Apostasy or Heresy? (Part 1)

This is a start of multi-part articles to describe the errors of a raising cult that is misleading multiple people. Some call it ChrisIslam. It is one of the many false teaching arising within the world today. It feeds into another false idea of Coexist. Where the letters of the words have symbols representing different religions or beliefs of the world:

C = Islam = Moon and Star
O = Satan/Peace = Circle with five pointed star for Satanism / Peace sign
E = Humanism= Male and female /evolution and scientists theories
X = Judaism = Star of David
i = Pagan = Wicca/also the Babb/Baha’i
S = Taoism/Confucianism = Ying Yang
t = Christianity = Cross

Many honestly believe that all these different ideas can "coexist" together. They can honestly say this because they have turned off their brains. It is like saying you can be a full supporter of PETA and then go to Wendy's and enjoy a juicy double hamburger. The two do not make since within reality. So why am I writing about this? Well you can thank "Grace Fellowship Church" in Snellville Georgia. They hosted a conference that is called "Jesus in the Quran" or JIQ. (If you noticed they did not call it JITQ. They did not just drop the "T", but the Holy Gospel completely). Since I have never attended "Grace Fellowship Church" worships service I cannot say if they were ever part of the Christendom. So I cannot say they committed "Apostasy". For they would had had once been of the faith in order to denounce it and walk away from it (Apostasy). That I cannot say. What I can say and they cannot deny it without endangering everything they taught at JIQ. "Grace Fellowship Church worships the same god of Muhammad".

Their Pastor said many telling things, including that they rather do something then nothing, which I would like to reply I would rather do nothing than heresy. But I digress. The pastor said “We have conviction about this (JIQ)”. Conviction does not mean correct or righteousness. As their pastor said “Those terrorist that flew into the twin towers acted on the believed in what they were doing more faith and conviction than most Christians in American”. Now I am not convicted that that belief they had is purely from Islam, but more a mixture of cultural and political ideology. That is my thoughts.

The main speaker is also over Grace’s “Creative Projects”. I have to say this was a creative project. To try to mix Christianity and Islam together and to say the two can be one. Oh, do they say this? I’ll let you decide

First night they show a slide. Listing out 20 some commonly accepted attributes of Jesus. Then they popped up next to those statements cross referenced in the Quran. So I was the second person in the conference to ask a question by submitting it on a card (as requested). My question was “You show the first evening a listing of several attributes of Jesus. Then you showed a cross referencing in the Quran where these can be found thereby giving authority to the Quran. Are you saying the Quran is Holy Scripture? God breathed?” That was my one question. At the end they went through all the cards on the stage and interesting never got to mine. They ended it by saying I believe those were all the cards, but if you have any question come see us afterwards.

So did they claim it to be “Holy Scriptures”? Yes! In a dramatic presentation, one of their co-leaders who served as a missionary in Indonesia for several years was here in the states told his story. He was encouraging Muslims to attend their Mosque services. This got him to meet the imam of the Mosque. After sharing this JIQ with the imam, the imam wanted him to teach it to the whole Mosque. After six weeks of teaching, he ended the teaching by holding up his wife’s Old Testament (She was raised Jewish) and said the Old Testament tells us how we were created and how Shame and Dishonor has come to us. (He then slaps the New Testament next to it saying) The New Testament shows us how God has a plan to remove the Shame and dishonor through Jesus. (He then slaps the Quran next to the New Testament and Old Testament and says) The Quran points us to the New Testament and Jesus. (Shaking the three books together said) These are gods’ Holy Scriptures! The whole Mosque stood up and applauded.

Pray for God to correct these leaders of this so called Christian Church and especially to those who attend there and are being mislead. Wait till the next article which explains their new redefining what it means to be a “Christian”. Which I must admit they do meet the criteria for (Which I do not agree with their definition, surprisingly :D)

TrueU - Lesson 4 - Big Bang Cosmology Pt 3

The Unauthorized Outline Notes for TrueU
DOES GOD EXIST? //01
04 - Big Bang Cosmology Pt 3

Isa 45:18 For thus says the LORD, who created the heavens (He is the God who formed the earth and made it, He established it and did not create it a waste place, but formed it to be inhabited), "I am the LORD, and there is none else.

