lie? No one was looking for them. They could've stayed in hiding, rather than risk Roman imprisonment, ex-communication from their culture, and death. But no, they say three days later an angel rolled the stoned away and their so-called Messiah rose from the dead. He even had the nerve to come to them and over 500 others as well. That's an over-reaching lie right there isn't it? If this wasn't true, they were making the situation way worst then what it was already with just Jesus doing and saying all that He did. Either they were the dumbest Jews alive, or again, they knew what they knew was unquestionably true and they were willing to die to tell everyone.
     Fifty days after Jesus' crucifixion, these normal, yet seemingly senseless Jewish followers of Jesus, arose from what appeared to be humiliation of their fallen false Messiah and took their region by storm. They went from outcasted nobodies to speaking multiple languages, prophesying, and doing similar miracles attributed to their so-called false Messiah. These ordinary Jews were doing extraordinary things. They had their life to lose but nothing to gain or avoid from preaching Jesus as the promised Messiah. To them they had already gained that which mattered most, eternal life. And all they wanted to do was offer that same life giving to them to everyone else for free. No deceit needed. Nothing intended to be gained. They just preached what they knew, what they witnessed, the Truth of God revealed.

The most notable convert to the so-called prophesied Messiah's message was Saul of Tarsus, later known as Paul. Paul was a teacher of the Law and an original persecutor of Jesus' followers. Why would this man, who knew the scriptures much much more then his eventual counterparts, risk his reputation, status, and life on something he didn't know for certain to be true? No follower converted Paul. Luke records Paul's story saying Paul was converted by the One who claimed to be the Messiah Himself. Who else could have converted Paul? Paul watched and assisted in the stoning of one of Jesus' followers. He wasn't moved by Jesus' follower's words. He knew too much to be won over by a nominal follower. Only one smarter than Paul could've convinced him that Jesus, who they called the Christ, was the prophesied Messiah. And Paul eventually came to the same conclusion, without any interference or influence of Jesus' followers, that Jesus was the promised Messiah. He then went on (by way of person and writing) to preach and teach Jews, and for the first time non-Jews (Gentiles), the now revealed Truth of God found in Jesus.
     The same that was said for Jesus' first followers can be said for Paul. Why would Paul misquote or manipulate the holy Hebrew Scriptures, which he probably held to much stricter than the others being a former teacher of the Law, simply to get other Jews and non-Jews to believe Jesus' message or follow Jesus' cause? What would Paul have to gain from preaching/teaching a false Jewish message? Paul, just as the others, had no reason to lie and no intention to gain, he just preached what he knew was the Hebrew Scriptures fulfilled in Jesus.

Now you tell me, why would these men (and women) risk their lives and their family's lives on a lie? Why would they preach lies to other Jews who would be able to tell if it wasn't in accordance with the Hebrew Scriptures? What did they have to gain from preaching/teaching their so-called false message? How did they do all the extraordinary things they did, which had not been seen before among the Jews except that of Jesus (and the prophets of old), if what they witnessed and knew was not the Truth? To me, there is no other logical answer to how they came to do what they did or why, except that Jesus is the promised Messiah, the Truth of God revealed.

2009

A Defense for the Hope: Simple Apologetics

First and foremost I must say this is a simple explanation, it’s not extensive.

There are two core facts in understanding the defense for our hope.

1. We know a Creator/Supreme Supernatural Being exist for the fact that there is overwhelming evidence due to the detailed explorations of science through Astronomy, Cosmology, and Biology; in addition to the fact that there is no way to concretely prove He does not exist.
2. The Holy Bible is the written source for the Christian Faith (not Jehovah's Witness or Mormons). Therefore, true Christians believe that the Creator/God that exists is the Covenant God of the Holy Bible.

After these two facts (and also according to Paul in Romans 1:20-21) its obvious one cannot rationally (legitimately, validly) deny the existence of God. And as we are about to see, the Bible cannot be rationally denied as well. So note it, understand it, and memorize these two facts, because in order to properly explain and/or defend our Faith as irrefutable truth we have to make sure these two facts remain coherent (agreeable).

