Britain is a Christian country, not only because our Queen is Christian but also because all of our laws and statutes are based upon the Bible.
Christian values were established first; they were written in stone for Moses! as stated in the Bible, therefore all moral values have been derived from the Bible. It is deceiving to say that Christian values could be distinct from human values.
But this media debate is ONLY about religion, NOT faith or the supernatural. What do you think?
Promoting religious doctrine could just as easily be illustrated by describing Buddhism, Islamist views, Catholicism or any other religion. However, moral behaviour is accepted or rejected based upon a particular world-view.
We all develop a way of looking at reality, a world-view, shaped largely by when and where we were brought up. Views of reality change but reality itself does not.
World-views
Your world-view is like a filter, you pass everything that happens around you through it in order to work out what it means. If it is faulty, it will lead you to make faulty judgements about life. Examples of some different world-views:
1. A non-western world view: animism
- A belief that our lives are controlled by a universal power and by spirits of many types
- We need an expert to manipulate spiritual power to our advantage
2. The western or modern world-view
- Divides reality into 'natural' and 'supernatural' but focuses only on the natural
- Sees spiritual things as irrelevant to daily life
- Reality is defined only by what we can see touch and measure
3. The post modern world-view
- There is no such thing as objective truth
- Everyone has their own version of truth
- Each person's truth is as valid as everyone else's
- If you disagree with my truth or disapprove of my actions you are rejecting me
4. Biblical world-view: how it really is!
- Truth does exist
- God is truth
- Faith and logic are not incompatible
I agree with Tim Minchin that the rhetoric from David Cameron could be seen to be inconsistent with his actions and his publicised beliefs. In this case, even a confirmed atheist like Tim Minchin senses that what David Cameron is saying is disingenuous.
But there is a reason for this. And it's because of poor teaching, a lack of understanding about the Bible and a reluctance to study it. Sadly, many Christians are subject to others who put it across that they know it all! As a result we now have a great many Christians who believe in God and Jesus yet could not argue or present their case in any convincible form.
A Leper-Loving Jesus
Tim Minchin refers to Jesus Christ, the son of God as a socialist, leper-loving, iconoclast, however his description is incomplete. Jesus is also the Lord of lords, and King of kings.
Looking at the comments in brackets, it appears that each of them depict Tim's view of reality. If he was saying that he didn't believe that Jesus would roll in his grave if he so famously vacated his grave, he would have added (I don't think so!) at the end. So does he agree that Jesus rose from the dead or not?
Anyway, it's too late to try and insult someone who has already been crucified for simply being who is. He never lifted a finger or insulted anyone in his life but then again Tim Minchin intimately knows the story as he played Judas in Jesus Christ superstar in the West End of London.
Offensive in the Extreme
Jesus on the cross offends. But why is it offensive? Why would any group of people get offended about an act that happened over 2000 years ago that was done expressly to atone for or pay for the sins of mankind, sins that we continue to commit even today!
But is it the Cross that offends or is it the empty tomb?
Jesus' existence may be extremely offensive to many people, however, there are a number of provable facts that need to be taken into consideration:
- Everything about Jesus is supernatural
- He continues to heal people, even to this day
- He continues to challenge the status quo and individuals
- Over 300 direct prophecies about Jesus have happened
- He died for us all, so that we can have eternal life with him
Again I agree with Tim, Jesus did famously vacate the grave. This was confirmed by the Roman soldiers guarding his tomb at the time (even though they were bribed to say that his body was stolen) and Jesus also appeared to approximately 500 different people in the 40 days after he rose from the dead.
The Supernatural
So it brings me back to stating that everything about Jesus is supernatural. And understanding the significance of this faith, not religion, means to submit to God and allow God to open our eyes so that we can see what this supernatural existence is really about and what Gods plans are for us.
Whether the subject is physical healing, miraculous provision of finances, reconciling relationships, answer to prayer, prophecies, apparitions, being physically affected by the Holy Spirit, being guided by spiritual intervention or even calling it intuition, all these amount to the supernatural nature of faith in Jesus and have nothing to do with religious activities commonly found in Church life.
