Faith Statement
This is in my opinion the most important part of this website. You may be asking why I say this. The answer is simple. Very simple. I believe this part is the most important because it gives a good understanding of who I am, and what defines and motivates me in my life.
My faith statement is this: I believe in The One True God, who created (yes, I said CREATED) the heavens and the earth. I believe in His Son, Jesus Christ, whom God the Father sent to this earth as flesh and blood, to live among us as the perfect living sacrifice for our sins. He was beaten, bruised, nailed to a cross, and died. His blood was shed for our sins. Three days later, he rose, defeating death and the grave so that we may have eternal life through Him and someday, when we pass from this life, join God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit for all eternity.
Now, you may be asking yourself, why does he believe this? The answer is quite simple really:
1. I first of all believe the Bible to be the true word of God, inspired by God, and preserved by God so that His purposes may be accomplished. It has been proven through various studies and research by well known scientists and scholars that the Bible is the most accurately preserved piece of literature, even through its various translations. It has been proven that it has been more accurately preserved than Shakespeare's works and other literary works. Why? Because it is God's word.
2. I also believe this to be true due to the fact of the world we live in and all its complexity. Granted, science is a wonderful thing, but who were the first scientists? Christians. Now I know, some people will argue that the early church prosecuted the early scientists. I will not dispute that fact in the least. However, you must look at who (or what the early church was). I will not go into what denomination that early church was, but, anyone who knows their history, and does a little digging (trust me, it wont take much) can easily figure out who it was.
Now, some people will argue till they're blue in the face that we "evolved" (yuck). First off, it has been proven that one species has not and can't evolve into another. Evolution, or "Darwinism" points that evolutionism is a "survival of the fittest". If that is the case, and humans supposedly evolved from monkeys or apes, then why on earth are they still here??
With all that being said (I could keep going on..but to save space here I will continue on) it is evident that the world in all its complexity was created by a higher power, someone of vast intelligence. We are not here by chance people. Say hello to my little friend, Intelligent Design (otherwise known as God). There are many scientists nowadays that are really taking a step back and taking a long, hard look at Intelligent Design. Many have made the call that this is a more viable option than Darwinism and evolution. I don't know about you..but I find it a hard pill to swallow that we came from a pool of primordial ooze that just happened to catch light just right that refracted off a raindrop that was on a rock. Sounds a little far fetched and lame. If you want to get a really good grip on Intelligent Design and what it's about, rent the movie "Expelled" by Ben Stein. It is really an eye opener and gives you an idea of just how complex life at the molecular level really is.
3. Faith. I would have to say this reason is the biggest one of all, because without faith, you can't have the rest. Now, by no means am I a perfect person, nor do I claim to be. There are times I do have doubts in my faith and beliefs. But the good news is...that is perfectly normal! If you don't have doubts, then you never had the belief in the first place. Doubt and questions are a process by which our faith strengthens and grows. And the great thing is, we can pray to God to help us get through our periods of unbelief. He is always there to help us through those rough times. Now I know, some people will say "God never answered my prayers and gave me what I wanted or helped me when I needed it." To that I have this answer: God sees all, knows all, and is all. He knows the past, present and future. What we may think is the best for us today may not be the best for us down the road. That's why things happen the way they do sometimes, because God sees the WHOLE picture, and based off of that, answers our prayers accordingly. He gives one of three answers: Yes, No, or wait a little while.
Wow, this got a little longer than I had expected it to, but these are the things that God has put on my heart to share about my faith and beliefs. Also, remember this: God is not about "religion", He is about faith. Religion is repetitively doing the same things over and over, getting the same results. One could classify getting up in the morning and shaving as religious. However, faith goes deeper than that. Faith is going that extra mile..stepping outside the box...living and following Christ's example and helping others not because we feel we have to to earn brownie points to win favor in God's eyes or get to heaven (that price was paid with the shedding of Christ's blood for our sins) but because we want to!