Now that the core facts have been stated, let’s move onto a more literal documented fact. The Bible––which was written over a span of 1,500 years by roughly 40 different authors––has been sourced by the scientific, academic, and philosophical (non-religious) communities as a historical document due to the accuracy of the people, places, events, and the track record of fulfilled prophecies within in it. No other religious manuscript has been vetted and shown to be accurate more than the Holy Bible. Thus, all other religions are banking their so-called "truth" (and lives) on unvetted and unproven manuscripts. Therefore, continue to hold fast to these facts as solid evidence for the trustworthiness of the Bible.

The facts we just discussed now lead us to three “Faith facts”––facts of our Faith. As Christians, these Faith facts we ourselves need to know (believe and accept) to be the undeniable truth.

Faith fact #1: God is in control of all things past, present, and future.
Faith fact #2: The Holy Bible is God’s divine word to us, everything that is written in it is exactly what He wants us to have, no more no less.
Faith fact #3: Because God is in control of all things and the Bible is His word to us, He would never allow anyone nor anything to tamper, change, add, or take away from what was is in our written source to Him. As a result, He has protected and preserved its originality and trueness from the moment it was written, up to now, and forevermore.

I’ll wrap it up saying this. Considering the two core facts, the historical actuality (people, places, events, and the track record of fulfilled prophecies) of the Bible cited by Christians and reputable non-Christians alike, and the three “Faith facts”, one can see the logical reasoning in understanding why the Christian tenaciously (uncompromisingly) believes and claims that the Bible and its information inside are flawless. Indicating the life, purpose, and divinity of Jesus Christ is truth and reality. These facts, along with the testimony of the original witnesses of Jesus, one can’t substantially (with concrete evidence) deny the Christians claim of the Bible's authenticity. As long as this is the case, the Bible will be authentic until proven otherwise.

Standing on the two core facts, the historical documentation, the three Faith facts, and the testimony of the original witnesses and of what you’ve experienced to be true and what Jesus has done for you––as well as any other facts you may possess––is an adequate defense for our hope.

Note: Possessing some knowledge of Church history, other religions, as well as science and philosophy is a tremendous asset to have for proving and defending the case for our Faith. Moreover it will also strengthen one's own personal foundation and faith.

2009

From a son to his father

During the ending of September beginning of October my father was hospitalized. At that time no one knew exactly the extent how bad his sickness was. Maybe a day after being hospitalized he called, and we talked. My father and I don't talk about God. So this was a prime opportunity to share the Gospel with him, and when I did it was more subliminally than directly. When I got off the phone my wife said I should've took that opportunity and really told him how I felt. I said I would pray for boldness for the next time God gives me an opportunity to talk with him like that. Well, the next day he got worse. They quarantined him. I immediately felt burdened. I said, "If something happens to him and I never tell him how much I love him and how much Jesus loves him, I won't be able to forgive myself. I already lost a younger cousin to suicide and had many chances to share Jesus and never did. This time I'm not blowing it." So I went to the computer and wrote a letter. I thought about mailing it, then I sensed the Spirit telling me to call him and read it to him. We had a good talk. And since then, I've noticed little changes in how he wants to be around me and my family more. Praise God for the power of His love.

Just yesterday I was told one of my Bible study brothers lost his father. This made me think. If you have someone in your life that you care about who doesn't know Jesus. Don't wait any longer. Tell them how much you love them and how much Jesus loves them. Time is of the essence!

