Does God Exist? The Age Old Debate
Whether you believe or not, the existence of God has been a question faced by human civilization for millennia. From the early concepts of sun worship to advanced theological thinking and philosophy, humans have argued and debated the existence of some higher spiritual plane, or some ubiquitous deity characterized as God.
In this context, God refers to the wider spectrum, beyond Christian connotations, to include Gods and Goddesses of other faiths and beliefs, and even energies and spirits without physical form from elsewhere. Without scientific proof, many people find faith hard to justify, whilst others think that science and religion are not mutually exclusive considerations.
The starting point for a debate about the existence of God has to be with the creation of the world in which we live. Has our life, our planet, our solar system, our galaxy, our universe come as the by-product of chance? Is it a fiction of science and chemistry? Theories have been proposed in a number of directions, including prominently the evolution theory and the creationist theories. The theory of evolution as pioneered by Darwin and his contemporaries is widely considered to be the most probable and accurate, and is favored by scientists the world over.
For some however, this theory is lacking in definition, and still poses some awkward questions. Creationists adapt the story of the world according to the bible, and the conventional Christian understanding of how we came to be. Likewise, there are those skeptical of the validity of this theory, who fail to understand unjustified faith in the substance of a text. Both of the major schools of thought have gained widespread support, and the debate over God’s existence still rages on.
The Mathematician and Philosopher Pascal came up with a proposition which has come to be known as ‘Pascal’s Wager’. Pascal’s wager suggests that it is safer to believe in a God than to not. The rationale behind this is that if there isn’t a God, and you have believed through your life you will simply rest without consciousness for eternity, thus you’ve lost nothing. However if there is a God, and you have disbelieved or denounced his existence, you may be subject to adverse treatment after life.
Although this might be a neat summary of why it is better to believe in God than not, some people think that in spite of this, there is a distinct lack of proof on the spiritual side and as such faith simply cannot be logically and rationally justified.
Jonathon Hardcastle writes articles for http://worldof-science.com/ – In addition, Jonathon also writes articles for http://1st-computers.net/ and http://4educationinformation.com/
The Power Of Faith
Think back to when you were a child and you watched a friend or an older sibling ride a bicycle. You felt a desire start to build in you to be able to do that too. The more you saw them having fun riding their bicycle, the more desire you had to have one also. Finally you were able to persuade your parents to get you a bicycle.
With the help of a parent or older sibling, you learned to ride it. As your proficiency at riding a bicycle grew, your belief in your ability to do so became stronger. When your belief became very strong, you developed faith that you could do it any time you wanted to.
Once you had faith that you could ride a bicycle, you did so without much conscious thought. The same thing happens with everything that you believe you can do. When your belief in your abilities to do it becomes strong, you develop faith that you can do it whenever you want to.
The power of faith is greater than the power of knowledge, just as the CEO of an organization has more power than a junior manager. The power of faith is so superior to any technology that we presently have, that it is an injustice to equate faith with technology. When the power of faith is placed into action, the amount of work that we can accomplish becomes greater and greater, and whatever our purpose may be, we will positively scale the heights.
The power of our faith changes how we perceive the value of our abilities. If our belief in our capabilities is strong, we know that our ability will allow us to accomplish whatever we decide to undertake.
The power of faith is like the mystery of love. You know it is there, but you cannot see it. You feel it working and guiding you, but like the air that you breathe to sustain your life, it is not visible. Only the results of its presence prove its existence.
We think of faith as having the ability to move mountains (which it can), but the power of faith is as subtle as it is dynamic. The power of faith is relative to how much one truly believes something is possible. If you truly believe with every fiber of your being that you can do something, your mind will find a way to accomplish it.
A good example of this was Terry Fox, the one legged Canadian Hero who ran a marathon a day to raise money for the Cancer Society. Even professional marathon runners cannot run a marathon a day. However, this young man had faith that he could do it, and in all kinds of weather he ran a marathon a day for weeks, running from the east coast of Canada nearly to Thunder Bay where cancer over took him.
