tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-437964542052755799.post1286725557188752438..comments2024-02-13T08:49:07.287-04:00Comments on 'Thought & Humor!': Trivial Pursuit At UNC!Professor Howdyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12189934292678757335noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-437964542052755799.post-35839619438203416282009-03-18T11:09:00.000-03:002009-03-18T11:09:00.000-03:00History and What Really HappenedIn a special docum...History and What Really Happened<BR/><BR/>In a special documentary, a major television network investigated the beginnings of Christianity and the influence of the apostle Paul in spreading the message of Christ. The narrator noted his fascination with the historical figure, commenting that if not for the voice of Paul, it is “unlikely that the movement Jesus founded would have survived beyond the first century.” Yet of the resurrection of Christ he also noted, “Something must have happened, otherwise it’s hard to explain how Jesus’s story endured for so long.”<BR/><BR/>It is a question worth our time: Why has the story of Christ endured? Has it survived through the centuries because of effective speakers in antiquity? Has it endured, as Sigmund Freud argued, because it is a story that fulfills wishes, or as Friedrich Nietzsche attested, because it masks and medicates our disgust of life? Has the story of Christ endured because something really happened after Jesus’s body was taken down from<BR/>the Cross or was it only the clever marketing of ardent followers?<BR/><BR/>We live in an age where religion is examined with the goal of finding a religion, or a combination of religions, that best suits our lives and lifestyles. We are intrigued by characters in history like Jesus and Paul, Buddha and Gandhi. We look at their lives and rightly determine their influence in history--the radical life and message of Christ, the fervor with which Paul spread the story of Christianity, the passion of Buddha, the social awareness of Gandhi. But far too often, our fascination stops there, comfortably and confidently keeping the events of history at a distance or mingling them all together as one and the same.<BR/><BR/>C.S. Lewis often wrote of “the great cataract of nonsense” that blinds us to knowledge of earlier times and keeps us content with history in pieces. He speaks of the common tendency to treat the voices of history with a certain level of incredulity and inferiority. Elsewhere, he refers<BR/>to this as chronological snobbery, a tendency to concern oneself primarily with present sources while dissecting history as we please. Yet to do so, warns Lewis, is to walk unaware of the cataracts through which we see the world today. Far better is the mind that thoroughly considers the past, allowing its lessons to interact with the army of voices that battle for our allegiance. For a person who has lived thoroughly in many eras is far less likely to be deceived by the errors of his own age.<BR/><BR/>We must be wary, then, among other things, of assuming the earliest followers of Christ thought resurrection a reasonable phenomenon or miracles a natural occurrence. Investigating the life of Paul, it seems important to ask why a once fearful persecutor of Christ’s followers was willing to die for the story he carried around the world, testifying to the very event that split history. Investigating the enduring story of Christ, it is logical to ask why the once timid and frightened<BR/>disciples were abruptly transformed into bold witnesses. What happened that led countless Jews and many others to dramatically change directions in life and in lifestyle? That something incredible happened is not a difficult conclusion at which to arrive. It takes far greater faith to conclude otherwise.<BR/><BR/>A friend of mine is fond of saying that truth is something you can hang your hat on. Even as we struggle to see it today, her words communicate a reality Jesus’s disciples knew well. Truth is dependable and enduring; it is solid and it is real. The disciples and the apostle Paul were transformed by seeing Christ alive--a phenomenon that would be just as unthinkable to ancient minds as it would be for us today. In fact, even the most hesitant among them, and the most unlikely of followers, found the resurrected Christ an irrefutable reality. Comfort was irrelevant; personal preference was not a consideration. They could not deny who stood in front of them. Jesus was alive. And<BR/>they went to their deaths proclaiming it.<BR/><BR/>It seems the story of Christ has endured for innumerable reasons: because in the fullness of time God indeed sent his Son; because knowingly Jesus walked to the Cross and into the hands of those who knew not what they did; because something really happened after his body was laid in the tomb; and because with great power and God’s grace, the apostles continued to testify of the events they saw. Moreover, the story of Christ remains today because it is true. Through centuries of lives that have withered like grass, those who believe in Christ have stood on that which is enduring: “And you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Mighty One and coming on the clouds of heaven.”<BR/><BR/><BR/>Jill Carattini is managing editor of A Slice of Infinity at Ravi Zacharias International Ministries in Atlanta, Georgia.<BR/><BR/>(1) Mark 14:62.