THE a.s and the Fox, having entered into partnership together for their
mutual protection, went out into the forest to hunt. They had not proceeded
far when they met a Lion. The Fox, seeing imminent danger, approached the
Lion and promised to contrive for him the capture of the a.s if the Lion
would pledge his word not to harm the Fox. Then, upon assuring the a.s that
he would not be injured, the Fox led him to a deep pit and arranged that he
should fall into it. The Lion, seeing that the a.s was secured, immediately
clutched the Fox, and attacked the a.s at his leisure.

[1]

Placing your trust in the one who can be trusted is essential for
everlasting life.

(Romans 8:28 NASB)

    28     And we know that ?1?God causes ?a?all things to work together
    for good to those who love God, to those who are ?b?called according
    to His purpose. [2]

All afternoon a little boy tried to put together his birthday gift from his
father, a picture puzzle. Some of the pieces were bright, some dark; some
seemed to go together, others seemed to fit nowhere. Finally, frustrated
and exhausted and with nothing to show for his efforts, the boy gathered
the pieces, put them in the box, and gave it to his dad. "I can't do it,"
he explained. "You try it."

To his amazement, his father assembled the entire puzzle in a few minutes.
"You see," he said, "I knew what the picture was like all the time. I saw
the picture in the puzzle, but you saw only the pieces."

Paul tells us here that God causes all things to work together for good.
Those "all things" are the pieces. He then tells us how they work together
for the good-according to God's purpose. That is the picture. Are you
perplexed and frustrated over this event or that happening in your life? Do
not take the situation out of God's hand and try to work it into your own
design. God made the picture your life is composed of, and he will complete
it-if you will let him.

[3]

8:28     It may not always seem so! Sometimes when we are suffering
heartbreak, tragedy, disappointment, frustration, and bereavement, we
wonder what good can come out of it. But the following verse gives the
answer: whatever God permits to come into our lives is designed to conform
us to the image of His Son. When we see this, it takes the question mark
out of our prayers. Our lives are not controlled by impersonal forces such
as chance, luck, or fate, but by our wonderful, personal Lord, who is "too
loving to be unkind and too wise to err." [4]

.                                                        ==

(John 3:16 KJV)

16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that
whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.[5]

(John 3:16 NASB)

    16     "For God so ?a?loved the world, that He ?b?gave His ?1??c?only
    begotten Son, that whoever ?d?believes in Him shall not perish, but
    have eternal life. [6]

There are two things that we need to note here. One is that we must be born
again. The other is that the Son of Man must be lifted up. They are
related. It takes the death of Christ and the resurrection of Christ-He
must be lifted up. Since He has been lifted up, since He bore our penalty,
the Spirit of God can regenerate us. And we must be born again-that is the
only way God can receive us.

The motivation for all of this is that God so loved the world. God never
saved the world by love, which is the mistaken thinking of today. It
doesn't say that God's love saved the world, because the love of God could
never save a sinner. God does not save by love, friends. God saves by
grace! "For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of
yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast"
(Eph. 2:8-9). Now, how does God save? God saves by grace. But God so loved
the world, that He gave His only begotten Son that whoever (you can write
your name in here and I can write mine) believes in Him should not perish,
but have everlasting life. Notice that with the word believe is the little
preposition in which means to believe in Christ. That is, we trust Him as
the One who bore the penalty for our sins. This is a personal thing. We
must each believe that He died in our place and in our stead. My friend,
you must believe that He died for you.

[7]

Presenting the gospel in a nutshell, 3:16 clarifies

.     the source of the gospel: God's love, demonstrated in the giving of
his only Son to die on the cross .     the beneficiaries of the gospel:
"everyone who believes" .     the required response: simple faith in Jesus
(see 6:29) .     the importance of that response: Those who believe will
live forever; those who do not believe will perish.