Finite Universe

Thesis
There is compelling evidence for the intelligent design of the entire universe because of the “fine-tuning” of the laws of physics and chemistry.

Intelligent design is the best explanation for the “fine-tuning” of the universe as a whole.

A FINELY TUNED MACHINE
- the universe is expanding at a very precisely calibrated rate
- If the universe were expanding faster, then there would be no structure in the universe. (Heat death)
- If the universe were expanding slower, it would collapse back in on itself. (the Big Crunch)

 
The Cosmological Constant
Fine tuned to 1 part in a 100 million, billion, billion, billion, billion, billion
1:100,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000
Jay Richards – Philosopher Action Institute

Anthropic fine-tuning evidences
Anthro – Man
Fine tuned for human life

“The possibility of life as we know it depends on the values of a few basic physical constants and is, in some respects, remarkably sensitive to their numerical values. Nature does exhibit remarkable coincidences.”
- M. J. Rees, Cambridge University Professor

 
John Polkinghorne, Cambridge Physicist
Why are the “Dials” fine-tuned to allow for the possibility of life?

The universe is a “setup job”.
“A common sense interpretation of the data suggests that a superintellect has monkeyed with physics, as well with chemistry and biology.”
- Sir Fred Hoyle, Cosmologist
“The thought insistently arises that some supernatural agency – or rather Agency – must be involved. Is it possible that suddenly, without intending to, we have stumbled upon scientific proof of the existence of a Supreme Being?”
- George Greenstein, Astronomer

WHAT ARE THE CHANCES?

Fine-Tuning
Why do we infer design?

Specification = A meaningful pattern
The correlation of the conditions that allow for life and the values of the constants of fine-tuning forms a “functionally significant” outcome.

William Dembski, “The Design Inference”

When do we infer design?
1. A highly improbable event.
2. A pattern or functional outcome.



Fine-tuning allows life to be.
 

SPECULATIVE EXTRAVAGANZA

Weak Anthropic Principle (WAP)
We shouldn’t be surprised that we live in a universe in which the conditions that are necessary for our existence are present.

Problems with the Weak Anthropic Principle (WAP)
1) Doesn’t explain why the necessary conditions of life and universe are so improbable
2) Confuses a necessary condition with a cause

David Berlinski, Philosopher & Mathematician

Brandon Carter

 
WHO MADE THE BREAD-MAKING-MAKING MACHINE?

The Many Worlds Hypothesis
The idea that many other universes may exist.
If there are other universes that exist, we can explain our universe as a chance in a cosmic lottery.

Robin Collins, Philosopher of Physics

William of Ockham
Rule of reasoning:
Don’t multiply theoretical entities

 
Fine-Tuning
When you have a finely tuned system that also produces a function, then you know that intelligence is involved.

Anthropic Fine-Tuning Principle
“No such argument can ever be absolutely conclusive, and the anthropic fine-tuning argument stops just short of knock-down proof. For there could’ve been millions and millions of different universes created each with different settings, of the fundamental ratios and constants, so many in fact that one with the right set was eventually bound to turn up by sheer chance. We just happened to be the lucky ones. But there is no evidence for such a theory what-so-ever. On the other hand the evidence for the truth of anthropic fine-tuning argument is of such an order of certainty that in any other sphere of science we would regard it as absolutely settled. To insist otherwise is like insisting that Shakespeare was not written by Shakespeare because it might have been written by billions of monkeys sitting at billions of keyboards over billions of years. But so it might. But the sight of the scientific atheist clutching at such desperate straws has put new spring in the step of the theists. For the first time in more than a hundred years, they no longer feel the need to apologize for their beliefs. Perhaps now, they should apologize for their previous apologies.”
- Clifford Longley, “Focusing on Theism,” London Times, January 21, 1989, p. 10.

 

Attributes of the Cause of the Universe
1. Transcends matter, time, space and energy
2. Intelligent, rational

Conclusion
Intelligent design provides the best explanation of the “fine-tuning” of the laws of physics and chemistry. And thus it points to not only a transcendent cause of the universe, but also an intelligent and rational one.

