The Passion 10

How Jesus’ Trial was Illegal

                  It is plain in the gospel accounts that even before the trial began it had been predetermined that Jesus must die (Mark 14:1; John 11:50). “Innocent until proven guilty” was not in play here.

                  The Jewish leaders sought out false witnesses to testify against Jesus (Matthew 26:59). Under normal circumstances the leaders would have gone through an elaborate system of vetting any witnesses to ensure justice, but not this time.

                  No defense for Jesus was either sought or allowed (Luke 22:67-71). This fell in line with OT prophesies regarding Jesus trial and death. 

                  The trial was conducted at night (Mark 14:53-65; 15:1), which was in and of itself illegal according to the religious leaders own laws.

                  Caiaphas, the High Priest, put Jesus under oath, then incriminated Him for what He said (Matthew 26:63-66).

                  Cases involving such serious charges were to be tried only in the high council’s regular meeting place, NOT in the high priest’s home (Mark 14:53-65).

                  It was never the religious leaders plan to give Jesus a fair trial. They felt it was imperative that Jesus be eliminated. Their blind obsession with removing Jesus led them to pervert the justice system they were appointed to protect. The reasons given above were illegal in that they violated THEIR OWN laws.

                  Until next time, walk with the King & be a blessing.

In His Name & for His Glory,

RL Keller

Bread of Life Ministries

Source: The Life Application Study Bible

The Passion 9

Condemned to Die

            Pilate’s annual custom was to release a criminal during the Passover celebration as a means of placating the Jewish leaders and their people. Ironically, put up for release with Jesus was an insurrectionist against the Roman government by the name of Barabbas. While an enemy of Rome, he was no doubt a hero to the Jews. 

            “The location of Jesus’ sentencing before Pontius Pilate took place in a paved, open place with an elevated platform for the judgement seat (or tribunal), which was near Herod the Great’s old palace, then functioning as the Roman Praetorium.” ^[1]

                  A motivation for the Jewish leaders hatred of Jesus was revealed by Matthew in v.18 of chapter 27, as it states: “He (Pilate) knew very well that the religious leaders arrested Jesus out of envy.” There is no question from scripture that the Pharisees and Sadducees didn’t like his immense and growing popularity among the Jewish people. 

            In Matthew’s gospel, he tells us that while Pilate was sitting on the judgement seat, his wife sent as message to him saying: “Leave that innocent man alone. I suffered through a terrible nightmare about him last night.” Matthew is the only disciple who reveals this.

            In the meantime, the Jewish leaders had begun whipping the crowd up, urging them to call for the release of Barabbas and not Jesus. This entire scenario had been set in motion since the dawn of time and was coming to fruition. When the crowd called for Jesus crucifixion Pilate, who believed Jesus to be innocent, asked the crowd, “Why? What crime has He committed?” But their cries for His death were escalating. Pilate was sensing a potential riot, which he wished to avoid at all costs. So to seemingly absolve himself of any responsibility of an innocent man he called for a bowl of water and washed his hands in front of the crowd. As he washed them he said, “I am innocent of this man’s blood. The responsibility is yours!” In reply they yelled back, “We will take responsibility for his death – we and our children!” Little did they realize the curse they had just placed upon themselves out of ignorance and spiritual blindness. The Messiah they had all long waited for was being sent BY THEM to be murdered. 

            To appease the crowd, Pilate released Barabbas and ordered Jesus flogged, then taken to be crucified. These details were missing from Luke and John, but were in Mark, minus the part of Pilate’s wife.

            Until next time, walk with the King & be a blessing.

In His Name & for His Glory,

RL Keller

Bread of Life Ministries

Resource: The Life Application Study Bible.

^[1] https://biblearchaeologyreport.com/2022/04/14/behold-the-man-where-did-pilate-sentence-jesus/

The Passion 8

Jesus Stands Before Pilate

            Pontius Pilate, governor of Judea, wished to know one thing according to Matthew’s gospel. Was Jesus the king of the Jews? 

            Luke’s gospel makes the point that the entire council TOOK Jesus to Pilate. Matthew mentions that the leaders bound Jesus and LED Him to Pilate, but Luke has the governor speaking with the council while the Lord was standing before him. It is in Luke’s account that Pilate first says that he finds no guilt in Jesus. 

            John’s gospel gives a more detailed encounter. Seems the accusers of Christ didn’t go in to speak with Pilate for it would defile them and with the Passover coming they would be ceremonially unclean due to their interaction with a gentile, thus making them unable to celebrate the holy days. In John’s rendering Pilate asked what the charges were against Jesus. The Jewish leaders declared that they wouldn’t have brought Jesus to him if he weren’t a criminal. Pilate tells them to judge Jesus by their own laws, but their chilling response was, “Only the Romans are permitted to execute someone.” According to John, THAT is when Pilate asked Jesus if He were the king of the Jews. His reply is a little more lengthy here, as He wants to know if Pilate himself wanted to know, or if others saying this had prompted the question.

Pilate then wanted to know what Jesus had done to bring about the ire of the Jews religious leaders. Jesus response reveals that His kingdom is not of this earth, for if it were His followers would have fought to defend Him. To that Pilate exclaims, “So You ARE a king?”

Jesus answer wasn’t direct with regards to the very specific question. Rather, He proclaims that He came into this world to reveal the truth and those who love the truth could see that what He had said was the truth. 

