Christian Dating

It doesn't matter how long some Christians date , It's just like at the end some get married and then they are shocked and amazed saying "I didn't know he/she is like this" !.

Well We just need to keep in mind that Before we get Marriages right , we must get the Dating right.

Now the Whole Purpose of Dating is about Discovering....The learning of what somebody really like.

So many Christians are buying to the idea of "a Soul Mate" , rather than really looking at the person character and evaluating what is the person like...who are they ?. They just keep looking for this magical connection called 'Soul Mate" which is a concept based on pagan teaching (Greek Mythology). We sometimes as Christians take some wrong concepts and spiritualize it saying that "God has one special person just for you."..The Bible never talked about a Soul Mate !.

That's why christian man or woman should choose his/her mate relying on God 's word which is represented in Bible and matching the Characterstics of a True Christian.

Let's put Five Essential things that must be kept in mind while Dating:

1) Faith : You shouldn't be dating or marrying someone who is unbeliever because the min you do that , you are connecting with someone who doesn't live by Christian Principles.

2) Watch their Reactions :You need to look at their reactions . It's easy to act or pretend but it's really hard to react in a certain way because when you react then you will find what you really made of.

3) Factor their Past:You need to factor in their Past. Yes things in past are forgiven and white as snow before God BUT There are still residual effects of that stuff.

For Example: Person just got saved and Yes everything became new in christ BUT you are not marrying his/her spirit only but you are marrying the package (The whole person) and They need to work that stuff out. Keep in mind that once someone get saved , it takes time to work that out. Some christian Women who marry Guys because they became Christians...they have no time to see and now they are in misery.

God didn't invent Marriage to make you Miserable...You just need time to discover your partner and This should be done in Dating Process.

4) Their Family:It's really amazing How many Christians get married and they are miserable because of his/her spouse's family , They can't stand to the family.

If you can't stand to his/her Family then Run and find someone else! .Don't expect that his/her Family won't be involved in your Life after Marriage because simply they are part of your spouse life !....Also The Family should be given Birth to another Family and You should be part of this Whole Deal.

5) Use a Good Counselor in your Love Life: I mean don't Trust your own Decisions. Idealy It can be Pastor , a Friend or Someone you can Really Trust , Someone you can ask for Counseling about your Love Life. Listening to your Heart only will get you into Trouble in these things because Heart can be deceiving especially because all Emotions are there.

Bible says "Desire Wisdom and Understanding."

Some Christians despise Wisdom and desire Miracle.

.....despise Advice and desire Divine Revelation.

We have got to Stop That and Start being SMARTER !.

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Catholic Church is NOT the Whore of Babylon

Bible Evidences that Show that The Catholic Church is NOT the Whore of Babylon

I think we have to make an important distinction. Pagan Rome of the first century is much different than Christian Rome (Catholic Church).... Pagan Rome tried to squash and kill Christianity, while Christian Rome embraced it. It was a massive conversion and perhaps one of the most important historical moments in Christian history. It is quite likely that Revelation is speaking about Rome, but it is speaking about ancient Pagan Rome.

I would like to stress that this study does not represent the opinion of a cerain denomination but my own belief based on the biblical truth.

Probably EVERY Denomination has some Doctrinal Errors BUT They ALL Complete each others in HARMONY because Jesus's Church is ONE and UNIVERSAL !

But when There is an Accusation Then We must study God's word to Know the TRUTH about it.!!

Now Let's Continue our Study Together

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1) Persecuting The Apostles and Prophets

When the Whore falls we read,

"Rejoice over her, O heaven! Rejoice, saints and apostles and prophets! God has judged her for the way she treated you....In her was found the blood of prophets and of the saints, and of all who have been killed on the earth" ( Rev 18:20, 24).

This shows that the Whore persecuted not just Christians, but apostles and prophets. Apostles existed only in the first century, since one of the requirements for being an apostle was seeing the risen Christ (1 Cor. 9:1)..This proves that we are talking here about Pagan Rome and not Catholic Church (Christian Rome)!.

And For The Persecutions that Happened throughout History by the Early Catholic Church against the Protestant Reformation...We can't deny this Fact

Most certainly there have been some BAD POPES throughout history. Some Believers will point to this as proof that the Catholic Church is Pagan. Even Jesus chose a bad disciple, Judas. We don't say "Hey Jesus can't be the Saviour, he was pagan because he had a bad disciple." Of the first apostles, 11 out of twelve deserted him in Gethsemane .. Why would we think the Church would be spared from bad people if Jesus' original 12 yielded to the attacks of the devil.