TrueU - Lesson 3 - Big Bang Cosmology Pt 2

The Unauthorized Outline Notes for TrueU
DOES GOD EXIST? //01
03 - Big Bang Cosmology Pt 2

THE STEADY STATE THEORY
Sir Fred Hoyle (1974)
Always has been expanding
(Continual creation model)

But energy cannot be created or destroyed

Cosmic microwave background radiation

If Big Bang is right there should be background radiation
If Steady State is right NO background radiation

1965 Robert Wilson & Arno Penzias
Robert Dickey was looking for the noise

 

THE OSCILLATING UNIVERSE THEORY
Ad Infinitum (“to infinity”)
- Not enough mass to cause a recollapse
- Small fraction of needed mass to cause gravitation recollapse
- The expansion is at an ever increasing rate.


CREATIO EX NIHILO (the universe was created out of NOTHING physical)
Stephen Hawking, Theoretical Physicist (1968)

How much matter can you put in zero special volume? ZERO

Why is there so much theological reflection around the “Big Bang”

David Berlinski, Philosopher & Mathematician
The Devil’s Delusion: Atheism and Its Scientific Pretensions



 
IN THE BEGINNING
Why us the evidence of a finite universe so unsetting to someone who holds a materialistic worldview?

“The best data we have (concerning the Big Bang) are exactly what I would have predicted, had I nothing to go on but the five books of Moses, the Psalms, and the Bible as a whole.”
-- Arno A. Penzias, Nobel Laureate “So What’s the Big Deal?”

Confirmation of a Theistic Hypothesis
If theism and Judeo-Christian view if creation is true, then we have reason to expect evidence of a finite universe.
We have evidence of a finite universe. Therefore, we have a reason to think that theism and Judeo-Christian view of creation may be true.

Confirmation of hypothesis - Of the creation hypothesis
Genesis 1:1 - A beginning

A time where time began.
“ … Faith and knowledge resting on the hope eternal life, which God, who does not lie, promised before the beginning of time …”
- Titus 1:2 

Which of the four worldviews best explain the evidence?

The Pantheistic god is not an entity, but a mystical and coexistence to the material.
No matter – No God
No God – no Matter


Matter is the thing from which everything else comes

Laws of Nature
Descriptions of interactions of material parts within the universe including its space-time configuration



 

The “Big Bang” is NOT a causal theory
But an affirmation that the first event took place at a finite time in the past
It is a theory of the first EFFECT not the first cause

“The instant of creation remains unexplained.”
-- Alan Guth, Physicist

“The actual point of creation lies outside the scope of presently known laws of physics.” -- Stephen Hawking – A Causal Theory?

Charles Townes, Nobel Laureate
“In my view, the question of origin seems always left unanswered if we explore from a scientific point of view alone. Thus, I believe there is a need for some religious or metaphysical explanation. I believe in the concept of God and in His existence.”

If you’re talking about the origin of space and time itself, you need something that exists outside of space and time.
 

Objections to the Cosmological Argument
1) Inflationary Cosmology
2) Quantum Cosmology

Problems with Quantum Cosmology
1) It doesn’t explain how you get from the timeless state to temporal state.
2) Must use mathematical tricks
3) Actually has a Theistic implication.

TrueU - Lesson 2 - Big Bang Cosmology Pt 1

The Unauthorized Outline Notes for TrueU
DOES GOD EXIST? //01
02 - Big Bang Cosmology Pt 1

New Atheists assert: There’s no positive evidence for God’s existence

The heavens are telling of the glory of God; And their expanse is declaring the work of His hands. (2) Day to day
pours forth speech, And night to night reveals knowledge. (3) There is no
speech, nor are there words; Their voice is not heard. (4) Their line has gone
out through all the earth, And their utterances to the end of the world. … -
Psalm 19:1-5

For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power
and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has
been made, so that they are without excuse. - Romans 1:20

John Ray – The Wisdom of God Manifested in the Works of Creation

Newton on Nature “Though these bodies may indeed continue in their orbits by
mere laws of gravity, yet they could by no means have at first derived the
regular position of the orbits themselves from those laws. Thus, this most
beautiful system of the sun, planets, and comets, could only proceed from the
council and dominion of an intelligent powerful Being.” -- General Scholium to
the Principia

 

TAKING GOD OUT OF THE EQUATION
Pierre Laplace (1802)
Explain the origin of the solar system by reference to the law of gravity alone. With no design.

