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I've been so busy debating on Facebook. The Christian chatroom I frequent most, is very good. There are three austere atheists that frequent the room, and a lot of profound Christians, as well as many baby Christians. Most of the atheists make fun of the Bible, in an unending rant of skepticism and stereotype. You explain something in a way that you hope they consider, but more often then not, they are not really seeking God, instead they are just looking to vent their skepticism. In all actuality, they are looking for God subconsciously; just being in the room on a daily basis "begs the question" of their motive. Just last night we discussed in length if there was a talking snake in the Book of Genesis. I had a hard time pointing out that Satan was a fallen angel, not a snake. In the Bible, Satan is called an angel of light, a roaring lion, a dragon, a serpent, and so on. These are metaphors that describe not what Satan "looks like" but what Satan "is like." Satan is sly and cunning, and I would suppose that he tempted Eve in much the same manner he tempts us today. That is, he sits on our shoulder, and mind-to-mind temptation becomes real as we lower the full armor of God, letting him in. I was challenged by the atheists as well as some Christians. A lot of comments get taken out of context, so further explanation is needed for contextualization. People share their burdens, their clichés, their testimonies, and a lot more. The scope of the room fortunately bleeds over into Christian Apologetics and theistic philosophies such as Theism, big-bang cosmology, and intelligent design. Strange as it may seem, the atheists are the best debaters on the big-bang, origins, macro and micro evolution, and intelligent design. I suppose this is because they don't have the Bible to grapple with, believing it is a less than credible source. As far as Christian history goes, it seems that atheists and many Christians are equally illiterate. I just debated a Christian that claimed the 4th Century Roman Emperor Constantine changed the Christian day of gathering from the Sabbath (Saturday), to The Lord's Day (Sunday). That followed by blaming the Church in Rome with changing the Ten Commandments. The fact is that Christians gathered on The Lord's Day over and over in the New Testament, because Jesus rose on Sunday. This was more than three hundred years before the rise of Constantine! God rested on the seventh day of creation, and we are to rest as well. The emphasis of The Sabbath changed as it kept pointing forward to its coming fulfillment. We now rest in the finished work of Jesus Christ, and are no longer bound to the ceremonial law (shadow) that pointed forward, and had its fulfillment in the Crystal Christ, The Paragon of Virtue! Once the anti-type has come, we no longer look back to shadows and types. That would be equivalent to what the Book of Hebrews says "would be the trampling under foot the precious blood of Jesus Christ." Are you resting in the life and Person of Jesus Christ?
ARCHIVES:
Did Jesus shy away from the cross?
George Tiller: He died the way he lived.
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Life's storms.
Look not at that which is seen.
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