[8]

Jesus is speaking and He tells us that if we have a relationship with Him
we will not perish - but we will live forever. You see, as a believer, our
hope is grounded in our relationship to Jesus Christ. If we believe in Him,
if we have put our trust in Him, if we do what He has asked us to do, we
can have eternal life. That is what John 3:16 guarantees us. In John 14 the
Bible tells us that not only will we live forever but that He has prepared
a special place for us. Let me read that passage now:

1 "Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me.
2 In My Father's house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have
told you. I go to prepare a place for you. 3 And if I go and prepare a
place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I
am, there you may be also. John 14:1-3 (NKJV)

Not only will Jesus give us eternal life He will also give us a home - an
eternal home - in heaven with him. Not like the home we have in this world
- it will be different. It will be more beautiful then anything we can
imagine. There will be no more pain or sorrow - Revelation 21 tells us
this:

And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more
death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former
things have passed away." Revelation 21:4 (NKJV)

The former things mean the things in this world. They have passed away - no
more sickness - no more suffering - no more illness - no more disease -
only perfect health. No more crying - no more sorrow - no more pain - just
joy - laughter - and peace. That is so different then what most us
experience in life - isn't it? But that is what God has promised us if we
believe in Him.

Jesus is speaking of death when He says:

37 All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to
Me I will by no means cast out. 38 For I have come down from heaven, not to
do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me. 39 This is the will of the
Father who sent Me, that of all He has given Me I should lose nothing, but
should raise it up at the last day. 40 And this is the will of Him who sent
Me, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in Him may have everlasting
life; and I will raise him up at the last day." John 6:37-40 (NKJV)

God has promised us life - eternal life in Christ Jesus. We have come today
because we have suffered a loss and it hurts. __________ has died. But we
also must realize that God's Word is a Word of Hope. Let me end with one
more passage of scripture to you - it is from the 23rd Psalm.

Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear
no evil; For You are with me. Psalms 23:4 (NKJV)

God has promised that if we believe in Him - He will always be with us. He
will never leave us - He will never abandon us. That is God's Word - That
is God's promise.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------
--

[1]Aesop. Aesop's Fables.

1 One early ms reads all things work together for good

a Rom 8:32 b Rom 8:30; 9:24; 11:29; 1 Cor 1:9; Gal 1:6, 15; 5:8; Eph 1:11;
3:11; 2 Thess 2:14; Heb 9:15; 1 Pet 2:9; 3:9

[2]New American Standard Bible : 1995 update. 1995 (Ro 8:28). LaHabra, CA:
The Lockman Foundation.

[3]Green, M. P. (1989). Illustrations for Bilical Preaching : Over 1500
sermon illustrations arranged by topic and indexed exhaustively (Revised
edition of: The expositor's illustration file.). Grand Rapids: Baker Book
House.

[4]MacDonald, W., & Farstad, A. (1997, c1995). Believer's Bible Commentary

[5]The Holy Bible : King James Version. 1995 (electronic ed. of the 1769
edition of the 1611 Authorized Version.) (Jn 3:16). Bellingham WA: Logos
Research Systems, Inc.

a Rom 5:8; Eph 2:4; 2 Thess 2:16; 1 John 4:10; Rev 1:5 b Rom 8:32; 1 John
4:9

1 Or unique, only one of His kind

c John 1:18; 3:18; 1 John 4:9 d John 3:36; 6:40; 11:25f

[6]New American Standard Bible : 1995 update. 1995 (Jn 3:16). LaHabra, CA:
The Lockman Foundation.

[7]McGee, J. V. (1997, c1981). Thru the Bible commentary. Based on the Thru
the Bible radio program. (electronic ed.) (4:385). Nashville: Thomas
Nelson.

[8]Willmington, H. L. (1997). Willmington's Bible handbook (608). Wheaton,
Ill.: Tyndale House Publishers.