Douglas Futuyma, Evolutionary Biologist
“By coupling the undirected,
purposeless variations to the blind, uncaring process of natural selection,
Darwin made the theological or spiritual explanations of the life processes
superfluous,”

At the time, physicists believed that the universe was infinite in time and space.

Stephen Hawking, Theoretical Physicist

 

Problem: Material causes all the way back

What caused human life to arise?
-- evolved from lower animals.
Where did they come from?
-- still lower animals.
Where did they come from?
-- amoeba or single-celled organism.
Where did that come from?
-- simpler chemicals.
Where did they come from?
-- elementary particles.
Where did they come from?
-- they were there all the time.
 

1800’s Materialism worldview arises (Scientific Materialism)
From eternity were the particles, and the particles became complex, living stuff. And the living stuff became aware, and the living stuff conceived of god. Matter first god second.
View of the Universe
- Eternal
- Self-existent
- Self-creating
- Self-organizing
- Autonomous from any outside forces


No design, no purpose, no god

Richard Dawkins
“Creative intelligences, being evolved, necessarily arrive
late in the universe, and therefore cannot be responsible for designing it. God,
in the sense defined, is a delusion … a pernicious delusion.”
The God Delusion (p 31)

The mechanics that produces the change, all the new forms of life, is not just chance, is random variances being acted upon by natural selection. It is undirected, but not chance.

Theorist worldview
God first matter second. God spoke matter into existence as described in Genesis.

WHAT’S THE BIGGER IDEA?
1920’S New idea
Edwin Hubble first to discover that there are more galaxies beyond our own. He also noticed that the further the galaxy was away, the faster it was receding.

Doppler Effect or Doppler shift, In Sound if a train is traveling away from you sound goes down. In light it does the same thing. The spectrum moves toward the red when moving away the fix point.

It showed the universe is expanding. Which means when you go back in time there would be point of a beginning?

Albert Einstein - The Theory of Relativity
Gravity would cause bending in space. To a point of collapse. Therefore there must be some counter and greater force that is expanding to balance out the gravity force.

If you have an expanding universe therefore you must have a beginning point. This implies the need for a cause beyond the universe.

Sir Arthur Eddington
“Philosophically the notion of a beginning of the
present order is repugnant to me. I should like to find a genuine loophole. I
simply do not believe the present of things started off with a bang … the
expanding universe is preposterous … it leaves me cold.”

“An infinitely old universe would relieve us of the necessity of understanding
the origin of matter at any finite time in the past.”
-- Robert Dicke, Princeton 1965

Everything that begins to exist must have a cause.
The Universe began to exist therefore the universe must have a cause that transcends itself.

“Here is evidence for what can only be described as a supernatural event. There
is no way that this could have been predicted within the realm of physics as we
know it.”
-- Allan Sandage, Astronomer

“This is an exceedingly strange development, unexpected by all but the
theologians. They have always accepted the word of the Bible: In the beginning
God created heaven and earth. … It is unexpected because science has had such
extraordinary success in tracking the chain of cause and effect backward in
time.”
-- Robert Jastrow, Astronomer

“For the scientist who has lived by his faith in the power of reason, the story
ends like a bad dream. He has scaled the mountains of ignorance; he is about to
conquer the highest peak; as he pulls himself over the final rock, he is greeted
by a band of theologians who have been sitting there for centuries.”
-- Robert Jastrow, Astronomer

TrueU - Lesson 1 - Faith & Reason

The Unauthorized Outline Notes for TrueU
DOES GOD EXIST? //01
01 - Faith & Reason

BIG QUESTIONS:
- Does God exist?
- Who is God?
- Is the Bible reliable?

From the point of
- Evidence
- Logic
- Reason

“Without an infinite reference point
nothing finite has any lasting meaning.”
-- Jean-Paul Sartre

SORT OUT THE BIG ISSUES:

- Is there purpose in the universe?
- Is there a God?
- Can you know Him?