Here is the letter I wrote. Who knows who else God may use it to bless.
"I love you pops, and I wanted you to know that it is going to hurt me when your time comes to leave this earth. But it's going to hurt evermore to know that I won't see you in heaven because you don't believe that Jesus Christ died for your sins and through His death those who believe in Him are forgiven and accepted into God's family forever. I'd rather have you'd be sick and stuff but know the state of your soul and eternity is secure, than to have you well and then one day die and your soul and eternity is doomed. It's on this fact that I am not concerned about grandma's or granddaddy's health and time here, because I know I will see them again in heaven. It's on this fact that I am not concerned about my mother's health and time here, because I know I will see her again in heaven. But I cannot say the same for you, and that sincerely concerns and hurts me. I love you. I want to know that my father has witnessed what Jesus has done in his son's life, the change that Jesus and only Jesus has performed in your son's life, and then in your son's family. You have witnessed this first-hand. It's all because Jesus has saved my soul and has given me access to His power to live a life that pleases, honors, and glorifies Him. And I choose to take hold of His power and live in this way because I want to show Him how grateful I am and how much I love Him for all that He has done for me: saving my soul, delivering me from jail when I was straight-up guilty, delivering me from my many addictions––my sex addiction, drug addiction, control addiction, rage addiction, and so on––restoring my marriage, blessing me with 2 children who shouldn't even have made it out the womb, reconciling my relationship with my mother, and numerous numerous of other things. This is all because of Jesus Christ. I went from being and living one way, to being and living a whole other way.

I know you think all religions and beliefs believe in the same God or point to the same God, but they don't. I have personally researched just about every religion, and each belief has major differences in what they believe, and they all will tell you they don't believe in the same God. Muslims, Jews, Christians, Hindu's, Ba'ha's, Mystical religions, Mormons, Jehovah Witnesses, Wiccans, Universalist, Buddhist, and the many others, all have fundamental differences. And since we're all different and yet we all claim to be the "TRUTH", we all can't be right. One of these is right which will automatically make the others false. So right there we see that they all don't point to the same God or believe in the same God. What separates Jesus Christ from all of the others is that the "god" the rest claim to believe in have no proof or evidence in their "god" actually being the one true God. But Jesus Christ has strong evidence for Him being the one true God. We have historic evidence that Jesus lived, performed miracles, claimed to be God, died on a cross, rose from the dead, and the people who have truly encountered Jesus haven't been the same since. No other belief has more proof for the guarantee of what they claim, except for Jesus Christ. I am a living witness to the reality of Jesus, grandma and granddaddy are living witnesses to the reality of Jesus, and the many other family members of ours are living witnesses to the reality of Jesus. Jesus Christ is not like the others. He stands alone.

I know you also think people who claim to be Christians are hypocrites. You said you know people who don't believe and live better than some of those who you know who do claim to believe. Well, one, not everyone one who claims to believe in Jesus actually belongs to Jesus. Second, even those who have been truly saved and changed by Jesus are all still human; so we all still make mistakes. None of us are perfect, nor do we claim to be perfect, nor do we try to be perfect. We live like I said before, choosing to take hold of His power and live in a way that shows Him how grateful we are and how much we love Him for all that He has done for us.

I am sharing all of this with you so you won't think believing in Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord is some blind leap with no logic or evidence. Believing in Jesus is just the opposite. There is logic, and most importantly, there is evidence. And the greatest evidence Jesus provides is the truly changed lives of those who truly believe in Him as Lord and Savior. Again, your son pops is a living witness of the truth of Jesus being who He says He is. And as your son, I am asking you to do what I did. Believe that He died to pay your penalty from God for your sins, that He rose to show and prove He has power over death and can give those who believe in Him eternal life after death, and then believe in Him as your personal Lord and Savior. And just like I did and am still doing let Jesus show you how much He loves you, has a better life for you, and will give you His power to change and live for Him. But most of all, He secures your eternal future, pops. No other religion or belief can be certain of their eternal future, only those who believe in Jesus. With Jesus you will no longer have to be concerned with what is going to happen to you when you die, and neither will I or your parents.

I know I probably poured a lot on you. But after Sherman died suddenly, and I had just spoke to him and then he was heavy on my heart later and I never talked to him like I'm talking to you now, it would literally crush me if you died since no one is promised tomorrow and I never told you how much I love you and how much I want you to know that Jesus loves you, gave His life for you, and He wants to be the Savoir of your soul and Lord of your life. Especially in your current condition, I couldn't go another day knowing I have never just straight-up told you that. So I have and now you know where I stand, and I hope you take my concerns seriously and let Jesus into your heart pops. And if you want to know how to do that, let me know. I love you, pops. I'm done."