The Total Collapse (Death) of Atheism

       http://76.162.173.93/uit/coa/

ATHEISM-WHAT IF THERE IS NO GOD? Though a
recent poll indicates that only about 5 percent of Americans do
not believe in God, the influence of atheistic thinkers in our time is
certainly widespread. Most college students have studied the writings
or the thoughts of existentialist Jean-Paul Sartre, communist Karl Marx,
capitalist Ayn Rand, or psychologists Sigmund Freud and
B.F. Skinner. In the 1960s, the following passage from
Friedrich Nietzsche became a motto for the "God is dead" movement:
"Where is God gone?" he called out. "I mean to tell you! We
have killed him-you and I! We are all his murderers! . Do we not hear the
noise of the grave diggers who are burying God? . God is dead! God
remains dead!"1

Religion Without God? In 1961, the Supreme Court ruled that there are
some atheistic religions and cited among them Hinayana Buddhism, Taoism,
and secular humanism. Here are some of the beliefs of secular humanism:
1. "Religious humanists regard the universe as self-existing and not
created." 2. "Humanism believes that man is a part of the universe and
that he has emerged as the result of a continuous process." 3. "We can
discover no divine purpose or providence for the human species.. No deity
will save us; we must save ourselves." 4. "We affirm that moral values
derive their source from human experience. Ethics are autonomous and
situational, needing no theological or ideological sanction." 5. "Moral
education for children and adults is an important way of developing
awareness and sexual maturity." 6. "To enhance freedom and dignity the
individual must experience a full range of civil liberties in all
societies. This includes . an individual's right to die with dignity,
euthanasia, and the right to suicide." [All quotes from Humanist
Manifestos I and II, ed. by Paul Kurtz (Buffalo: Prometheus Books,
1973).] Not all atheists are quite as militant, however. Karl Marx echoed
the sentiments of many modern atheists when he wrote, "Nowadays, in our
evolutionary conception of the universe, there is absolutely no room for
either a creator or a ruler."2 While a skeptic doubts that God exists,
and an agnostic says that he doesn't know if God is out there, the
atheist claims to know that there is no God. There is only the world and
the natural forces that operate it.

WHAT DO ATHEISTS BELIEVE ABOUT GOD?
There are different kinds of atheism.
Some believe that God once existed, but died in the body of Jesus Christ.
Others say that it is impossible to talk about God because we can't know
anything about Him, so He may as well not exist. Still others say that
there is no longer any need for the God-myth that once flourished among
men. But the classic view holds that there never was and never will be a
God either in the world or beyond it. Those who hold this view object
that the arguments used to prove God's existence are faulty. God is
simply a creation of human imagination.

1 Friedrich Nietzsche, Joyful Wisdom, trans. by Thomas Common (New York:
Frederick Unger Publishing Co., 1960), section 125, pp. 167-168. 2 See
Marx and Engels on Religion, ed. by Reinhold Niebuhr (New York: Schocken,
1964), p. 295.

ATHEISM-WHAT IF THERE IS NO GOD?

Though a recent poll indicates that only about 5 percent of Americans do
not believe in God, the influence of atheistic thinkers in our time is
certainly widespread. Most college students have studied the writings or
the thoughts of existentialist Jean-Paul Sartre, communist Karl Marx,
capitalist Ayn Rand, or psychologists Sigmund Freud and B.F. Skinner.
In the 1960s, the following passage from Friedrich Nietzsche became a
motto for the "God is dead" movement:

"Where is God gone?" he called out. "I mean to tell you! We have killed
him-you and I! We are all his murderers! . Do we not hear the noise
of the grave diggers who are burying God? . God is dead! God remains
dead!"1

Religion Without God?

In 1961, the Supreme Court ruled that there are some atheistic religions
and cited among them Hinayana Buddhism, Taoism, and secular
humanism. Here are some of the beliefs of secular humanism:

1. "Religious humanists regard the universe as self-existing and not
created."

2. "Humanism believes that man is a part of the universe and that he has
emerged as the result of a continuous process."

3. "We can discover no divine purpose or providence for the human
species.. No deity will save us; we must save ourselves."

4. "We affirm that moral values derive their source from human
experience. Ethics are autonomous and situational, needing no theological
or ideological sanction."

5. "Moral education for children and adults is an important way of
developing awareness and sexual maturity."