Yet, The 11 disciples were not Bad like Judas !!...They became GREAT Apostles !.

Who doesn't sin ?! . Bible says "For there is not a just man on earth who does good and does not sin." (Ecclesiastes 7:20)

SO DON'T BE DECIEVED !!!.

We ALL come short of the glory of God.(Romans 3:23)

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2) The Seven Heads

Continuing in Revelation, the angel begins to explain to John the woman's symbolism: "This calls for a mind with wisdom: the seven heads are seven mountains on which the woman is seated; they are also seven kings, five of whom have fallen, one is, the other has not yet come, and when he comes he must remain only a little while" (Rev.17:9-10).

This passage gives us one reason why the Catholic Church cannot be the Whore. We are told that the heads "are also seven kings, five of whom have fallen, one is, the other has not yet come." If five of these kings had fallen in John's day and one of them was still in existence, then the Whore must have existed in John's day. Yet Christian Rome and Vatican City did not. However, pagan Rome did have a line of emperors, and the majority of commentators see this as the line of kings to which 17:10 refers. Five of these emperors are referred to as having already fallen, one as still reigning in John's time, and another yet to come. Since Jerusalem had no such line of kings in the first century, this gives us evidence that the Beast (though not the Whore) is Pagan Rome not Christian Rome (Catholic Church).

Now bring in the distinction between Pagan Rome and Vatican City-the city where the Catholic Church is headquartered. Vatican City is not built on seven hills, but only one: Vatican Hill, which is not one of the seven upon which ancient Pagan Rome was built. Those seven hills are on the east side of the Tiber river; Vatican Hill is on the west !!

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3) Clothed in Purple and Red

"and cry out: "'Woe! Woe, O great city, dressed in fine linen, purple and scarlet, and glittering with gold, precious stones and pearls!" (Revelation 18:16)

Purple and red are not the dominant colors of Catholic clerical vestments. White is. All priests wear white (including bishops and cardinals when they are saying Mass)-even the pope does so.

The liturgical meaning of purple and red in Catholic symbolism. Purple symbolizes repentance, and red honors the blood of Christ and the Christian martyrs.

God commanded that scarlet yarn and wool be used in liturgical ceremonies (Lev. 14:4, 6, 49-52; Num. 19:6), and He commanded that the priests' vestments be made with purple and scarlet yarn .(Ex. 28:15, 33 and Ex.39:1-8)

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4) Reigns over Kings

"The woman you saw is the great city that rules over the kings of the earth." (Revelation 17:18)

This passage of Revelation makes sense when it is referring to Pagan Rome but makes no sense when Christians try to associate it with modern Christian Rome. The passage says that the Whore will have power over kings. Modern Rome has no power over modern "kings", in fact there are almost no kings left in the world. Nor does the Church have power over political leaders, otherwise abortion, contraception, and pornography would not be legal in the civilized world. Revelation says that whore was the center of commerce. (Rev 18:17-19) No economist today will say that modern Rome is a leader in commerce. The US, Japan etc are. However, ancient Pagan Rome was a leader in commerce.

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Buddhism and Christianity 2

III. Suffering

A. Buddhist Teaching

The Buddhist teaching regarding suffering is based on the "Four truths":

1. Suffering is an essential part of life. Troubles are basic and inherent to life.

2. The cause of suffering is human desire.

Man suffers because of his desire for personal enjoyment and possessions, but especially because of the desire to continue to exist as an individual, separate and distinct from others. The highest destiny of man, according to many Buddhists, is to cease existence as a separate and distinct individual, and enter the state of Nirvana. The earthly life is an illusion, but due to ignorance man continues to desire to exist. This desire causes rebirth to other lives and since life involves suffering, we continue to suffer.

3. The solution to suffering is to eliminate earthly desires, especially the desire to exist as an individual.

4. The steps to defeat these desires are the "Eightfold Path" (see point IV below).

B. The Bible Teaching about Suffering

It is true that suffering is a part of life. (Job 5:7) "But man is born unto trouble, as the sparks fly upward."

This basically agrees with the first "truth" of Buddhism.

Suffering exists as the consequences of man's sin or as a temptation to sin.

(1 Peter 2:19-22) Jesus suffered, though he was guilty of no sin. We should suffer in the same way.