And it is the above elements of Christianity that most Christians struggle with and don't want to publicly admit to.
C'mon Read The Bible
Sadly, to further illustrate that our leaders do not understand God's word. The Bible says in Exodus 20:1-7 and Deuteronomy 5:4-21 you shall have no other Gods before me and that you will not bow down to them or serve them.
Both David Cameron and Prince Charles were photographed in bare feet with marks on their heads and garlands around their necks giving offerings to statues of gods at Hindu temples during the Diwali festivals this year. For more about this issue, click here to read Is Christianity Really a Vote Winning Strategy?.
In the Bible Paul says that we're to convince and persuade people about the truths of the the Good News, which is explained in the gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke & John, because of existing opposing world-views. Today is no different.
As Christians we are to explain the truth to people otherwise they will never hear it. If opposing world-views drowned out the truth that is stated in the Bible then we would all be lost!
What if Everyone Were Christian
There are over 2 billion Christians on this earth and counting, why?
Recently on the BBC website there was an article that referred to an interview with an evangelical pastor in China who stated that within 20 years they would not need any police because there are so many people converting to Christianity and as a result, the crime rate is falling like never before.
It seems apparent to those in China, that if everyone were Christian, life would be very different.
So What About Satan?
In amongst this argument there is a very difficult element to accept. To fully understand, is to accept Jesus as Lord. This acceptance has a corresponding acknowledgement that there is an evil force that has affected this world and that this force or person directing it is called Satan (the person who, incidentally influenced Judas, as played by Tim Minchin).
The fact remains; you can't acknowledge one without the other, that includes David Cameron et al. However, those who are unaware of the power of The Cross will continue to be subject to the world and Satan.
You have probably heard people say, "If there is a God why does he let all these bad things happen". Well, there are eternal laws that God will not break. And one of those laws is that Satan is currently the ruler of the earth (this happened what Adam ate of the fruit and handed power and dominion to Satan) and therefore Satan is the instigator and originator of every bad thing that happens here on earth. Don't forget this fact!
And You Still Don't Get It!
Those who know their Bible will know that by Jesus dying on the cross, he defeated Satan and gave 'us Christians' back the power and authority over Satan. Therefore, it is our duty to pray and speak into being the things that please God and the things that we believe we are destined to do.
Again I reiterate, this is supernatural. This is not about church, charity or Rich Tea biscuits.
We have had over 2000 years to understand this. These facts may be difficult to swallow, but they are true and illustrated in the Bible. We have been given enough time to contemplate our existence and the exponential spread of Christianity is happening for a reason.
It is sad that many Christians don't understand the complete picture as they would live infinitely more fulfilled lives, however, bottom line, they are saved, they've just wasted a few years on earth is all! But for the rest of mankind, what will be the common excuse at the end of the current days when we are standing before God, answering for our actions and words?
The Antichrists Are Already Here
For someone to deny the existence of God and that Jesus is his Son, is classified in the Bible as being an antichrist. We have all seen the horror films, but this is far more serious than fake blood and the Hammer House of Horror films.
There are too few Christians who respond to criticisms of Christianity simply because they don't understand it well enough themselves. The enemy or Satan, knows the Bible inside out, so attempting a duel can seem daunting, however, not enough Christians know that they have already won the battle!
Sadly, even David Cameron is not able to articulate his faith and talks of religion and people that 'do good' at church. The supernatural is not talked about in the media for fear of being labelled as some kind of 'religious nut'.
What if God is Real?
It seems that today, being a follower of Jesus Christ is far more offensive than following the crowd who state that there is no such thing as God.
As they don't believe in God how can they get offended at something or someone they say doesn't exist and have no qualms disputing God, faith or Christianity? We go around in circles, back to animism, western/modern, post modern world-views.