6. "To enhance freedom and dignity the individual must experience a full
range of civil liberties in all societies. This includes . an individual's right
to die with dignity, euthanasia, and the right to suicide." [All quotes from
Humanist Manifestos I and II, ed. by Paul Kurtz (Buffalo: Prometheus
Books, 1973).]

Not all atheists are quite as militant, however. Karl Marx echoed the
sentiments of many modern atheists when he wrote, "Nowadays, in our
evolutionary conception of the universe, there is absolutely no room for
either a creator or a ruler."2

While a skeptic doubts that God exists, and an agnostic says that he
doesn't know if God is out there, the atheist claims to know that there is
no God. There is only the world and the natural forces that operate it.

WHAT DO ATHEISTS BELIEVE ABOUT GOD?

There are different kinds of atheism. Some believe that God once existed,
but died in the body of Jesus Christ. Others say that it is impossible to
talk about God because we can't know anything about Him, so He may
as well not exist. Still others say that there is no longer any need for the
God-myth that once flourished among men. But the classic view holds
that there never was and never will be a God either in the world or
beyond it. Those who hold this view object that the arguments used to
prove God's existence are faulty. God is simply a creation of human
imagination.

WHAT DO ATHEISTS BELIEVE ABOUT THE WORLD?

Many believe the world is uncreated and eternal. Others say it came into
existence "out of nothing and by nothing." It is self-sustaining and self-
perpetuating. They argue that if everything needs a cause, then one can
ask, "What caused the first cause?" So they claim that there must have
been a series of causes that reaches back into the past forever. Some
simply say that the universe is not caused; it is just there.

WHAT DO ATHEISTS BELIEVE ABOUT EVIL?

While atheists deny God's existence, they affirm the reality of evil. They
think the existence of evil is one of the primary evidences that there is no
God. One atheist philosopher even wonders what could possibly make a
Christian admit that his beliefs are false if he still believes in the existence
of God while evil is present in the world. Some also argue that it is absurd
to believe in God since God made all things, and evil is a thing, so God
must have made evil.

WHAT DO ATHEISTS BELIEVE ABOUT VALUES?

If there is no God, and man is merely a collection of chemicals, then there
is no reason to believe that anything has eternal value. Atheists believe
that morals are relative and situational. There may be some enduring
ethical principles, but these were created by man, not revealed by God.
Goodness is defined as whatever works to achieve the desired results.

Atheist philosophers have asked some questions which challenge us to
think about our faith. However, the objections that are raised about
God's existence have already been addressed in our arguments in chapter
2. Briefly stated, an infinite series of causes is impossible and
unnecessary, because Christians never said that everything needs a
cause-only events or things that change need causes. Asking, "What
caused the first cause?" is like asking, "What does a square triangle look
like?" or, "What is the smell of blue?" It is a meaningless question.
Triangles can't have four sides; colors don't smell; and first causes don't
have causes because they are first.

[1]

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

1 Friedrich Nietzsche, Joyful Wisdom, trans. by Thomas Common (New
York: Frederick Unger Publishing Co., 1960), section 125, pp.
167-168.

2 See Marx and Engels on Religion, ed. by Reinhold Niebuhr (New
York: Schocken, 1964), p. 295.

[1]Geisler, N. L., & Brooks, R. M. (1990). When skeptics ask (37).
Wheaton, Ill.: Victor Books.

.                   Atheism is, essentially, a negative position

Atheism is, essentially, a negative position.  It is not believing in a
god, or actively believing there is no God, or choosing to not exercise any
belief or non-belief concerning God, etc.  Which ever flavor is given to
atheism, it is a negative position.