            Being cynical, Pilate was of the mind that all truth was relative. In other words, whatever the majority agreed was true was then true. To taint this idea, the people including the religious & political leaders would lean toward whatever thought or idea would best benefit them personally. So His cynicism led Pilate to ask the question: “What is truth?” 

            Until next time, walk with the King & be a blessing.

In His Name & for His glory,

RL Keller

Bread of Life Ministries

Resource: The Life Application Study Bible.

The Passion 7

Pilate

 

            In Jesus’ day, any death sentence had to be approved by the Roman official in charge of the administrative district. Pontius Pilate was governor of the province of Judea, where Jerusalem was located. When the Jewish leaders had Jesus in their power and wanted to kill him, they had to obtain Pilate’s permission. So it happened that early one morning Pilate found a crowd at his door demanding a man’s death.

            Pilate’s relationship with the Jews had always been stormy. His Roman toughness and fairness had been weakened by cynicism, compromises, and mistakes. On several occasions his actions had deeply offended the religious leaders. The resulting riots and chaos must have made Pilate wonder what he had gotten himself into. He was trying to control the people who treated their Roman conquerors without respect. Jesus’ trial was another episode in Pilate’s ongoing problems.

“They found no legal reason to execute him, but they asked Pilate to have him killed anyway.”- Acts 13:28 NLT

            For Pilate, there was never a doubt about Jesus’ innocence. Three separate times he declared Jesus not guilty. He couldn’t understand why these people wanted to kill Jesus, but his fear of the Jews’ political pressure made him decide to allow Jesus’ crucifixion. Because of the people’s threat to inform the emperor that Pilate hadn’t eliminated a rebel against Rome, Pilate went against what he knew was right. In desperation, he chose to do wrong.

            Until next time, walk with the King & be a blessing.

In His Name & for His Glory,

RL Keller

Bread of Life Ministries

Source: The Life Application Study Bible, p2159.

The Passion 6

How Did Judas Die?

 

“Did Judas Iscariot die by hanging or did he die by falling and bursting open?”

 

The relevant passages are: 

 

Matthew 27:5 - “Then he threw down the pieces of silver in the temple and departed, and went and hanged himself.”

Acts 1:18 - “Now this man purchased a field with the wages of iniquity; and falling headlong he burst open in the middle and all his entrails gushed out.”

 

“Some people have wrongly assumed that Matthew and Luke (the author of Acts) are contradictory in their account of Judas’ death. Since the Bible is inerrant Judas cannot have died by hanging and died by falling and bursting open. Rather they are two different viewpoints of the same event. For example, if I saw a car hit a pedestrian, I might simply say that the pedestrian died because he was hit by the car. The coroner who came on the scene later but did not actually see the accident might give a graphic description of the injuries to the pedestrian. Both the coroner and I are describing the same event just different aspects of it.

There is no contradiction surrounding Judas’ death but rather two descriptions given by two different authors of the same event. Matthew tells us that Judas died by hanging (death is inferred from the passage). Luke, being a doctor, gives us a graphic description of what occurred following the hanging. The reason for ordering the events as such is twofold. First, if someone has fallen and their internal organs spilled out, they would die and so could not subsequently die from hanging. Second, even when people suffer bad falls, they do not usually burst open and have their internal organs spill out. Skin is very tough, and even when it is cut in the abdominal area, internals do not usually spill out. Thus, it is unlikely that Judas could die in this manner merely from falling.

Gruesome as it is, Judas’ dead body hung in the hot sun of Jerusalem, and the bacteria inside his body would have been actively breaking down tissues and cells. A byproduct of bacterial metabolism is often gas. The pressure created by the gas forces fluid out of the cells and tissues and into the body cavities. The body becomes bloated as a result. In addition, tissue decomposition occurs compromising the integrity of the skin. Judas’ body was similar to an overinflated balloon: as he hit the ground (due to the branch he hung on or the rope itself breaking), the skin easily broke, and he burst open with his internal organs spilling out.

There is no contradiction surrounding Judas’ death but rather two descriptions given by two different authors of the same event.”

Until next time, walk with the King and be a blessing.

In His Name & for His Glory,

RL Keller

Bread of Life Ministries

This article was written by Dr. Georgia Purdom on May 25, 2009. Dr. Purdom is a speaker, writer, VP of Educational Content, Director of Research, Director Answers for Women Conferences Answers in Genesis.

The Passion 5

Judas’ Death

            Judas took 30 pieces of silver as payment for betraying an innocent man. The leading religious leaders felt no guilt giving the money to Judas; however, in the gospel of Matthew 27:3-10, those same leaders refused to accept those same 30 coins back when Judas realized they were going to KILL Jesus. His admission of sinning was blown off by the leaders saying, essentially that his sin was his problem, and they disassociated themselves from the entire situation. 

            Judas’ severe guilt wouldn’t allow him to keep the coins, so he went back to give the coins back to the religious leaders. When they refused to take them back Judas threw them on the floor of the Temple. Once he left the religious leaders revealed their hypocrisy by stating the following (vv.6-8), “The leading priests picked up the coins. ‘It wouldn’t be right to put this money in the Temple treasury,’ they said, ‘since it was payment for murder.’ * After some discussion they finally decided to buy the potter’s field, and they made it into a cemetery for foreigners. That is why the field is still called the ‘Field of Blood’”.

