Christianity

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A Grandsons Question


Why did Jesus have to die?

My grandson asked me a question the other day that I should have been able to answer, but it caught me by surprise. It went like this; why did people have to kill Jesus?

After some thought, I decided to write it down to keep my thoughts and understanding intact.

It all started back at the beginning of time when God created the heavens and the earth. Oh, I know, some people believe that everything happened by way of a big boom. The thing is, science continues to show that someone had to orchestrate it, even though they don’t want to tell us.

You might ask, what does this have to do with why they killed Jesus? It’s just that the answer takes a bit of background information.

The Bible tells us that the first man and woman were created in Their image, meaning God and his son Jesus. He created the first man and woman (Adam and Eve) to love Him and to live forever. However, he was not going to force them to love Him, he gave them that decision, and today we have that same choice.

But then someone, the Bible tells us it was Satin, or a serpent influenced by Satin, said to them that they didn’t have to listen to God, that they could do their own thing. And they did the one thing God asked them not to do, and that was when everything changed.

Many books are written about the historical information in the Bible, showing the accuracy of the Bible’s written words. But we must step forward through time to give the question an answer.

God used people to tell the story about His son Jesus early on in the Bible. They were the prophets that we read about in the Bible. They tell the story about Jesus hundreds of years before Jesus showed up on earth. The religious leaders at the time of Jesus’ life on earth knew about this but didn’t want to believe Jesus was who he said he was. I can only guess that they didn’t want their lives disrupted. They loved being in control of their people. So, they worked to have Jesus put to death. To prove He was a fake. The thing is, how Jesus would die was also made known hundreds of years before it happened.

So now Jesus was killed and buried. But what happened next is the most important part. After three days of being buried, actually he was place in a tomb, God raised Him from the dead, just as He said He would hundreds of years earlier. God allowed this to prove to everyone that He and His son Jesus are real. That death is not the last thing that happens when we die.

I truly believe that there is a part of us that never dies. Our bodies may get old or maybe sick and eventually give up, but the part of us that makes us who we are, our spirit, our soul, lives on. I believe that is how Jesus was born a baby on earth. God placed his spirit in that unborn baby at the time of conception. I think we’re the same. When we are conceived in our mother’s womb, our spirit is placed in us. And if God created the Heavens and the Earth, He can most definitely do this also. That is what makes us who we are. We are a real person way before we are physically born.

It’s now a matter of where we decide we want to go after we die. Remember, we are given a choice, a mind, and the ability to choose. No one wants to force someone to love them. That is not true love. Our mom or dad does not force us to love them. If they did, we probably wouldn’t love them very much.

So, the answer to the question is that if Jesus did not die and then come back to live again, to be seen by and talked with by hundreds of people, to show people the truth about what was written in the Bible about Him, then everything written in the Bible would not be true. There are many people that have a hard time believing in God, believing in Jesus, even after all these predictions have taken place.

Let’s try to draw a conclusion to the question.

Jesus told us that if we would love Him and His father, tell Him about the things we know we have done wrong, and put our faith in Him, then we become one of his children. And because He love’s us, when we die, we will go to live with Him forever. There is the saying, ‘there is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for a friend.’ Actually, Jesus also said this. And Jesus laid his life down for each of us.

I’m not saying we won’t do anything wrong again after we place our faith in Jesus. But we cannot earn this by doing things we think are good to do, even though we should be doing good things. Going to Heaven when we no longer are alive here on earth is something we put our faith in, something that we believe in, and trust will happen after we die. And if God and Jesus are real, then it’s important that we decide what we want to believe and what we want to put our faith in. Do we want to place our faith that all life is over once our bodies give out and we die? Or do we want to believe in Jesus and everything He told us?

I’ve often stated that either full blown evolution is true or what’s written in the Bible is true. Well, if the Bible tells the true story, then making a decision of where to place our faith is the most important decision we will ever make.

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Part Two: Do we Avoid Questions on Faith


     When we’re confronted with something that questions what we believe, how do we react? Sometimes the questions are subconscious, sometimes a friend, or maybe something we see or read. Often we push the thought aside or let political correction (PC) filter into our thoughts toning down or completely stopping what we deep inside wanted to say. Being politically correct or practicing apologetic’s can gloss over an issue or a topic, causing you to miss a chance to make a difference. It often disappears as fast as it presented itself. Your chance to make an impact on yourself or others diminishes and disappears. However, taking a chance and opening up to questions will better prepare each of us. It’s part of being able to express one’s thoughts in a manner that can be understood even when the listener disagrees with you.