In discussions with atheists, I don't hear any evidence for the validity of
atheism.  There are no "proofs" that God does not exist in atheist circles;
at least, none that I have heard -- especially since you can't prove a
negative regarding God's existence.  Of course, that isn't to say that
atheists haven't attempted to offer some proofs that God does not exist.
But their attempted proofs are invariably insufficient. After all, how do
you prove there is no God in the universe?  How do you prove that in all
places and all times, there is no God?  You can't. Besides, if there were a
proof of Gods non-existence, then atheists would be continually using it.
But we don't hear of any such commonly held proof supporting atheism or
denying Gods existence.  The atheist position is very difficult, if not
impossible, to prove since it is an attempt to prove a negative.
Therefore, since there are no proofs for atheisms truth and there are no
proofs that there is no God, the atheist must hold his position by faith.

"Since atheism cannot be proven and since disproving evidences for God does
not prove there is no God, atheists have a position that is intellectually
indefensible."Faith, however, is not something atheists like to claim as
the basis of adhering to atheism.  Therefore, atheists must go on the
attack and negate any evidences presented for Gods existence in order to
give intellectual credence to their position.  If they can create an
evidential vacuum in which no theistic argument can survive, their position
can be seen as more intellectually viable.  It is in the negation of
theistic proofs and evidences that atheism brings its self-justification to
self-proclaimed life.

There is, however, only one way that atheism is intellectually defensible
and that is in the abstract realm of simple possibility.  In other words,
it may be possible that there is no God. But, stating that something is
possible doesn't mean that it is a reality or that it is wise to adopt the
position.  If I said it is possible that there is an ice cream factory on
Jupiter, does that make it intellectually defensible or a position worth
adopting merely because it is merely a possibility?   Not at all.  So,
simply claiming a possibility based on nothing more than it being a
possible option, no matter how remote, is not sufficient grounds for
atheists to claim viability in their atheism. They must come up with more
than "It is possible," or "There is no evidence for God," otherwise, there
really must be an ice cream factory on Jupiter and the atheist should step
up on the band wagon and start defending the position that Jupiterian ice
cream exists.

At least we Christians have evidences for God's existence such as fulfilled
biblical prophecy, Jesus' resurrection, the Transcendental Argument, the
entropy problem, etc.

But there is another problem for atheists.  Refuting evidences for Gods
existence does not prove atheism true anymore than refuting an eyewitness
testimony of a marriage denies the reality of the marriage.  Since atheism
cannot be proven and since disproving evidences for God does not prove
there is no God, atheists have a position that is intellectually
indefensible.  At best, atheists can only say that there are no convincing
evidences for God so far presented.  They cannot say there are no evidences
for God because the atheist cannot know all evidences that possibly exist
in the world.  At best, the atheist can only say that the evidence so far
presented has been insufficient.  This logically means that there could be
evidences presented in the future that will suffice.  The atheist must
acknowledge that there may indeed be a proof that has so far been
undiscovered and that the existence of God is possible.  This would make
the atheist more of an agnostic since at best the atheist can only be
skeptical of Gods existence.

This is why atheists need to attack Christianity.  It is because
Christianity makes very high claims concerning Gods existence which
challenges their atheism and pokes holes in their vacuum.  They like the
vacuum.  They like having the universe with only one god in it:
themselves.

Atheists' morals are not absolute. They do not have a set of moral laws
from an absolute God by which right and wrong are judged.  But, they do
live in societies that have legal systems with a codified set of laws.
This would be the closest thing to moral absolutes for atheists.  However,
since the legal system changes the morals in a society can still change and
their morals along with it.  At best, these codified morals are "temporary
absolutes."  In one century abortion is wrong. In another, it is right. So,
if we ask if it is or isn't it right, the atheist can only tell us his
opinion.

If there is a God, killing the unborn is wrong. If there is no God, then
who cares? If it serves the best interest of society and the individual,
then kill. This can be likened to something I call, "experimental ethics."
In other words, whatever works best is right. Society experiments with
ethical behavior to determine which set of rules works best for it.
Hopefully, these experiments lead to better and better moral behavior.
But, as we see by looking into society, this isn't the case:  crime is on
the rise.

