Fear, Uncertainty and Doubt

         How is Truth Determined? When establishing Truth. I often wonder if other
Religions establish a point of reference as to where you can make a Baseline. I come
from a technical background whereby baselines and benchmarking are an important
criteria.

    Often, when i listen, especially to Muslim Apologists. It's the same Story, Over and
Over. The Bible is distorted i.e. thousands upon thousands of manuscripts do not match
each other, exactly word for word.


   Is that really True? Lets Benchmark the Bible purely on an empirical standard of
available manuscripts and what it actually says in the Bible. Must Biblical Manuscript's
match identically to each other to be accepted as Truth. It depends on what you are
Benchmarking.  Eg. What is a chair ? Does it have to have 4 legs, Base and Back for
someone to sit on? What if i said that i had a chair that has 3 legs. A Swivel Base and
Back for me to sit on? It stops being a chair because an Apologist does not like the notion
of a 3 legged chair? The Real Question is. Is the Biblical Jesus who he claims to be and
does the Bible portray what Jesus say and did to be True. Not how many manuscripts
match each other word for word or that the reading between gospels should be completely
consistent. These are narratives from  different points of view. Spreading Fear,Uncertainty
and Doubt are attempts to malign the Bible.

  Is the Bible the actual Word of God. As a Whole the Bible is the inspired Word of God.
Why did i say that? The Bible Old Testament or the Tanakh has portions where Yahweh
speaks in so much as he carves his Commandments on Stone Tablets. You can,
empirically state, based on a benchmark that the Ten Commandments is the direct Word
of Yahweh, if he wrote it on tablets. The narrative of the Tanakh is really Yahweh's
continual pursuit of the Israelites.

 The difference is the Revelation of  Yahweh was/is revealed in Messiah Yeshua in the
New Testament to the Nations. I believe that Yeshua, Yahweh and the Ruach Hakodesh
(Holy Spirit) make up his Triune Nature. 

It was Yeshua's command to reach out to the nations
  
¹⁸ Jesus came and told his disciples, “I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth. ¹⁹ Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations,^[b] baptizing them in the name
of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. ²⁰ Teach these new disciples to obey all the
commands  I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end 
of the age.”

 ~ Matthew 28

Grace, Redeeming Grace

           My Muslim friend, for anonymity. I'll call him 'Kash'. Once remarked,
'and JC will save you' which i  found quite sarcastic. I wondered why Kash would make
such a remark in a nonchalant manner. I realized he was looking at Christianity from the
lense of a Non-Christian.

          You see, Kash is a Very Moral person. He gives alms (Zakat), fasts (Ramadan) and
does not have any overt vices that  i am aware off. An overall Responsible Citizen that is
a Positive Contributor to Society. On his Merits alone; by far, Kash, you could say, is a
Better Person that i am.

      Why did i take the time to describe Kash? Simply, he views Christians on a
'Moral Weight Scale'. His 'Moral Scale' is on a much 'Heavier Level' compared to me or
at the very least, that is how he see's himself. Question? Is this because he believes he is
Holier or is it because the Christian Life does not reflect what a Follower of  Yeshua should
be. Hypocrites, who call themselves Christians.

 
I can only address the second issue. This is my perspective on the Christian Life. When i
accepted Yeshua as my Lord and Saviour. If my confession was/is sincere. I literally
accepted the Holy Spirit in me and the Blood of Yeshua continually cleanses my Sin. The
'Cross' becomes the central theme in my Life. I am still a Sinner but have been redeemed
and continue to be redeemed.  Can a Christian be a Hypocrite? Sadly yes, Yeshua himself
remarked

²¹ “Not everyone who calls out to me, ‘Lord! Lord!’ will enter the Kingdom of Heaven.

Only those who actually do the will of my Father in heaven will enter. On judgment 

day many will say to me, ‘Lord! Lord! We prophesied in your name and cast out demons

in your name and performed many miracles in your name.’  But I will reply, ‘I never

 knew you. Get away from me, you who break God’s laws.’ ~ Matthew 7:21-23

 Muslim Apologists like to play 'Musical Chairs' when it comes to the verse above. They
infer  that the verse implies accepting Islam as the true faith. This is incorrect. Yeshua
was talking directly to his disiples about doing his Fathers will and standing himself judging
the dead. Should Christians despair. I  Think Not. Listen to what Paul say's to the Philipians

 

³ Every time I think of you, I give thanks to my God.  Whenever I pray, I make my requests 

for all of you with joy, for you have been my partners in spreading the Good News about 

Christ from the time you first heard it until now.  And I am certain that God, who began the 

good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when 

Christ Jesus returns. ~ Philippians 1:3-6

         

Counterfeit Christianity

The early Church Fathers codified the Nicene Creed (325 A.D.) to
stamp out Heresy. Followed by, the Athanasian Creed (500 A.D.) to
further define the nature of Christ in very concise language.
Counterfeit Christianity or as commonly known as Cults do not accept
Christ Divinity as documented by the early church. That is  why they
will always attack the Doctrine of the Trinity.

I believe a Greater Counterfeit is coming. Yeshua was the one who
warned of counterfeits in the Last Days

,4“Tell us, when will these things be, and what will be the  sign 
when all these things are going to be fulfilled?”5And  Jesus began 
to say to them, “See to it that no one misleads  you.6“Many will 
come in My name, saying, ‘I am He!’ and will  mislead many.
7“When you hear of wars and rumors of wars, do not be frightened;
 those things must take place; but that is  not yet the end.8“For nation
 will rise up against nation,and kingdom against kingdom; there will 
be earthquakes invarious places; there will also be famines. These 
things are  merely the beginning of birth pangs.

~ Mark 13:4-8

Yeshua, also promised he would return

"Now learn a lesson from the fig tree. When its branches bud and its 
leaves begin to sprout, you know that summer is near."

~ Mark 13:28

Eschatology the study of end-times has always fascinated myself, as it,
pertains to Bible Prophecy. The Bible as a Prophetic Book is in itself, i believe,
evidence for Yahweh's existence.  Who is the Anti-Christ as predicted by
John the Revelator ? Who is the coming Islamic Prophet Al-Mahdi?