            This whole incident is prophesied in Zechariah 11:12-13, where it says, “I said to them, ‘If it seems good to you, give me my wages; but if not, do not.’ So they weighed out thirty pieces of silver as my wages. Then the Lord said to me, ‘Throw it to the potter [as if to the dogs]—that magnificent sum at which I am valued by them!’ So I took the thirty pieces of silver and threw them to the potter in the house of the Lord.” **

The other three gospel accounts do not mention Judas after his betrayal; however, Luke, the author of the book of Acts, writes the following in Acts 1:18: “Now Judas Iscariot indirectly acquired a piece of land with the money paid him as a reward for his treachery, and falling headlong, his body burst open in the middle and all his intestines poured out.” This appears to be in direct contrast to what Matthew has to say regarding this event. Scholars reason that, “the apparent discrepancy is that the rope or line that Judas was using broke, and the body fell in such a way as to be disemboweled.”  Frankly, it can’t be proven either way. This is the type of discrepancy that a non-believer would use to discredit the validity and infallibility of scripture. The event had no witnesses so we don’t know exactly what happened, but we know Judas died for surely someone must have found his dead body. I suppose the only way to harmonize Matthew’s account with the verses in Acts is to assume that Judas hung himself and the rope snapped causing him to fall to the ground.  The next installment of The Passion will go on a tangent as we see an experts reasoning of why the account in Matthew is in no way a contradiction to the verses in Acts. Until then, walk with the King and be a blessing.

In His Name & for His Glory,

RL Keller

Bread of Life Ministries

*In Greek v. 6 reads “since it is the price for blood.”      

** Zechariah 11:12 - Since the type of coin is not stated, shekels can be assumed. The shekel was the standard wage for a day of labor, and the payment was weighed because the shekel was actually a unit of weight.

Zechariah 11:13 - At this point the pre-incarnate Christ intervenes and prophetically refers to the payment given by the religious leaders to Judas for his betrayal (Matt 26:15).

The Passion 4

Jesus Condemned

            The religious leaders of Jerusalem wanted to get rid of Jesus in the worst way. It was the council of leaders who were at Caiaphas’ house attempting to question Jesus, but He wasn’t very talkative. All He did was acknowledge that He was, indeed, the long awaited Messiah; the Son of God. That was enough ... Blasphemy! They cried as many tore their robes. When someone tore their robe it was meant as a public & powerful sign of grief, sorrow and/or anger.

            It was early in the morning following the predetermined trial the day before, that the entire high council, comprised of priests, elders, and teachers of the Mosaic Law tied up Jesus and led Him away to meet with Pilate, the Roman Governor. What the Jewish leaders wished to do was not allowed according to Roman law. Jesus would have to be condemned to death by a Roman leader.

            Crucifixion was a means of death that the Jewish leaders demanded because they believed that such a death brought a curse from God. Therefore, if and when Jesus was crucified He would be seen as a rebel and slave, rather than a king. 

            Matthew & Mark were nearly verbatim in their depiction of the events that took place regarding Jesus condemnation. The Jewish leaders had predetermined the outcome of their trial of Jesus and thus it was no surprise when they bound Him up and sent Him off to face Pontius Pilate, the Roman governor for sentencing.

            The charge of blasphemy would mean little to nothing to Pilate, a non-Jew so the religious leaders invented three other crimes that according to them Jesus had committed. 1) Jesus was encouraging the people NOT to pay their taxes to Rome; 2) He claimed to be a King; and 3) Jesus was causing riots throughout the countryside. Of course, none of these accusations were even remotely true, but the Leaders needed to appease Pilate by conjuring up accusations that would have seemed to be a threat of some sort to the Roman Government.

            Until next time, walk with the King & be a blessing.

In His Name & for His Glory,

RL Keller

Bread of Life Ministries

Resource:  The Life Application Study Bible

The Passion 3

The Questioning of Jesus

            The gospel of John is the only one of the four gospels that has Jesus being led off to Annas, the father-in-law of Caiaphas, the current High Priest. It was Caiaphas who was already plotting to have Jesus killed. While this was going on Peter was in the process of denying the Lord three times, as Jesus had prophesied. 

            Annas wished to know what Jesus had been teaching the crowds. Jesus basically told him to ask those who heard him, for nothing He said was a secret. One of the Temple guards took exception to Jesus’ reply and slapped Him across the face making the point that His response was disrespectful. The Lord wished to know why He was slapped since what He had said was the truth. It was a brief one question interrogation, after which Annas bound Jesus and sent Him on to his son-in-law the High Priest. 

            While the religious leaders were the cause of His physical pain, Jesus’ disciples also caused Him undo pain and anguish for they all fled to save themselves after He was arrested and taken away. Peter’s denials were the icing on the cake as it were. Jesus was alone on this earth and was about to be separated from His Father in due time. He knew it was coming and was undoubtedly not looking forward to it. 

            We have to go to the gospels of Matthew & Mark to see the details of the questioning by Caiaphas, as neither Luke, nor John mention it at all. The High Priest and the other religious leaders were there to question the Lord. Caiaphas had heard that Jesus had declared Himself the Son of God; Israel’s long awaited deliverer, their Messiah. Caiaphas asked Him directly if He was indeed the Messiah. Mark’s depiction has Jesus simply responding, “I AM”, which is what God told Moses to refer to Him as when he went back down the mount to the people in the Book of Exodus. Because of their intimate knowledge of the Torah* they knew very well what Jesus was saying. Therefore, Jesus’ response acknowledged His deity and equated Himself to Almighty God with just two words. He also tells of the future when the Son of Man will sit down at God’ right hand. With this Caiaphas tore his priestly robes** and cried out “Blasphemy!” Jesus’ admission sealed His fate.