Opening up your life to God and all it entails is daunting, challenging and amazing at the same time. It's easy to dismiss faith and follow the crowd, however, you may be reading this and a question just popped into your head:
- What if God is real?
- What is the points in this article are true?
- What if I've been blocking all this out?
- Why would anyone not want me to understand this?
- Why do I get offended about Christianity?
Faith vs Religion
As David Cameron has clearly articulated he is a typical UK CoE Christian who doesn't really get the faith thing that but goes with the flow about religion. He has stated that when it comes to making decisions that he certainly wouldn't get on his knees and pray. And yes, there is a massive distinction between faith and religion.
One is about having a relationship with God and the other is following a set of man-made rules and regulations.
I reiterate Christianity is about believing in the supernatural, not a set of rules. When individuals attempt to take the supernatural out of Christianity, it becomes religious rhetoric and empty.
It is the same for Tony Blair who has set up his Faith Foundation. The Bible is what it is. The content says Jesus is the way, the truth and the life. Tony Blair's attempts at taking the supernatural out of Christianity and presenting a dumbed down 'one size fits all' religious gang show will only result in one thing; Tony Blair being answerable to God when his time comes.
Neither Justin Welby and more recently Lord Williams (Ex Arch Bishop of Canterbury) have mentioned that Christianity is about Jesus and the supernatural. They seem to have been drawn in to a bizarre argument cooked up by a group of people who choose not to believe in God or that Jesus was his Son that rose from the dead.
Speak from a Position of Knowledge
It applies to all of us too, there are those who are extremely worldly intelligent and those who have been publicly recognised for their worldly efforts like Knights, Dames, those with OBEs and CBEs however none of them appear to have read the Bible and studied it so that they can speak from a position of conviction and knowledge.
Those of us who repeatedly experience answered prayer are completely at a loss as to how anyone can say that Christianity is nonsense and its affect has now been negated in the UK because of some other religions that we have let co-exist with us Christian. For me it is like denying my right hand exists whilst I'm writing with it at the same time. By the way my testimony, about what God has done in my life, was filmed on 9th April 2014 by God TV and is being broadcast to 250 million viewers. So I am speaking from personal experience, not hypothetically!
There are those who say that prayer doesn't work. There are right, it doesn't if you don't have faith for it.
How to Become a Christian?
Becoming a Christian is easy. You say out loud that Jesus is Lord of your life and that you're sorry for the things that you've done in your life (and mean it!). You then asked Jesus to come into your life and for the Holy Spirit to guide you. It couldn't be easier - you acknowledge that Jesus is Lord (and by doing so you are stating that Satan is not your Lord!!!) and in return you get eternal life, is not a bad deal. But it doesn't stop there!
If you are prepared to study what this Christianity thing is all about, will find out that God wants so much more for all of us than we could even begin to imagine. Yet accessing this life is to understand Gods grace which translates as Gods power. Once you begin to understand this aspect of Gods will for your life, you will never be the same again.
We were not an accident or a mistake. God wants us to have dominion on this earth and to live in harmony with each other. Whilst it's simple, we all known that certain people will never change and that's because the enemy has got them so wound up that they think they can't change or to do so would be embarrassing! Now who would want someone to feel that way – oh yes, Satan!
Give Satan a Kicking!
So next time you see a Facebook or social media post that criticises Christianity, take a moment to think that our Father in heaven wants us to live and experience the best lives that we cannot even begin to imagine and that process began by Jesus dying on the cross.
So don't let Satan win and force you to miss out on Gods promises. You may think that by slating Christianity you're being clever, smart or simply saying what you think your peers want you to say, but the reality is that 2 billion Christians think that you are:
- Being manipulated by Satan
- Missing out on an amazing realisation of life as you know it
- Heading for eternal damnation as opposed to eternal life
- And they genuinely feel sorry
Steo up to the plate and find out more about this thing called faith and don't be hoodwinked in to thinking that Christianity is either dead, past-tense, post-tense or any other explanation!
God's not dead. It's the antichrists that want to make us think that He is!