<BR/><BR/><BR/>Most of us have probably seen the bumper sticker that reads, “Jesus is the Answer.” Of course, the<BR/>skeptic’s response is, “Well, then, what’s the question?” Ravi continues unfolding the truth in part three of his message – don’t miss it! <BR/>Click here to listen to today's Just Thinking: http://www.rzim.org/USA/Resources/Listen/JustThinking.aspxAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-437964542052755799.post-60899436144619025162009-03-18T11:07:00.000-03:002009-03-18T11:07:00.000-03:00My friend Stan was having some new computer system...My friend Stan was having some new computer systems installed in his office. In the course of their work, the installers asked him what his password was. Well, in order to understand his answer, you need to know that Stan has experienced a dramatic life change because of something that happened to him spiritually a few years ago. He told the computer guys, "My password is 'Jesus.'" Needless to say, they weren't exactly ready for that one. One of them said, "So you can't get in without Jesus?" My friend smiled and said, "Exactly."<BR/><BR/>"You can't get in without Jesus." That's not just my friend's computer systems. That's you and me going to heaven. The ultimate object of every religion is that we might end up with eternal life. The ultimate hope of every religious person is that they will make it to heaven when they die. But heaven is God's place, and we can only get there God's way.<BR/><BR/>In Acts 4:12, our word for today from the Word of God, He makes that way very clear. Speaking of Jesus, He says, "Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved." Notice the "life-or-deathness" of the words God chooses: "salvation" and "saved." See, those are words about a rescuer getting us out of a deadly situation. He says that's Jesus. Our eternal problem is that there is a spiritual death penalty for us running our own lives, for all the things we've done our way instead of God's way. And just as if we were trapped in the rubble of a collapsed building or drowning, our only hope is a Rescuer. And thank God, He sent one - but only one.<BR/><BR/>This isn't about the superiority of one religion over another; it's about the availability of only one Savior from the penalty of our sin. No one else even claimed to pay that death penalty for us. And that's our only hope of heaven, because we can't get into heaven with our sin, and only the One who paid for our sin can remove it. If a religion could get us to God, take your pick. But it's a Savior we need, and only Jesus paid the price to be that.<BR/><BR/>So the sobering reality is this: if you're depending on anything or anyone other than Jesus to get you to heaven, you're not going to make it. Even if your religion is all about Jesus, that's not enough. It's about you totally depending on Jesus to forgive your sin and get you to heaven. The question is: has there ever been a time in your life when you have explicitly told Jesus Christ that you're putting your total trust in Him and what He did on the cross for you? If not, this could be that time. Please do not risk another day without knowing that you belong to Jesus Christ. This might be the day for you to begin that relationship.<BR/><BR/>There is no greater peace. There's no greater security than to know for sure that there has been a time when you put your life in the hands of Jesus Christ. You can talk to Him right where you are right now in words something like this: "Jesus, I resign from the running of my own life. I will not drive any more. You will. Forgive me for all the times I have done things against You; things that are against the way you put me here to live. And I am putting all my trust in You because You died for me to remove my death penalty from my sin. And because You love me so much, I know I can trust You. Beginning today, I am Yours."<BR/><BR/>If you'd like to know for sure that you belong to Him and would like to see some of the statements in the Bible that will guarantee you that, I would encourage you to check out our website at your first opportunity today. That's what it's all about YoursForLife.net. Or I could send you my little booklet Yours For Life with similar information in it if you just call us toll free. The number is 877-741-1200.<BR/><BR/>There is no greater sense of security than to know that you're going to heaven when you die. You can know that today because you have trusted Jesus to take you there.<BR/><BR/><BR/> <BR/>Ron Hutchcraft<BR/> <BR/><A HREF="http://www.yoursforlife.net/alpha/" REL="nofollow"><B>Click Here</B></A><BR/><A HREF="http://www.needhim.org/" REL="nofollow"><B>Click Here</B></A><BR/> <BR/><B><BR/>Wist u dat de God van u houdt?<BR/>Avez-vous su que Dieu vous aime ?<BR/>Wußten Sie, daß Gott Sie liebt?<BR/>Avete saputo che il dio li ama?<BR/>Você soube que o deus o ama?<BR/>¿Usted sabía que el dios le ama? </B><BR/><BR/>http://everystudent.com/menus/intl.html<BR/><BR/><A HREF="http://everystudent.com/menus/intl.html" REL="nofollow"><B>Click Here</B></A><BR/><A HREF="http://www.everystudent.com/videoroom.php" REL="nofollow"><B>Click Here</B></A><BR/> <BR/><B><BR/>Beautiful Music With Pictures: </B><BR/> <BR/><A HREF="http://BeautifulMusicPics.notlong.com" REL="nofollow"><B>Click Here</B></A><BR/> <BR/><I>Last More than an hour!!!<BR/> <BR/></I>Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-437964542052755799.post-60490811984280694432007-08-31T12:04:00.001-03:002007-08-31T12:04:00.001-03:00Dear Dr. Howdy,I'm a German student. The firsttime...Dear Dr. Howdy,<BR/><BR/>I'm a German student. The first<BR/>time I got your e-mail was two<BR/>months ago. I don't know, how<BR/>did you get my e-mail address,<BR/>but I'm really happy about this.<BR/>I like you because you make me<BR/>smile and think!<BR/><BR/>Thank you!<BR/><BR/>SonjaAnonymousnoreply@blogger.com