            Peter had proven Jesus right by denying any association with Him three separate times as he was attempting to see what was happening to his Lord. The events that had taken place, along with his denials must have been very traumatic for him. Matthew and Luke tell us Peter “wept bitterly” upon hearing the cock crow. It was then that the full realization of his actions were exactly as Jesus had said and it weighed heavy upon him.

            Until next time, walk with the King & be a blessing.

In His Name & for His Glory,

RL Keller

Bread of Life Ministries

*The first five books of the Bible.

**Done out of grief, and/or anger.

The Passion 2

The Betrayal

 

            Jesus was still speaking to His disciples when the Judas led a large group of men who were carrying both swords and clubs arrived on the scene. The Pharisees, who had issued a warrant for Jesus’ arrest, sent this mob of soldiers with Judas. They were there for one reason alone, to seize Jesus and bring Him before the religious leaders. One must wonder exactly what the religious leaders thought of Jesus that they would commission a group of soldiers to arrest one man. Apparently they weren’t sure how His followers would respond to such actions. As it turns out His disciples ran away in fear of being caught.

Matthew & Mark only report that an unidentified disciple sliced off the ear of a servant of a Pharisee. No mention of Jesus healing the ear. Luke, the physician, is the disciple who reports the slicing of the ear AND the fact that Jesus totally restored the ear of the servant by simply touching where the ear had been severed. The doctor added that key detail. Now John’s gospel is interesting, in that while he didn’t report the scene in the Garden of Gethsemane where Jesus agonized over impending future events, he DID report the betrayal and arrest. John is the one who identifies the unknown disciple (the impetuous Peter) who cut off the ear of the Pharisee’s servant and he even reveals the servants name. He does NOT however tells us Jesus healed the servants ear. Only Luke does that. It is interesting to me that there was no recorded reaction by anyone who was there regarding the miraculous healing of the ear. 

Jesus knew exactly why the mob was there. He knew Judas was His betrayer. In the gospel of Matthew (26:50-56) Jesus speaks to those who came to arrest Him. But first He speaks to Peter, who sliced off the servants ear ... Jesus tells Peter to put away his sword, then asks the following question: v.53 – “Don’t you realize that I could ask my Father for thousands of angels to protect us, and He would send them instantly?” Then the Lord explains why that doesn’t happen with another question: v.54 – “But if I did, how would the Scriptures be fulfilled that describe what must happen now?” You see it was all pre-arranged from the beginning of time. God’s knew His creation would have a propensity to sin against Him, therefore, He provided a solution prior to the existence of the problem. Jesus had at this point accepted what He must do. So He willingly allowed this final scenario to play out as prophesied.

Jesus pointed out to the group of men that they could have arrested Him at any time, but they came at night. Why was that? The religious leaders were concerned that if arrested during the day while Jesus was teaching a crowd of people, His followers may have caused trouble, perhaps even riot. Evil deeds are many times done in darkness as if the lack of light could hide their actions. God sees all, there is nothing that could ever surprise Him.

The gospel of John adds some interesting details to the event. “Jesus fully realized all that was going to happen to him, so he stepped forward to meet them. “Who are you looking for?” he asked. “Jesus the Nazarene,” they replied. “I am he,” Jesus said. (Judas, who betrayed him, was standing with them.) As Jesus said, “I am he,” they all drew back and fell to the ground! Once more he asked them, “Who are you looking for? And again they replied, “Jesus the Nazarene.” “I told you that I am he,” Jesus said. “And since I am the one you want, let these others go.” He did this to fulfill his own statement: “I did not lose a single one of those you have given me.” This is something that didn’t appear in the other three gospels. The mob falling to the ground and the words Jesus spoke were slightly different. Luke’s mention of Jesus healing the servants ear and what John shared reveals His divinity, yet those there to arrest Him were blinded by their mission and didn’t react in any way that was noticeable to the disciples.

Until next time, walk with the King & be a blessing.

In His Name & for His Glory,

RL Keller

Bread of Life Ministries

The Passion 1

The Passion of Christ refers to the time from Jesus’ prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane to His death on the cross.  The word passion is from the Latin pati, which simply means “to endure” or “to suffer.” I will dig into each event from the garden to the cross as a means of educating, encouraging and edifying the body of Christ. 

 

The Garden of Gethsemane

 

Jesus had led his disciples to an Olive Grove on the Mount of Olives called Gethsemane. He then took Peter, James & John a little further and said to them, “My soul is crushed with grief to the point of death. Stay here & keep watch with me.” (Matthew 26:38) Then Jesus went off by Himself to pray.  Being in human and not divine form, He was experiencing emotions WE may have experienced. Jesus knew what was before Him which is why His soul was “crushed with grief”. Knowing all that would be taking place, Jesus asked His Father if this agonizing cup could be taken from Him. The Lord ended with the fact that what He truly wanted was His Father’s will.  It was God’s will that His Son would have to go thru a brutal, horrifying death on account of man’s sin. It was the only way to fulfill God’s master plan. 

Is this not the way believers should pray also? Not MY will, but YOUR will be done. His will for us is always right and fair and just and for our greatest benefit every time. Going thru life without Christ is shortchanging yourself in a major way.