WALKING BY FAITH AND BY SIGHT

FAITH
When you think of faith, what is the connotation that you associate with that term?

Definition of faith
1. Belief in something uncertain
2. Belief in presuppositions
3. Trust or belief in God’s presence and power
4. Belief in a system of thought, a personal philosophy, a worldview
 
SEEING THE WORLD DIFFERENTLY
What is the definition of a worldview?

WORLDVIEW QUESTIONS ARE ABOUT:
- What is the nature of ultimate reality?
- What is the nature of human nature?
- What is the nature of the world around us?

Most Important Question
What is the prime reality?
- What’s the THING from which EVERYTHING else comes?

What is some of the possible answers?

Stuff in the Physical Universe

Pendulum Representing the
Laws of Nature

Matter is the Prime Reality
MATERIALIST SAY:
Matter and energy are the thing from which everything else came.












A personal God is the prime reality
Classic Theist believe God Created the World,
He Upholds His creation and He sometimes enters
or acts as an agent within His creation.













A personal but remote God is the prime reality.
Modified Theism – God created the world, but then
left it or is not involved within the creation












An Impersonal god is the prime reality.
Mystical idea of god is with everything.












THE REASON FOR REASON

- DEDUCTIVE: General rule to a particular case
to get a certain outcome
All men are mortal
Socrates is a man
Socrates is mortal and will die

- INDUCTION: Generalization from observation
See a number of cases and make statements based
on observation

- ABDUCTION: Effects back to causes
If A, then C
C Occurred
A Occurred

But this form of reasoning cannot be absolute
If it rains, the
streets will be wet
The Streets are wet.
Therefore, it rained.

There may be more than one cause of the same effect

- INFERENCE TO THE BEST EXPLANATION
The best explanation is one that provides the
most adequate CAUSAL explanation.
 

Multiple Competing Hypotheses
Effect


Cause1 Cause2 Cause3


Adjudicate: to hear and settle (a case) by judicial procedure
Beyond a reasonable doubt

A common form of reasoning used in science, law and philosophy.











… always being ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you, yet with gentleness and reverence;
-- 1 Peter 3:15

“Come now, let us reason together,” says the Lord
-- Isaiah 1:18

TrueU - Intro

Focus on the Family has produced another outstanding video teaching series called TrueU. This is an apologetics geared mainly toward High School age. Before they leave the home and go out into the world. I highly recommend this. The only thing missing is outline notes. Well I am hosting a small group which we are doing this series on a weekly bases for the next year. With some fellowship time thrown in there once a month.

More information about the series can be found at their website http://www.trueu.org/

They also have a Promo video that you can get for limited time for $1.
This Promo "The Toughest Test in College: Why Students Are Failing to Keep Their Faith on Campus" has over 40 minutes of why this project was put together. It also includes clips from several of the lessons. You will be impressed and moved by the stories of students who are under attack within the colleges today.

I Put these notes together to help encourage others to watch the video series and get more out of it.

A really great place to order the series at is CEP Bookstore It can save you some money.

Lord Over What?

Today we in the world, especially in America, have a great ignorance of what it means to call Jesus the Christ "Lord". Being ignorant is not the same as being stupid. Ignorance is simply the lacking of knowledge. A great many people use the term "Lord and Savior" without much thought to either. In my last blog I address the Savior issue. Today I wish to review the term "Lord".

As an American, I had a hard time understanding what it meant to call Jesus the Christ as "My Lord". I guess for a long time I just saw it more of a title than anything else. Yet, it was one of those areas I just thought there was more to it then I was recognizing and I was right.