2008

Should We Be Afraid of Dinosaurs?

Why do people insist on questioning the authenticity of the Bible regarding dinosaurs? There is no reference in the Bible for the term universe, or space, or cosmos, but rather you know of it as heaven(s), or firmament, or sky. Yet, no one questions the reality of space in the Bible. Can it be that dinosaurs fall to the same thing as the term universe, space, and cosmos? Rather than the term dinosaurs being stated in the Bible, you may know of them as beast, or dragons, or leviathan, or any of the other "every living creatures" God created that we don't recognize by name. If the Bible says God created every living creature both of the water and earth, and we have the bones of dinosaurs, then that would mean they fall under the "every living creature" God created, right? This is not rocket science. Just as God doesn't give us the details about space––the many galaxies, planets, stars, etc––in the Bible, He also chose not to give us details about certain creatures in the Bible as well––dinosaurs are among many other creatures we don’t hear about in the Bible, but we see they exist or existed. Does that mean we should question the Bible because of their existence as well? This is an inadequate and foolish effort to refute the validity of the Bible. The Bible is not an encyclopedia, it wasn't meant to tell us everything, but just what God wanted us to know (Deut. 29:29).

"And out of the ground the LORD God formed every beast of the field, and every fowl of the air; and brought them unto Adam to see what he would call them: and whatsoever Adam called every living creature, that was the name thereof." (Gen. 2:19)

"The beast of the field shall honour me, the dragons and the owls: because I give waters in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert, to give drink to my people, my chosen." (Isa. 43:20)

The Bible says, "God created… great whales, and every living creature that moveth, which the waters brought forth abundantly… and every winged fowl…" (Gen. 1:21) "And God said, Let the earth bring forth the living creature after his kind, cattle, and creeping thing, and beast of the earth…" (Gen. 1:24) "…wild beasts of the desert… and owls… and satyrs [could be butterflies]…" (Isa. 13:21) "…leviathan that crooked serpent… the dragon that is in the sea." (Isa. 27:1) "…dragons in the waters" (Ps. 74:13) "…the dragons of the wilderness" (Mal. 1:3) "…small and great beasts" (Ps. 104:25).

Other creatures mentioned in the Bible: Lions, wild asses (donkeys), bears, eagles, quails, serpent …and there are probably more than these cited above, but not every creature in the world is referred to in the Bible. Remember, we serve a sovereign God who knew beforehand what the world would be like with dinosaurs around. Thus, by them obviously not being here, He chose to let them become extinct for His perfect reasons. And just like space, rather than tell us all about it, He allows us to find and figure it out ourselves to stand in awe of His creative power! So for us as believers, dinosaurs (like space) should help to prove the existence of God, not disapprove Him; and they should help to display the individuality, power, and glory of God, not discredit or denounce Him.


Here are some notes taken from AnswersInGenesis.com about dinosaurs:
*Dinosaur means ‘terrible lizard’.
*Dinosaurs had posture that was fully erect, similar to that in mammals; unlike reptiles.
*Evidence of these ‘transitional forms,’ as they are called, should be abundant. However, many fossil experts admit that not one unquestionable transitional form between any group of creatures and another has been found anywhere. If dinosaurs evolved from amphibians, there should be, for example, fossil evidence of animals that are part dinosaur and part something else. However, there is no proof of this anywhere. In fact, if you go into any museum you will see fossils of dinosaurs that are 100% dinosaur, not something in between. There are no 25%, 50%, 75%, or even 99% dinosaurs—they are all 100% dinosaur!
*If God designed and created dinosaurs, they would have been fully functional, designed to do what they were created for, and would have been 100% dinosaur. This fits exactly with the evidence from the fossil record.
*Creation scientists believe that dinosaurs were called dragons before the word dinosaur was invented in the 1800s. We would not expect to find the word dinosaur in Bibles like the Authorized Version (1611), as it was translated well before the word dinosaur was ever used.

2007