I am a Christian.
I am a follower of Jesus.
I KNOW Jesus died on the cross for my sins and I KNOW he has forgiven me for my sins.
I KNOW Jesus resurrected from the dead and by and through the power of his resurrection I have a home in heaven awaiting me after I die.
I KNOW that Jesus is my Lord and Savior.
I KNOW there is only one, true, living God and that God is the Christian God.
I KNOW all other Gods are false Gods.
The statements above are standard statements of belief fact most Christians utter at one time or the other. If Christians are anything, they are certain of their their personal relationship with the Christian God. They say, with the Apostle Paul :
for I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day. (2 Peter 1:12b)
In the book of First John we repeatedly find the phrase I KNOW:
- And hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments.
- But whoso keepeth his word, in him verily is the love of God perfected: hereby know we that we are in him.
- But ye have an unction from the Holy One, and ye know all things.
- I have not written unto you because ye know not the truth, but because ye know it, and that no lie is of the truth.
- If ye know that he is righteous, ye know that every one that doeth righteousness is born of him.
- Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.
- And ye know that he was manifested to take away our sins; and in him is no sin.
- We know that we have passed from death unto life, because we love the brethren. He that loveth not his brother abideth in death.
- And hereby we know that we are of the truth, and shall assure our hearts before him.
- And he that keepeth his commandments dwelleth in him, and he in him. And hereby we know that he abideth in us, by the Spirit which he hath given us.
- Hereby know ye the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God:
- We are of God: he that knoweth God heareth us; he that is not of God heareth not us. Hereby know we the spirit of truth, and the spirit of error.
- Hereby know we that we dwell in him, and he in us, because he hath given us of his Spirit.
- By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God, and keep his commandments.
- These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God.
- And if we know that he hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of him.
- We know that whosoever is born of God sinneth not; but he that is begotten of God keepeth himself, and that wicked one toucheth him not. And we know that we are of God, and the whole world lieth in wickedness.
- And we know that the Son of God is come, and hath given us an understanding, that we may know him that is true, and we are in him that is true, even in his Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God, and eternal life.
These verses speak of certainty, of KNOWING.(1) There is no place for doubting, for questioning. In many churches and denominations doubt is considered a tool of Satan used to deceive and destroy the lives of the followers of Jesus. Since every pastor and denomination is sure of the truth, questions are not only discouraged but often rebuked. More than a few Christians have found themselves under church discipline for asking the wrong questions. (or daring to suggest an alternative answer)
One question that is rarely asked is whether or not the Christian God is God at all. Very few Christians ever go through the process of choosing a God to believe in. They are born in a Christian nation, raised by parents influenced by Christianity, and live as adults in a nation permeated by the teachings of the Christian Bible. They are Christian because that is what Americans are.
Few Christians will admit the cultural influence on their “choice” to be a Christian. What else could they have become? Rarely do they ever ask themselves why it is in EVERY country heavily influenced by a religion that most of the citizens of that country profess the dominate religion.
I realize the Christian will tell me:
- I accepted Jesus as my Lord and Savior.
- I asked Jesus into my heart when I was six.
- I remember when I came under the conviction of the Holy Spirit and I repented of my sin and asked Jesus to save me.
- I remember the day I was saved. I was baptized for the remission of sins, filled with the Holy Ghost, and I spoke in tongues.
- I remember when I was confirmed.
- I was baptized as an infant and my parents raised me up in faith once delivered to the saints. One Lord. One Faith. One Baptism.
I could go on and on with the variations of HOW a person becomes a Christian. What is rarely, if ever considered, is WHY a person becomes a Christian.
The WHY question should be a matter of evidence. I believe in the Christian God because _______________________. But how can this question be answered until a person first seriously considers all the other Gods available for worship? Should not a person first answer the question of A GOD before answering the question of THE GOD?
Most Christians go at this backwards. They FIRST decide that the Christian God is the only, true and living God and, without any consideration, reject all other Gods.
With most every other decision in life we would reject this kind of thinking, calling it shallow and uniformed. If believing in the Christian God is the single most important decision a person makes in life it seems reasonable to expect that this decision be made with full knowledge of all the God possibilities. When pastors, churches, and denominations discourage the study of other gods and religions I have to wonder what they are trying to hide. What are they are afraid of? Surely the Christian God can hold his own in the panoply of Gods.
Until a Christian is willing to investigate the gods and religions of the world I am not willing to give their KNOWING much credence. Until they put their God and Bible aside for a time and consider the other gods and religions of the world I am not willing to think of them any different than any other cultural religionist. (be it Christian, Hindu, Muslim,etal)
Not only do most Christians not know anything about other gods and religions they don’t know very much about their own God. They are CERTAIN of who the true God is but they can’t rationally explain why this is so. They believe, well, because they believe.
Evangelical and fundamentalist Christianity, in particular, is built on a foundation of certainty and ignorance. They know what they know and tune everything else out. This is why almost half of Americans believe the Genesis story of creation to be an accurate account of how the universe and earth came into existence. Anything that conflicts with the approved storyline is roundly rejected as an attempt by Satan to lead them astray.
It is very hard to reach people like this. Their minds are like a closed bear trap, almost impossible to open. Note I said, almost. Thousands of former Christians read this blog. There was a time that they had a closed bear trap mind. But, unlike their brethren, they couldn’t assuage their doubts and questions. When the church or the pastor couldn’t or wouldn’t answer their questions they began to look elsewhere. Result? Every day large numbers of people walk away from Christianity. Not everyone becomes an atheist or agnostic. Many people seek out Christian sects that are comfortable with a person having doubts and questions. Some turn to the earth religions, philosophical religions, or some form of spiritualism.
Where they end up is of no concern to me. I am an atheist because this is where the evidence led me. I know that most people, at least in the present world environment, are not going to become an atheist. (there are other factors besides evidence that keeps this from happening) All that is important is that they become whatever they become because they, with full knowledge and understanding, make a choice. (2)
(1) Christians LOVE to quote the verses from 1 John. What they seem to ignore,and their pastors neglect to tell them, is that most of these KNOWING statements are conditional. The writer of First John is quite clear that salvation is conditional, that it requires a certain way of living.
(2) I know that many Christians will dismiss this post out-of-hand because they reject the notion that a person chooses God. According to their interpretation of the Christian Bible it is God who chooses us, not we who choose God. A person’s salvation solely depends on God choosing them. Since they KNOW they are a Christian it is self-evident that the Christian God chose them. That’s why I know of no Calvinist who thinks they are NOT one of the elect.
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