If we go to a parallel bible and compare the gospel accounts of Christ in Gethsemane we find that Matthew speaks of Jesus imploring His Father three times to spare Him the fate that awaited him. Mark mentions three times as well. Luke, the Physician, mentions two times, but is the only disciple who wrote down that an angel came to comfort and strengthen Jesus in His anguish. The gospel of John does not mention this scene at all.

 

Sweat as drops of blood – The anguish Jesus was experiencing was so pronounced, so heavy upon Him that as He prayed He sweat drops of blood (Luke 22:44). “...there exists a medical condition that produces the symptoms described and explains Luke’s mention of blood. Hematidrosis is a rare, but very real, medical condition that causes one’s sweat to contain blood. The sweat glands are surrounded by tiny blood vessels that can constrict and then dilate to the point of rupture, causing blood to effuse into the sweat glands. The cause of hematidrosis is extreme anguish.” ^[1]Could this be what happened to Jesus? It is interesting that Luke, the physician, was the only one who brought this up. 

Jonathan Edwards*, reading this passage, asked the question, “Why would God open up for Jesus the horrors of the cross like this here in Gethsemane?” This is Edwards’ answer: “It was so we could see Jesus go to the cross voluntarily, knowing full well what he was about to experience, so that his love for us would be put on display even more.” The key to Edward’s conclusion is that we as followers of the Christ are to do it because we are compelled to and thus want to willingly follow the Great Shepherd. We don’t HAVE to follow Christ, but the opportunity to do so is ALWAYS open to us.

Next we will look at Judas betrayal and the Lord’s arrest. Until then, walk with the King and be a blessing.

In His Name & for His Glory,

RL Keller

Bread of Life Ministries

* American theologian whose sermons and writings stimulated a period of renewed interest in religion in America (1703-1758). (WordNet 3.0)

^[1] https://www.gotquestions.org/sweat-blood-Jesus.html

Resource: https://jdgreear.com/what-really-happened-in-that-garden/

30 Reasons People Choose Atheism 30

Reason 30 - A Desire for Truth

“Above all, many atheists are driven by a commitment to truth. They reject comforting illusions or unproven claims, choosing instead to base their worldview on observable, testable, and verifiable facts. For them, the pursuit of truth is intellectually fulfilling and a moral imperative, even if it leads to uncomfortable or unpopular conclusions.”

This is the final reason given. I saw quite a bit of redundancy in the reasons, which tells me that the real reason atheists disregard Christianity as a viable option for living is because their own autonomy means more to them than the truth. The truth they find is faulty because it is presented in an attractive way by the enemy of their soul. Simply saying you don’t believe in the existence of any sort of God is a very convenient way of keeping your autonomy. The reasons given are less then compelling, as I can shoot many holes in each one of them. Establishing your own definition of good, bad, right, wrong, moral, immoral, ethical, unethical, and so on, is again a very convenient way to remove the need for any sort of deity. 

It's pretty obvious that Atheists don’t want to have to answer to anyone else. But they have to abide by the laws of the land. They can’t do whatever pleases them at all times, for some things are unlawful. So are they truly autonomous? They want to be self-governed and completely self-reliant, but that isn’t possible because man’s resources are limited. Man has NOT evolved into a better version of themselves over time. Without a standard to follow that is truly fair and just for everyone, then their system is flawed.  

Until non-believers pursue truth with an open mind, minus any preconceived ideas (which is difficult to do), they will forever turn their back on what they consider to be a false narrative regarding God, Jesus, sin, heaven, etc. So essentially we are at a stalemate. They can’t prove what they believe and neither can I. We have both chosen to believe by faith what we adhere to as the truth. The end will bring clarity to us both. Someone has to be right, and someone has to be mistaken. What if we’re both wrong? Just sayin’....

Until next time, walk with the King & and be a blessing.

In His Name & for His Glory,

RL Keller

Bread of Life Ministries

Resource: An article titled 30 Reasons People Choose Atheism on a blog called Housley - written by Lisa O.; www.gotquestions.org.

30 Reasons People Choose Atheism 29

Reason 29 - Focus on Humanity

“Atheists often prioritize human welfare over divine worship, emphasizing compassion, empathy, and progress. They believe that addressing global challenges—such as poverty, climate change, and inequality—requires human action, not divine intervention. This focus on humanity aligns with their belief in self-reliance and collective responsibility rather than waiting for a higher power to intervene.”

Is it possible that the writer of this article on Atheism just doesn’t know enough Christians? Or is it that the Christians she does know are Christians in name alone, thus not practicing at all what they may preach. I can frankly say I don’t really know any Christians that just sit and wait for God to intervene in a situation, but that’s not to say there aren’t any. Christians can be very compassionate and empathetic to a given situation and even invest their time to helping remedy the issue. If physically unable, they may invest in the solution financially, but they often times feel strongly compelled to help in some way. 

I think it’s safe to say that we are unable to end poverty, homelessness, starvation, but we can help rather than not. Helping eliminate problems like those just listed can perhaps keep them from getting worse, or at least slow them down. A Christian’s main focus should be to spread the gospel message of Christ and Him crucified. Being Jesus in a lost and dying world. This would necessitate believers reaching out with a helping hand, just as Jesus would do. I believe that most times our prayers can be answered as we step forth to effect change in a given situation. That is no different than the Jordan River parting once the Jews stepped into the river. A literal step of faith allowed them to walk across the DRY riverbed over to the land of Canaan. 