     One thing that is common among all people is that we acknowledge there is good and evil in this world. What is often missed is how we are born with this instinct, this internal understanding. Just as a newborn baby knows it must eat, it also knows its mother and shows love to her. You may have heard the term, “The love of a newborn.” Evolution would have us believe that this just happens over time after we are born. That we are nothing before our birth. Where do our instinct’s originate from?

     So I propose we accept a challenge. The name of this blog is called “The Think Tank.” Often I try to give examples but don’t always ask a question. So today I will make several statements and ask the question, “Where do you place your faith and why?” With an open mind, question yourself how you feel about my following statements.

  • I believe that God exists.
  • I believe that God created everything at the beginning of time.
  • I believe in micro-evolution, but totally disagree with macro-evolution.
  • I believe that it takes faith to believe in God.
  • I believe that it takes faith to believe that we just evolved.
  • I believe that the God of the Bible is the only God, the original God.
  • I believe that other beliefs have been defined/created by man for man’s purpose.
  • I believe that many want proof, scientific evidence that we were created by God before they will believe He is real.
  • I believe that those wanting this evidence fail to recognize that they have placed their faith in evolution, that God doesn’t exists, just as those that believe in God have placed their faith in Him and that He does exist.
  • I believe our men and women that explore each of our scientific fields and their statement, “That evolution is a ‘theory’ of how everything started.”

     I could continue telling you what I believe, going deeper into my journey of life, my investigation, but what should be important to each of us is the question of our faith. Where do we place it? It’s an important part of our life. Do we place it in God, some other god, or evolution/no god? To recognize and accept the fact that it takes faith is the first step to understanding who we are. When peeling back the layers, we need to push past the desires and influences of others. Taking up the quest to question your faith, to recognize you have placed it on something, to not let your current desires and what you want to believe as true sidetrack you, and you will be on the best journey of discovery you will ever take.

“Where do you place your faith and why?”

“My faith is in God”

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“Part one: Is God Real?”


What do the numbers tell us?

     There are many references to population growth rates. Some show that the world population is growing faster today than in the past, but will slow as we move into the years ahead. Different countries have different rates. It can get confusing. However, the best over time average reference that I have found that fits the past growth rate is .456. The intent is to find approximately when the population on Earth first began.

     If we take into account today’s global population and utilize this growth rate, we find that approximately 4500 years ago there would have only been two people living. The Bible tells us that 4365 years ago that would have been eight. Noah, his wife and their three sons and their wives.

     The Bible tells us that the earth, at least what is important to mankind going back to Adam and Eve, is approximately 6021 years old. What happened to all the people that lived those first 1656 years?

     This brings up the question, what is wrong with the mathematical formula? However, science tells us it is correct based on all factors including wars and catastrophic events. Is our knowledge of the current global population wrong? I don’t think so.  

     Using this population growth formula that points back 4500 years, to the flood of Noah’s time, we should be able to assume that the Bible timeline is correct. Can you imagine, Noah must have been a visionary, or he was truly directed by God. Noah spent 100 years building that great big boat. The level of scorn and embarrassment he would have faced would have been immense. The Bible tells us that up until the flood, it had never rained, that the plants and trees were watered from below and from the dew above. So why build a boat that large, spend 100 years of your life doing it, and put up with the ridicule of those that watched if God didn’t direct you to build it? Was Noah crazy, or did he believe everything God told him?

     Some will tell us that this information was written by man and there is no way to prove the accuracy or authenticity of it. However, in research, we find that one of Noah’s sons, Shem, later to be called Melchizedek, was the High Priest to Abraham. Shem would have known not just Abraham, but Issac and Jacob and possibly Levi. Moses, the supposed author of Genesis, would have been well informed about all the events leading up to the flood as well as the events after.

     For one to discredit the biblical writings, it is important to utilize everything in our science tool bag, take into account what is written in the Bible, and then determine where to place our faith. The population numbers point toward a truthful Bible. So is God real? Science continues to find that something or someone started it all. Is God the one that science keeps pointing towards that started everything in motion?

Is God real? Where should one choose to place their faith?