The power of faith is what miracles are made of. The power of faith is not seen in spectacular healing miracles or in getting people to laugh or make animal noises. It is seen in the everyday accomplishments of people who do things that no one expects them to be able to accomplish. However, they have so much faith in their capabilities that they confound their critics and accomplish something that seems to be impossible, like the blind man who climbed Mount Everest and the young university lad who was allowed to play the last few minutes of a basketball game and scored 27 points.
You too can do anything that you want to do if you develop faith in yourself. Do not let anyone tell you that you cannot and do not doubt yourself for a minute.
Kevin Sinclair is the publisher and editor of My-Personal-Growth.com, a site that provides information and articles for self improvement and personal growth and development. http://www.my-personal-growth.com/
Understanding Prosperity Christianity – Are Christians Supposed to Be Rich?
Prosperity Christianity has gotten a bad rap. A lot of people seem to think it means that for Christians to be rich, they have to have a lot of money or else God hasn’t fully blessed them.
After watching the recent events play out in the press, for stars like Mel Gibson, Britney Spears, and Jessica Simpson, I want to challenge this belief. Although these people claim to be Christians, what they’re really doing is living in a way that Wallace Wattles, in “The Science of Getting Rich”, called swinishly.
Now, we can argue over whether or not these people really are Christians. That’s not the point. The truth is, only God really knows the answer to that one, and it’s between Him and these individuals.
My point is this: is true prosperity for Christians really all about money?
For these three, I would say no.
Does this mean Christians shouldn’t have money? Again, no.
Christians should have money, and there’s absolutely nothing wrong with getting financially prosperous and having a lot of money.
Joel Osteen certainly has a financially prosperous church and marketing experts and Christians like Lisa Diane and Jimmy D. Brown have certainly demonstrated that you can have a lot of money and be happy. And none of these three shy away from living their faith.
Money has its place. As T. Harv Eker says, “You can’t pay your bills with love”.
There are several keys to prosperity that Christians need to put first:
1. Make God number one in your life. Put Him first. “Do what you do for the glory of God.” As Christians, there’s a lot of things we can do with money to spread the gospel. We can be a blessing to others.
In the words of Wallace Wattles, “You owe it to God, to yourself, and to humanity to make the most of yourself.”
Understand that God has a purpose for blessing you with a lot of money. It’s not just about being able to ride around in limos, eat in fancy restaurants, and buy whatever you want. There’s a purpose.
2. Prosperity is about balance. In order to achieve true prosperity, you need to do a lot more than just make a lot of money.
The three areas Wallace Wattles says to concentrate on are mind, body, and spirit.
This means we need a strong focus on God. We need to build strong relationships with those we love. We need to achieve health, and we need to strengthen ourselves mentally and spiritually.
Get rid of your baggage, grudges, hatreds, and anything that’s holding you back. There’s tremendous power in forgiveness because you’re releasing something you shouldn’t hold onto anyway.
I truly believe that many people have died well before their time because they held onto painful events.
Let go of this garbage and replace it with positive belief.
God thinks you’re someone special, extraordinary, and unique. He deeply loves you so much that He made you in His image, and He sent his son, Jesus, to die for you on the cross so you could have a relationship with Him forever.
Talk about an offer you can’t refuse!
3. God put those desires in your heart. Remember, God is a creator, and He created us to have a relationship with Him. He also created each of us for a purpose.
Unless those desires in your heart are sinful, God put them there. So it’s time to go for it!
True prosperity isn’t just about money. True prosperity is about becoming everything you are meant to be, to do all you are meant to do, and to have all you are meant to have.
God has big plans and big dreams for you.
We were never meant to aspire to be God, we are to aspire to be like God. That makes us creators, and we can choose to create something great, or something that’s junk.