Christians understand that while we mustn’t always sit and wait for something to happen first, we also understand that we cannot do anything of eternal value on our own. Good deeds never earned anyone their ticket to heaven. Doing good deeds is the way we SHOULD live, but we need to do it without fanfare. Our heart is what God sees, for it tells Him what our true motivation is. Good deeds will never compensate for all the bad things we do in this life. 

An atheist may think themselves a good person, but if there is no heaven or hell, then what’s the point? Good deeds are admirable to be sure, but what is the motivation behind the deed done? Is it for personal gain or simply to help others? According to Jesus, no one is good except God ... period. As a side note, this is a way to apply a definition of sorts to what good is. Examine the qualities of God and that would be a good person, but since NO ONE can do all that God can do, they are not good. If mankind is honest with itself, we fall way short of God in the category of goodness. Scripture tells us in Paul’s letter to the Romans (3:23) that ALL HAVE SINNED AND FALLEN SHORT OF GOD’S GLORY. Doing good deeds is the right thing to do, but why you do them is the important question that should be asked. 

Until next time, walk with the King & be a blessing.

In His Name & for His Glory,

RL Keller

Bread of Life Ministries

Resource: An article titled 30 Reasons People Choose Atheism on a blog called Housley - written by Lisa O.; www.gotquestions.org.

30 Reasons People Choose Atheism 28

Reason 28 - Psychological Insights

 

“Psychological research shows that religious belief can originate from cognitive biases like pattern recognition or the need for agency. Atheists often reject faith after recognizing these psychological mechanisms at play. They argue that religion is a byproduct of human evolution and societal needs rather than evidence of divine existence, choosing to trust empirical* findings over spiritual interpretations.”

 

            So man in all his supposed ACQUIRED wisdom, now has what he considers to be a clinching argument on why people believe in God. “A cognitive bias is a systematic pattern of deviation from norm or rationality in judgment. Individuals create their own "subjective reality" from their perception of the input. An individual's construction of reality, not the objective input, may dictate their behavior in the world. Thus, cognitive biases may sometimes lead to perceptual distortion, inaccurate judgment, illogical interpretation, or what is broadly called irrationality.” Ah, but who has established what is normal and rational? Man? Please, don’t make me laugh. There are so many definitions of normal that it’s scary. Everyone has their own meaning of what is normal. Same with rational. What is normal or rational to one person may not be to another. But the self-proclaimed wise men have declared essentially that we’re all nuts, if you want to break their assessment down to its smallest component. How convenient to see it that way. That way they can dismiss any and all reliance on an unseen deity as being similar to a child making friends with an imaginary child or animal. Write all “religious" people off as somewhat delusional; incapable of any rational thought. I’m really not quite certain why we are such a threat to non-believers. They choose one school of thought to believe and we choose another. Very good, have a nice day. But for some reason the discussion of God must be stopped in their estimation. It’s not good enough for us to simply disagree, they strive to remove God from man’s consciousness. 

            It’s so very convenient to dismiss this whole God business as delusional and not worth the time to even consider its validity. I know that validation doesn’t necessarily reside in the numeric amount of followers, but to say or at least insinuate that millions and millions of people around the world are delusional with regards to their beliefs sounds pretty ridiculous to me. If you would like to find delusional people, you need to look no further than Jonestown or Waco for your example. Their problem was they worshipped men who thought themselves a god and not Almighty God, maker of heaven and earth. 

            I have no doubt that if atheists could remove the mere thought of God from man’s conscious mind they would. What are they so afraid of? You make a choice and live with the resulting consequences. It’s truly that simple.  The end will determine who is correct and who is not. Until next time, walk with the King & be a blessing.

In His Name & for His Glory,

RL Keller

Bread of Life Ministries

Resource: An article titled 30 Reasons People Choose Atheism on a blog called Housley - written by Lisa O.; www.gotquestions.org.

*verifiable; able to be proven.

30 Reasons People Choose Atheism 27

Reason 27 - Rejection of Miracles

 

“Atheists often view miracles as events that lack credible evidence or verifiable causes. For them, stories of divine intervention, such as miraculous healings or supernatural occurrences, can usually be explained through coincidence, psychological biases, or scientific phenomena.”

 

            Admittedly, there have been charlatans who have taken advantage of people through the years, but does that negate the possibility of a legitimate miracle, not at all. I’ve known people in my walk with the Lord that have absolutely been healed.

Example 1: the husband of a woman my wife knew broke his neck playing in an adult softball league. The wife asked us to pray for her husband to be healed. We prayed and his neck was completely healed as if it had never been broken several days later. He was supposed to have surgery. No surgery was needed. Maybe his neck wasn’t really broken you may say. Well then the doctor was an idiot to make that drastic of a diagnosis without being sure, but no, he was sure it was broken. The sad part about this story is that the man who had his neck miraculously healed never acknowledged God in any way and went thru the rest of his life never making one single alteration to the way he lived.

Example 2: my ex-mother-in-law. It was determined by her doctor that she had severely clogged arteries. She was scheduled to have quadruple bypass surgery. My wife and I were on vacation when the call came in to pray for my wife’s mom. We prayed that the Lord would create for her a brand new heart. Late on the day of her proposed surgery we received a call from my wife’s father. He said the surgeon wasn’t sure why, but had wanted the mother to be tested again*. Upon seeing the results of the test the surgeon came to my father-in-law and said that surgery wouldn’t be necessary. That he didn’t understand what had happened, but it appeared as if she had been given a brand new heart. No sign of any blockage anywhere. He said it was a miracle. He had no other way to describe it. When my wife’s father called us with the news he was in tears. My ex-mother-in-law lived another twenty-some-odd years in good health and died of natural causes. She was already a Christian and served the Lord all the days of her life.