When you are brought up in a country where you can elect and throw out of office most of your leaders, it is hard to think of someone as having absolute power over you. But absolute power is exactly the beginning to understanding in saying "My Lord" I love how Noah Webster put it:

"1. A master; a person possessing supreme power and authority; a ruler; a governor.
Man over man he made not lord.
But now I was the lord of this fair mansion.
...
7. In scripture, the Supreme Being; Jehovah. When Lord, in the Old Testament, is prints in capitals, it is the translation of JEHOVAH, and so might, with more propriety, be rendered. The word is applied to Christ, Ps. 110. Col. 3. and to the Holy Spirit, 2 Thess. 3. As a title of respect, it is applied to kings, Gen. 40. 2Sam. 19. to princes and nobles, Gen 42. Dan. 4. to a husband, Gen. 18. to a prophet, 1Kings 18. 2Kings 2. and to a respectable person, Gen. 24. Christ is called the Lord of glory, 1Cor. 2. and Lord of lords, Rev. 19." -- Noah Webster's Dictionary 1828

Yes, it is a title, but much more. You see God spoke everything into being. He owns everything! He is Supreme Ruler and All Authority has been given to Jesus the Christ both in heaven and on earth. Yet, as an American I had a hard time seeing any leaders as having absolute power. Until you look onto the Judaical side of our government can you even start to taste what authority really is. Even there we have rights to appeals. But the very idea that someone has the final say on my life seems foreign. And that is where the problem lies. How we see our lives helps to show us how we see ourselves before God. We tend to see ourselves as the final authority, the final power and having the final opinion. In doing so we are placing ourselves above the true authority and rebelling against God. No wonder He considers us children of wrath.

We may thank God and say "Wow, look at all that God created.", but act as if it is ours. It is true that we are stewards and caretakers, but we are not owners. If we start acting like the owner we deceive ourselves and prove we are blind. Good news is someday we will no longer be blind. The bad news is we will not longer be blind.

Calling Jesus the Christ "My Lord" does not surrender ones life over to Him. For to surrender it you first must have owned it. No, the true understanding when saying "My Lord" is the recognizing who He is and who He always has been and always will be. Recognizing is the key. Saying "My Lord" does not mean you understand it. When that recognition changes every aspect of your life then there starts the beginning of wisdom.

The Bible states many places that the beginning of wisdom is the fear of the Lord. For years people within the church told me that I should not fear God. He is a loving God. True God is loving! In fact He is the true standard of love. But that is not all of who God is. The Bible as a whole shows us much of Gods character. It shows us He is loving, but He is also just. If he was not just then there would not have been any need for Jesus the Christ to die on the Cross. Jesus death on the cross shows us how important justice and righteousness is to God.

Try to imagine standing before a King in his palace within his kingdom. There are no outside treaties with other countries nor counsels at your side. You are brought before him on charges of high treason. Speaking ill of the King and his authority. The King himself has heard these words from your very mouth. So you can not deny it. Would you approach him as a buddy saying you can't be serious about such a little thing? Or, Would you lie and say you are sorry and you really did not mean it? Where the King would reply, you should be sorry , but I see that you are more sorry that you have been caught then for the words that were spoken! Would you argue the point? What would you do?

I try to imagine myself standing before a King with absolute power. I ask myself. How would I approach such a King? Charges or no charges, how would I approach such a King. No matter how loving, I must be cautious of respecting who he is and who I am.

The same is with God. Yes there is respect for His authority and position, but there is fear understanding he knows EVERYTHING. The best example in the Bible comes from Isaiah 6 where Isaiah finds himself standing before God and he says "Woe is me, for I am ruined!" That word ruined is also phrased as "undone".

I have imagined myself standing before God with ALL my sin exposed before all to see and I am completely absolutely undone. Hopeless and without excuse, a part from Christ I am lost.

I recognize God for who He is and His rights and authority. Yes, when I surrender all. That "all" is not authority over me, but my will over myself. I heard it said well once, "what if you got it wrong and are condemned to the Lake of Fire? Then I'll be praising the holy God for who He is in my suffering!" Now, that is truly understanding who He is and who I am.

I like old movies and some old TV programs. There was a series in the 80's called "Hardcastle and McCormick" starring Brian Keith. He played an retired Judge. In one episode he said "In my 30 some years on the bench, want I found amazing was everyone I sentence to prison not one of them thought they did anything wrong." That pricked my heart when I heard that. It is true we try to excuse any of our behavior. It is like the last verse in the book of Judges says "... and everyone did what was right in their own eyes."

If you are a disciple of Christ, How do you think and live the term "Lord" and have you imagine yourself before God as Isaiah did. Jesus the Christ is Lord over everything!