Question 1: Where do I see answers to the questions?

Answer: This is it.

Question 2 from Chris Rauch:

nobody’s asking any questions? how about this one-

one of the blind guys that jesus heals has to be like double-healed ( i couldn’t tell what gospel it in, and i dont have time to look right now ) Jesus heals him, and then says something like, “can you see me now?” lol. and then the dude goes “everybody is blurry and they look like trees…” and Jesus has to heal him again. whats up with that?

I believe that:

1. Jesus is God. Therefore, he is omnipotent.

2. He gave us an example…set the standard so to speak

3. One of the reasons he came was so that by studying him, we could see where we had gotten the wrong Idea about the Father. Jesus’s 3 year ministry was the Cliff Notes for “the complete idiots guide to God the Father”

Jesus was an “indeed” kinda guy. when he did something, he did it indeed.He knows everything, he knew we would read about it.By healing the man in this way, what is he telling me?

I think there are 2 separate questions here.

A.) Why did Jesus have to heal the blind man twice?

B.) What is the application to Chris (or people in general)?

I’ll try to answer these as God leads me so bear with me.

A.) This story is found in Mark 8:22-26

“And they came to Bethsaida And they brought a blind man to Jesus and implored Him to touch him.

Taking the blind man by the hand, He brought him out of the village; and after spitting on his eyes and laying His hands on him, He asked him, “Do you see anything?”

And he looked up and said, “I see men, for I see them like trees, walking around.”

Then again He laid His hands on his eyes; and he looked intently and was restored, and began to see everything clearly.

And He sent him to his home, saying, “Do not even enter the village.”

There are some interesting things at work here.

1.) Most likely this is the Bethsaida that Jesus laments in Matthew 11:21 & Luke 10:13 for their unbelief, and says that things will go better for Tyre and Sidon in judgment than for Bethsaida. So we have a city with a major belief problem, that was singled out by Christ for woe.

2.) Who brings the blind man to Jesus? It appears that His disciples bring the man to Jesus. There doesn’t seem to be a crowd around as is usually mentioned, so perhaps the disciples went into the city and were not welcomed. But for some reason this blind man caught their attention. Perhaps he called out to them for healing and they took him to Jesus. Again, conjecture on my part.

3.) If the blind man had been part of this disbelieving city, then probably he had picked up some of the disbelief, the distrust, the jaded/cynical mentality of his peers. If that was the case, then it is possible that his unbelief limited the power of Jesus’ healing. (See Mark 6:1-6 – unable to perform miracles because of their unbelief). So this man had some degree of belief, but he was probably wary of anyone that claimed they could heal him.

4.) Apparently this man had not always been blind. Else, how would he know what trees are? (Verse 24) So, I wonder what type of blindness this might be? As he started to be able to see after the first “healing”, his unbelief probably lessened allowing the success of the second and complete healing.

5.) Jesus told the man NOT to return to the Village – Why? Perhaps because He has judged it (again see Mark 6:1-6)

B.) What is the application to us today?

As I’ve been pondering this question and the different passages I’ve read along with it, I’ve come to a few applications.

1.) Sometimes we focus too much on the tree and not on the forest – This is one story that is not fully understood without researching some of the other healings that Christ did and the cities He did them in. Biblegateway.com is good for using multiple scripture translations and follow the cross references.

2.) The gospel writer again is emphasizing the importance of faith (see verses prior to 22)

3.) If you reference 1 Cor 13:12, we see Paul using the analogy of looking through a glass darkly, but that we will see Him face to face, and what we partly know, we will fully know. So taking this Spiritual analogy, we could see that as our Faith grows, our Spiritual sight will grow.

I hope that helps!

In Christ,

Chris

QUESTION 3: If the point of humans is to worship God, what then is the point of God’s existence?

Well, why does God have a “point” for existing? I think maybe you are leaning toward a created God, hence created for a purpose (or “point”).