Now I understand that all this sounds unbelievable, but that is exactly what took place in both situations. To add to the confusion, there are denominations that don’t believe God heals anymore. They say that was for another time. Now God either heals or He doesn’t, but to say it was for a different time limits Him. Does He choose not to heal for some unknown reason, perhaps. There are certainly plenty of examples where people pray and are not healed. Some pray for years and years and don’t ever get healed. I don’t believe it was because of a lack of faith and for the unregenerate mind it would seem that would be enough evidence to disprove even the very existence of God, but what if He had reasons that we do not know. Once redeemed we are not promised a perfect, pain free life without trials and tribulations. If my faith in this regard sounds childlike then good, because Jesus calls us to have exactly that. Childlike faith; trusting that our God will provide for and sustain us in this life. I and millions upon millions of others have CHOSEN to believe that and just because EVERYONE doesn’t agree with us doesn’t slow us down or stop us from believing. Satan has sent a wave of delusion that has infected millions of those who refuse to believe. They will believe just about ANYTHING else, but not God. That is a person’s God-given right to disbelieve. Just make sure you’re right, because if not, the cost is something you will be unable to pay. That is in no way a threat, just the truth as I happen to believe it.

Until next time, walk with the King & be a blessing.

In His Name & for His Glory,

RL Keller

Bread of Life Ministries

Resource: An article titled 30 Reasons People Choose Atheism on a blog called Housley - written by Lisa O.; www.gotquestions.org.

*I don’t remember if they did another series of x-rays or another MRI.

30 Reasons People Choose Atheism 26

Reason 26 - Cultural Modernization

 

“As societies modernize, traditional religious beliefs and practices often become less relevant to people. Atheists see this secular shift as a natural progression toward reason and equality. In many developed nations, education, technological advancements, and social progress challenge old dogmas, paving the way for a more skeptical and humanistic worldview.”

 

Secularism - To draw away from religious orientation; make worldly; the activity of changing something (art or education or society or morality etc.) so it is no longer under the control or influence of religion. (American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016)

 

“Cultural Modernization” is secularism dressed up with a new fancy title. Atheists and agnostics have been attempting for generations to, in some cases, demonize religion by misrepresenting what Christianity truly is.  They have used their pre-conceived ideas in an attempt to remove God from peoples consciousness. Mainline orthodox denominations; the Presbyterians, Methodists, Lutherans, Episcopals, and Catholics, have been edging toward secularization for a number of years now by slowing embracing the whole Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion doctrine that is sweeping the world. Forcing it on others is not the right way to approach that. In other words, I don’t try to force you to become a Christian, so don’t try to force me to embrace DEI. The result of not embracing it is name calling and hate mongering by those who do.  We are allowed to have differing opinions of a subject. The fact remains that if I don’t agree with DEI and don’t wish to participate in it, I won’t go to hell. My understanding of scripture tells me that if you embrace that and other marginal practices you won’t go to hell either. A person goes to hell for rejecting Jesus, and by association, God.  Atheists don’t want to hear that. I get it. It certainly wouldn’t be a pleasant thing to hear. We didn’t invent this stuff. And if we’re wrong and there is no God, then we’ve lived a good life full of love, kindness, peace and hope and when we die everything ends. So what. That possibility doesn’t faze me. 

I live by what I believe to be true. I am loved as I stumble thru this life trying to emulate a perfect representative of God, Jesus Christ. I’m truly sorry that so many people have been made to feel horrible about themselves and what they believe by supposed Christians. Please don’t judge us all by the repulsive acts of some. 

Someone has to be right, and someone has to be wrong. In other words, EVERYONE can’t be right. And just because I don’t agree with someone else, that doesn’t make me wrong.

God allows man a free will to follow if He so chooses, because He would like willing followers, not those who feel they MUST follow. 

The church needs to adhere to the Word of God, not skirt the edges of worldly living. As believers in Christ we need to love the peoples of the world with the love of Christ and pray for those who chastise us for being exclusive. I suppose you could say Christianity is a bit of an exclusive group for we are altogether loving and serving a God we cannot see. Exclusive in some respects, but nonexclusive in that ANYONE can join the family of God. 

As Christians we turn away from worldly endeavors. That’s not to say we don’t follow sports teams, buy hats and jerseys and get rowdy with the best of them. We like various types of music, not just Christian. We go to movies, although we tend to gravitate toward the G & PG variety. We don’t drink ourselves under the table and then go looking for trouble. No one is saying non-Christians can’t do all these things, just know that the consequences that come from doing crazy things are going to probably be crazy as well. 

And what about the historic figure Jesus. Jewish historian Flavius Josephus, NOT A CHRISTIAN, wrote a few lines in his book “Antiquities” about the man called Jesus of Nazareth. Jesus was a historic person who really lived. Now one can poo-poo that and just say it all fabricated lies. So be it. People are given a variety of opportunities to receive Christ. If they continue to resist it will be on them and not me or God. 

Until next time, walk with the King & be a blessing.