Stop living small. Stop dreaming small, and ask God to reign down His blessings on you. Ask for everything He wants you to have. If He didn’t believe you deserved it, He wouldn’t want to give it to you. He just can’t give you what you won’t accept.
Now dream big, live big, and open yourself up to having everything God wants you to have. When you do, what you will get will be far larger, far richer, and far better than just a big bank account.
Jinger Jarrett wants to show you how to live the life you’ve always dreamed of. You can read her blog, The Science of Getting Rich for Christians, at http://www.101christian.com. Get her best free resources on changing your life at Squidoo, http://www.squidoo.com/lensmasters/jingerjarrett1.
Miracles Can Happen Even When We Don’t Deserve Them
Many people cannot see God in the world they live in. They feel He is in some far off place, not paying any attention to what goes on in their daily lives. The problems of the world weigh them down, and they cannot see the miracles going on all around them every day.
Evangelist, Lorene Hall says, “When I was younger, I never thought about miracles. I never entertained the word miracle. I didn’t hear about miracles when I was growing up in those difficult times. I would tell anybody today that God is a miracle giver. When you talk about God, you cannot talk about Him without connecting Him to miracles.”
As a young, unwed mother, living during a time of segregation and poverty, Lorene brought herself out of the depths of depression with a rebirth of faith. When her infant son was diagnosed with Hydrocephalus, her faith became even stronger. She prayed to God for a miracle, and got one. The doctor’s gave her son less than five days to live, now after 38 years, he is still alive and living a normal life.
Lorene believes that miracles can happen, even when we don’t deserve them. As parents we all want our children to grow up to be strong and healthy, praying for a miracle of our own when our children are ill. Learn how this mother raised a miracle child through a life threatening illness, and how you can deepen the faith in your life.
In order to have miracle causing belief:
- Put God first.
- Acknowledge there is a God.
- Accept Christ as our Lord and Savior.
- Believe that when adversity looms, there is a way out.
- Find God to be truth.
- Regardless of what we did in the past, God forgives us.
- Do not feel guilty any more.
Following these steps will lead you to joy and peace. It will be a comfort, bringing solace in times of trouble. You will see your faith lead to healing and second chances. Even when tragedy falls upon you, and everything seems impossibly bleak, faith will see you through.
Whether you have a child with a life threatening condition, or some other type of personal tragedy, having faith is an important thing. Maintain your faith through these trying times:
- Study the Bible.
- Become a believer.
- Believe the word of God because you can stand on the word of God. The word is how you know who God is, and know the promises He made to us. The word teaches faith.
- Know God for yourself. See what God is saying to you about personal salvation and a personal life with Him.
Use prayer as a proactive tool to learn how to grow your faith so that important miracles can happen. Prayer is powerful, connecting you to God. It allows you to tell God how you feel and hear what He has to say. Ask God to help you even when you have doubts from a crisis of faith. You can ask God anything, and He will tell you anything. God will understand you when no one else can.
If you are raising a child with a life threatening illness, or know someone who is, implement some of these powerful techniques to ease the pain for both of you:
- Be gentle and compassionate.
- Give a lot of care.
- Do it all with love.
- Remember that even if you are tired and frustrated, he or she is the one suffering. Take all the time you need, even if it means staying up all night.
- Stand by the bed, talk, encourage, and say everything will be alright.
- Just be there.
Focus on making God the center of your life. When you do that, there is nothing you can’t ask God to do. He is concerned about your struggles, and what you are going through. Your faith will make you feel special, give you self esteem, and bring you to a place of peace and contentment.
The most important thing is to show love. Your strength will come from God. There are amazing things that happen over and over again in this world. Miracles do happen.
Dr. Proactive, Randy Gilbert enjoys producing the “Inside Success Show”. He presents his insightful interview with Lorene Hall based upon the revelations from her book. You can hear the entire inspirational interview for free by going to:
http://www.insidesuccessradio.com/Guests/Lorene-Hall