There are potential dangers in this kind of self-established/experimental
ethical system. If a totalitarian political system is instituted and a
mandate is issued to kill all dissenters, or Christians, or mentally ill,
what is to prevent the atheist from joining forces with the majority system
and support the killings? It serves his self-interests, so why not?
Morality becomes a standard of convenience, not absolutes.

But, to be fair, just because someone has an absolute ethical system based
on the Bible, there is no guarantee that he will not also join forces in
doing what is wrong.  People are often very inconsistent.  But the issue
here is the basis of moral beliefs and how they affect behavior. That is
why belief systems are so important and absolutes are so necessary.  If
morals are relative, then behavior will be too.  That can be dangerous if
everyone starts doing right in his own eyes.  A boat adrift without an
anchor will eventual crash into the rocks.

The Bible teaches love, patience, and seeking the welfare of others even
when it might harm the Christian.  In contrast, the atheists'
presuppositions must be constantly changing, and subjective and does not
demand love, patience, and the welfare of others.  Instead, since the great
majority of atheists are evolutionists, their morality, like evolution is
the product of purely natural and random processes that become self
serving.

Basically, the atheist cannot claim any moral absolutes at all. To an
atheist, ethics must be variable and evolving. This could be good or bad.
But, given human nature being what it is, I'll opt for the moral absolutes
-- based on God's word -- and not on the subjective and changing morals
that atheism offers.

Atheists often challenge the theist to prove God's existence only within
the confines of science.
Science has served humanity well.  Through it we have discovered countless
natural laws of the universe and use that knowledge to make our lives
easier in every area of our existence.  But to limit a theist's proofs to
the confines of what the atheist demands is terribly one sided.  To a
Christian, there are experiences that science and logic cannot explain.
The atheist needs to recognize that we have experiences that are life
changing.  No mere psychological set of theories explains the changes in
our lives.  So please, don't mock them.  Can science nail down all that
exists in mind, body, and soul?  No.  Can it quantify the beauty of a
sunset, the cooing of a baby, or the love of a man and a woman?  Science
and logic have served us well, but they are not the ultimate truth to all
things.
Of course, that does not mean we ignore science.  In fact, we use it in our
proofs for God.  But to limit the playing field to your set of rules is an
improper way to start.  It is mostly an attempt to initiate control and
keep command of the conversation by setting the ground rules according to
your criteria.

Though an atheist may not accept biblical evidence at support for God's
existence, it does not negate the fact that the Bible is evidence.  Whether
or not the atheist wants to accept it, is another matter.

Name-calling and insults.
Of course, this is obvious.  I heard it said once that the man who strikes
first admits his arguments have run out.  In some of the discussions I've
had with atheists, when I've made a valid point in logic, I have been
insulted.  To call someone a name is to attack the person and not the issue
and it closes the door to true discussion.

Condescension
This is the most common of all mistakes I've encountered with atheists.
I've been told by atheists that I'm an idiot for believing God, that if I
were truly intelligent I'd abandon my anachronistic thinking, etc.  These
comments do nothing to further discussion.

Straw-man argumentation
Sometimes atheists will construct an argument against Christianity that
does not reflect a true Christian position.  For example, one atheist
stated that the Trinity was illogical because three gods could not be one
God.  I had to correct him and show him that the Trinity is the doctrine
that there is only one God in three persons, not three gods.

Other straw-man arguments deal with persons who claim to be Christians and
act in an unchristian manner.  A typical example is the white supremacist
who claims to be a Christian and when he does something which is against
the Bible, his bad example is used to label all Christians.

In all, I enjoy mixing it up with atheists in their own environment.  (-:

-- +Sig+

                         Don't be a jackanapes!
       Use alias:  St. Jackanapes as a basis for counterfeit.

"Do not give dogs what is holy; and do not throw your
pearls before swine, lest they trample them under foot and
turn to attack you. "(Matthew 7:6 RSV)

.             The Total Collapse (Death) Of Atheism
  http://76.162.173.93/uit/coa/

In alt.flame.jesus.christ, purpurroterwald said...

Cho was a secret Christian. I guess Chung was too busy making up menus
that he missed that on CNN.