In His Name & for His Glory,

RL Keller

Bread of Life Ministries

Resource: An article titled 30 Reasons People Choose Atheism on a blog called Housley - written by Lisa O.; www.gotquestions.org.

30 Reasons People Choose Atheism 25

Reason 25 - Existential Freedom

 

“Atheists often find freedom in the idea that life's meaning is not dictated by an external deity but is something individuals create for themselves. This existential perspective allows them to live authentically, pursuing their passions and values without fear of divine judgment.”

            

Existentialism - “A philosophy that emphasizes the uniqueness and isolation of the individual experience in a hostile or indifferent universe, regards human existence as unexplainable, and stresses freedom of choice and responsibility for the consequences of one's acts.” - American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. (2011).

 

Philosophy – “The study of the nature, causes, or principles of reality, knowledge, or values, based on logical reasoning.” - American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. (2011).

 

            Okay, so we are back to the notion that man can, because of their own logical reasoning, figure out life for themselves. This would also insinuate that all individuals have the same right to figure out life on their own. So then everyone would have their own definition of life and it’s meaning. There would be no constant; everything that each individual experiences would provide for them their yard stick, so to speak. Their way to express what life is to them. It apparently doesn’t matter that everyone has a different view of life. To me that is mind numbing. It really all comes down to the main fact regarding atheism; they simply don’t want ANYONE telling them how to live. Period. They can call it whatever they want, but that’s really just what it is. Autonomy. It means having the “freedom to determine one's own actions & behavior.” * Atheists do not want to be answerable to any divine entity, so they deny His existence. All this still does not provide an answer for the sin question. They are obviously all for self-governing, which is part of being autonomous. If they don’t believe in God, does sin not exist either?  

            It is interesting to me that the definition of ‘existentialism’ includes the phrase “responsibility for the consequences of one’s acts”. So they acknowledge the existence of consequences, yet why would any consequences be negative if there is no sin. Or is there? The topic of sin makes people uncomfortable if they aren’t under God’s umbrella of grace. Do they simply refuse to talk about it as if that would eliminate the existence of sin? Evil exists. Bad people do bad things. Is there no recourse? While we have law enforcement to deal with the bad people, that doesn’t eliminate sinful behavior on an eternal scale.

            It seems pretty clear that the atheist has the desire to live life any way they choose, without having to encounter any resistance. Live and let live. And the fact of the matter is that they CAN do that. But do they simply reject the notion of sin altogether? They don’t seem to believe in heaven or hell, so I suppose they just wish to live and die on their own terms. If there in fact IS a God, that would definitely cramp their style. Their understanding that there are consequences is interesting to me. Since they DO believe in consequences, they must be mentally prepared to accept whatever consequences may be the result of their actions. Therefore, if they ARE wrong about the existence of God, their rejection of everything spiritually divine condemns them to hell and they are okay with that? I wonder. 

            Until next time, walk with the King & be a blessing.

In His Name & for His Glory,

RL Keller

Bread of Life Ministries

*Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014.

Resource: An article titled 30 Reasons People Choose Atheism on a blog called Housley - written by Lisa O.; www.gotquestions.org.

30 Reasons People Choose Atheism 24

Reason 24 - Religious Exclusivity

 

“The exclusivity of many religions, which claim to be the sole path to truth or salvation, is a significant turn-off for atheists. They question how a just and loving God could condemn billions of people who follow other faiths or no faith at all. This exclusivity often appears arbitrary and unjust, leading atheists to reject the idea of a deity who demands unconditional loyalty to one specific doctrine.”

The main question here is regarding “sin”. It is not addressed by other religions, except for the few who demand strict adherence, or you’ll be either incarcerated or beheaded. Look at it this way: If a doctor told you that you had a malignant tumor that must be removed thru surgery or you will die, you would probably seek a second opinion. So you get your second opinion, however, this doctor tells you the other doctor was wrong. You won’t die; in fact your tumor isn’t malignant. So you do nothing feeling relieved at the more acceptable prognosis. At the urging of a friend you go for a 3^rd opinion and the 3^rd doctor agrees with the 2^nd one, only he adds that nothing in life is certain. You take all that information and decide you are fine and do nothing. 8 months later you pass away from a malignant tumor that had never been operated on. Do you see my point here? Surely there must have been signs during that 8 months that something was wrong with you, but you chose to believe that everything was and will be alright despite what you were experiencing.

There has to be one truth, not many. God is not One to cause confusion, however, it was Satan that said in Genesis to Eve in the Garden of Eden, “Surely God didn’t say ...”, casting doubt on that which God said in the first place. Satan is a disruptor; God is a healer. He is the One that brings cohesiveness to your life. He is the One who establishes that which is right and wrong. You simply cannot live your life without guidelines. Doing that is like not knowing where you are going yet refusing to use your GPS (or for us old-timers, a paper map) to guide you. 

If you are bound and determined to NOT believe in the existence of God, then go ahead. You certainly have that right. But don’t ridicule those who have chosen to believe what you will not. Don’t think of us as weak minded or easily led. Think of us as fellow human beings who have chosen to believe is something that challenges your sensibilities and leave it at that. We are a danger to no one. And neither are you. You are only a danger to yourself.

Until next time, walk with the King & be a blessing.

In His Name & for His Glory,

RL Keller

Bread of Life Ministries

Resource: An article titled 30 Reasons People Choose Atheism on a blog called Housley - written by Lisa O.; www.gotquestions.org.