So let us rephrase the question: What is the purpose of God’s existence. Well, since God is not a created being, then we cannot apply terms such as “Purpose” to God’s existence.

God Exists. And His purposes are absolute. Whatever He wills, it is done. He is the beginning and the end and everything in the middle AT THE SAME INSTANT. Also He says He is the first and will be WITH the last.

Lets see what scripture says:

Who does God say He is when Moses asks Him?

Exodus 3:13 Then Moses said to God, “Behold, I am going to the sons of Israel, and I will say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you.’ Now they may say to me, ‘What is His name?’ What shall I say to them?”

God Answers:

Exodus 3:14 14 God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM”; and He said, “Thus you shall say to the sons of Israel, ‘I AM has sent me to you.’”

“I AM WHO I AM” = <em>hayah asher hayah</em> which can be taken to mean “I Exist”, or later “I cause to be”. So God is eternal – just hold that in mind for a moment.

Jesus tells us in John 1:18:

No one has seen God at any time; the only begotten God who is in the bosom of the Father, He has explained Him.

So God (the Father) is invisible.

Paul mentions this idea later in Romans 1:20

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.

Jesus tells us later in John 5:37

“And the Father who sent Me, He has testified of Me. You have neither heard His voice at any time nor seen His form.

So no one has heard the Father or seen the Father at ANY TIME.

So who was Moses talking to in Exodus 3? He was talking to an “incarnation” of the invisible God (the Father). If God (the Father) is invisible, the only way He can communicate with us is through incarnations; such as flame, messengers (angels?), the pre-incarnate son of God, and ultimately through the physical incarnation of God through Jesus Christ.

So you have an existent God that has neither been created nor formed but which “EXISTS” and “CAUSES TO EXIST” which can only communicate (physically/verbally) to us through incarnations of Himself in Christ and the Holy Spirit.

So your question assumes a created God which causes the question to be a fallacy.

God Bless,

Chris

QUESTION 4: What makes theism any more valid than deism?

Valid? Hmm…theism is a belief that god(s) exist. Deism is a subset of theism that seeks to derive the existence and nature of God from reason and personal experience. So I’m not sure that “validity” applies they are not contrary to each other?

-Chris

QUESTION 5: How did god decide what’s moral and what’s not?

Keep in mind that he created everything (supposedly) to fit his tastes, so he could have changed anything he wanted, and keep in mind that nothing existed before him (and creation also didn’t exist) upon which he could base his morals and decide right and wrong.

Why would God base His morals on something He created? – You assume He would base His morals on “something”. However, to answer your question, we derive our morals from God. If God had given us moral laws that said, “You will murder”, “You will take your neighbors wife”, “You will hate your mother and father”, then those would be our moral standards.

Chris

QUESTION 6: Why is it ok for god to break his own rules so much?

Isn’t he supposed to be all-good (and he set his own standards, so this is all the more inflammatory!)?

Who says it is ok? You seem to think God willy-nilly decides to murder people or condemn people. Yet we are clearly told that He grieves and that He doesn’t desire for any to perish (be destroyed!). So, where does that leave us? It means that with His knowledge and foresight, He has to make decisions. Those decisions are based upon His ultimate will for His creation. If God exists outside of time and knows everything (absolute knowledge), then He knows there will be times when He has to take a direct hand in events and when those events will occur. You know that saying, “Its my world, everyone else is just passing through”? Well, for God that really is the way that it is. It is His world, and we’re just passing through. In the process He is trying to get as many of us as possible to know Him and to have an abundant life in the process. Ultimately it is because God is sovereign and His will goes. No matter what.

Chris

QUESTION 7: If the Garden of Eden is essentially the same as heaven, why was the evil, tempting snake in it?

Who says the Garden of Eden is essentially the same as heaven? That would indicate that Man (and Woman) were created in the flesh in the Heaven and then cast out. I don’t think you’ll find scripture that supports that. Nor were they given new bodies unless scripture is silent about it.

Chris

QUESTION 8: How would you know if some facet of your religion were false? (Not the whole thing, but one piece that you regard as truth on faith)

Hmmm. That is a very good question, but perhaps not for the reason you think it is. You see, in Christianity there are only a few “absolutes” or “non-negotiables” if you will. 1.) We are all born with a “sin problem” and 2.) We choose to commit sin (disobedience of God’s commandments), 3.) Only God in Christ can take away #1, and provide forgiveness for #2. 4.) We cannot be “good enough” to be accepted by God 5.) God commands us to love Him with everything we are (and gives us the ability and desire to do it!), and 6.) commands us to love our neighbors as ourselves. After that, there are many divisions and discussions along the lines of theology that ultimately do NOT matter. So probably more than a few “facets” of our “religion” are false, and probably God shakes His “head” in disgust over many of the things we do and teach. So to answer the question, the only way we will really know is when we get to talk to Christ face to face, though at that point the theological differences won’t much matter I think. All Christians have questions and things they do not understand.

QUESTION 9: Why is it wrong to live your life in sin and squalor and get forgiven on your death bed, since you are thus clean in god’s eyes?

Wrong? Another “loaded” word. I think this is another incorrect question. It assumes (I think) that you can ask for forgiveness and it will be granted regardless of your life, i.e. lip service to God. You might know in your head you need forgiveness, but that would be “worldly sorrow”. (2 Cor 7:9-11) True Godly sorrow is needed to gain forgiveness by God, and this affects your whole person, your whole state of mind. It is unmistakable. You cannot live your life in sin and ‘expect’ to be forgiven. God convicts us our sin and leads us to true repentance, so unless you have that, you’ll not be forgiven.

QUESTION 10: Why do christian organizations feel the need to get involved in politics and in what should be taught in schools? Doesn’t the bible state that you are in this world not of this world? Didn’t Jesus say to give unto Caesar what is Caesar’s? Why do christians feel the need to change secular society when they became born-again while living in a secular society? Shouldn’t the Holy Ghost be able to do his job regardless of what society is like?

I know it’s more than one question, but they all go together.

Oh boy oh boy. Great question. I think the answer of the question is this. (1) Satan is the ruler of “this” world (Luke 4:6, John 12:31, John 14:30, John 16:11) and (2) we struggle not against flesh and blood, but against rulers, powers, world forces of this darkness, against spiritual wickedness in high places (Eph 6:12). God gives all His children different spiritual gifts, and I firmly believe that He calls some Christians to lead the fight against civil laws/regulations that run counter to the teachings of scripture. So, I think the answer is that there will be struggles between Christians and the “rules” of the world, and we should fight against some of them, but I think we get involved in way too many political battles as it is.

QUESTION 5(revisited): How did god decide what’s moral and what’s not?

My initial answer was not satisfactory, so I agreed to try and answer it again.  Morality does not apply to God.  However, He does set the moral standards for us.  So perhaps the question should be “How did God decide what is moral and immoral for us?”  Otherwise,  ultimately anything is “moral” for God Himself as His authority/decisions are right/righteous/holy/justified etc.

So, assuming that is the question, we have to examine the nature of God how He instructs us to live our lives.   To do that we’ll take the prime example and that being the “Ten Commandments”.  Ultimately considered to be God’s moral law.

1.) You will have no other Gods before (higher in priority) than Me

Morality: God created us.  He has authority over us as our Creator.  To place other “deities” in positions reserved for Him would be foolish.  Scripture clearly tells us that before Him nothing was created and by Him all things were created.  So anything that man would worship instead of Him would have been created by Him.  Personally I believe that people had elevated stories of Angels into personal gods therefore raising the ideas of angels into positions of “god”.  Clearly scripture teaches us that the angels were created therefore I believe they exist.  It would not be a stretch to imagine that peoples made these angels into “gods” and forgot the One true God.  So people focused their love not on God, but on the created things of God.  So God is saying: “Love Me first/above all”  (Ultimately because He first loved us!)

2.) You shall not make for yourself an idol or any likeness of what is in heaven above (sky – Sun/moon/planets/comets etc),  earth beneath the heaven (animals/plants/trees etc), or the water (marine life) – Think about all the fish, birds, animal images we have from the ancient near east representing “gods”.  You will not worship them or serve them because He is a jealous God.  (Jealousy – desiring something given to another – For God desires our love to Him the “living God” over our love given to “dead gods”).

Morality: See #1 above.  Worshiping the created things instead of the Creator of the created things.  Is that really logical??  The morality stems from the love of God.  When we focus our love of the created things instead of the Creator.  (Again, it is “Love God first above all else”)

3.) You will not take the name of the Lord God in vain.  (Vain here means to “make empty”, make meaningless.)

Morality:  This is not “cursing” or “swearing” by saying “God!” , or “God da**, though that is addressed in minding your tongue in other scripture.  This is to make the very name of God “empty”.  Meaningless.  Much like people have done with Jesus Christ today.  People many times “turn off” when they hear Jesus and thus His name has become “empty” for some people.  No longer sacred.  “God” is not the “name of God”.

4.) Remember the Sabbath day and keep it Holy – Holy means “set apart or consecrated”. Do no work that is not of God.

Morality: Remember what God did and remember His work.  Reflect on His works during this day.  Set it apart.  Use it to reflect on God and what He has done.  Use it as it was intended, as a day of rest and reflection.  Not many of us Christians follow through on this.

5.)  Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be prolonged in the land which the Lord your God gives you.

Morality: Honor means to show respect to, attention to, and obedience.  Not just in words, but in actions.  Honor/respect God given authority.  Ultimately even in the face of abuse or wickedness.  God reserves the right to deal with the person in authority who doesn’t behave Godly.  (See David’s treatment of Saul when he could have killed him).  This is easy to do when your father and mother obeys God, but if their wicked this is almost impossible. *sigh*  Reminds me of why we need a Savior.

6.)   You will not murder

Morality: Life is sanctified by God.  Life is given by God.  He reserves the right to take it or to order it taken.  God holds life in high regard.  And as Creator He reserves the right to extinguish it.   Jesus expounds on these later in Matthew which shows us that by harboring the very thoughts in our hearts, we are as guilty as if we actually carried them out.  Again shows the need for the Savior in God.

7.)  You will not commit adultery

Morality: God appointed one man for one woman in the perfect creation.  To God, to desire someone other than the man/woman you are married to is adultery.   Jesus again expounds upon this idea in Matthew showing us again the need for a Savior in God.

8.) You will not steal

Morality: The morality here is that we are not to steal something for our personal gain.  Goes to wanting things that are not intended to be ours.  Basically steal here includes taking anything, or anyone that is not yours from whom it belongs to in secret.  Have you ever stolen something?  Money? Coins? Books? Homework?  You are guilty under the moral law of God then.  Again He shows us the need for a Savior in God through Jesus Christ.

9.)  You will not bear false witness against your neighbor.

Morality: Lie-ing as in a court of law.  Giving false evidence against someone that is being accused.  Have you ganged up on someone who is being accused of something without actually having evidence against them?  Have you gossiped about someone’s “indiscretion” or “failures” that you really haven’t been a witness to?  For example: Telling your friend Sally that Jane slept with John.  (Did you see Jane sleep with John? Did she tell you that she slept with John?)  Then you have been a false witness and need a Savior because God cannot tolerate sin.

10.) You will not desire your neighbors possessions or wife.

Morality: Do you want something your friend has?  Perhaps a car like his?  A girlfriend like his? Perhaps his actual girlfriend?  How about your neighbors house?  Do you dislike your friend sometimes because they have something you wish you had?  Then you are guilty and need a Savior.

God gives us moral laws to bring us to Him.  Morality only applies to us.  God wants to protect all His created things from destruction – from us destroying each other, to destroying ourselves.

I hope that answers the question?

God Bless!

Chris