1 Peter 4:14-16, Some suffering is the result of our evil doing, but instead we may suffer because others do some evil to us. So not all suffering is the result of our own sins. Sometimes we suffer because others sin.

Hence, suffering may or may not be the result or our own wrong desires.

Buddhism teaches us to eliminate all natural desires. The Bible says that every natural desire has a good and proper way to be fulfilled.

The proper goal of man is, not to eliminate all desires from his life, but to know God's will and control the desires accordingly.

The way to overcome suffering is, not to strive to defeat it yourself, but to trust in God and serve Him.

Romans 8:16-18 - If we suffer with Christ we receive a reward far greater than the suffering. [James 1:12; 2 Corinthians 4:16f; Matthew 5:10ff]

Buddhism does not have a solution to suffering. Only the Bible provides a true solution.

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IV. Achieving the Goal of Life

A. Buddhist Teaching

Conservative Buddhists follow the "Eightfold Path"

This is a way of life consisting of 8 steps in which one disciplines himself till all earthly desires are eliminated. The idea is to avoid two extremes: avoid indulging in luxury and pleasures, but also avoid self-torture or depriving oneself of necessities.

The eight steps are: right views, aspirations, speech, conduct, mode of livelihood, effort, awareness, and concentration. Great self-control is needed to develop these to necessary perfection.

This process depends on human effort without divine aid (remember, conservative Buddhism has nothing to do with God).

Liberal Buddhists teach that there are many different methods to accomplish the purpose of life.

The leading concept of realizing perfection among liberal Buddhists involve Bodhisattvas. These are people who earn perfection (as above), but postpone Nirvana in order to provide perfection for others. Other Buddhists, at lower stages of perfection, can obtain Nirvana by appealing to their favorite Bodishattva - honoring, praying, repeating his name. Thus his merit is transferred to them. This is much easier than the conservative view, for not all must earn perfection.

B. The Bible Teaching

Man cannot save himself without God.

Jesus is the Savior.

Liberal Buddhism says some men can save other men. The Bible says no man can save himself, nor can anyone else save him except Jesus.

Romans 3:23 , All men have sinned. How can another man who sinned die to pay the penalty for my sins? He deserves to die for his own sins. Jesus was the Divine Son of God who died for our sins though He was sinless (1 Peter 2:21-24).

It is not true that some must be perfect to be saved but others can be saved on lesser conditions. All must be saved by accepting the same conditions.

Acts 10:34,35, God is no respecter of persons; in every nation, he who fears God and works righteousness will be acceptable.

Conclusion

Buddhism worships either no god or else false gods. Many Buddhists believe that man must achieve the solution to his own problems over a period of many lives by human effort.

The gospel provides the only true way to worship the only true God. It provides a way for man to be forgiven by the death of the Son of God who paid the penalty for our sins. To receive the benefit, we must trust Jesus and obey Him in this life. Then we have the hope of eternal life.

Buddhism and Christianity 1

Tolerance is something we wouldn't hold to when considering a medical question. If someone with questionable qualifications were giving medicine to our child, surely we wouldn't stand back and ignore it on the basis of tolerance. Why then should we ignore dangers, inaccuracies, etc. when it comes to the well-being of the soul? Taking a critical stance is not always wrong. The Bible is not silent when it comes to speaking out against false teachings.

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The History of Buddhism

Buddhism is similar on a number of points to Hinduism. Buddhism began in India in about the 6th century B.C., and from there it spread throughout Asia. Today it is found mainly in Japan, China, and the Far East.

The system was begun by Gautama Buddha (the title "Buddha" means "one who is enlightened"). He was born about 563 B.C., and raised in a very wealthy family where he was protected from problems and suffering. Later he was exposed to suffering and became concerned with the cause of it. At age 29 he left his wife and son to seek a solution.

He tried and rejected both Hinduism and extreme self-deprival (asceticism). After 6 years of seeking, he arrived at the system that became Buddhism. He established an order of monks and one of nuns devoted to his plan of overcoming suffering, then he spent the rest of his life as a wandering religious teacher.

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Major divisions of Buddhism

Buddhists have tried to adapt their religion to the views of people converted from other religions. The result was that people could believe almost anything and be Buddhist. The differences within Buddhism can be likened, not to the differences between Catholics and Protestants, but to those between Christians, Jews, and Moslems. These vast differences make it extremely difficult to characterize Buddhism in general. No matter how you attempt to describe Buddhism, many Buddhists will object because they believe some different variation of Buddhism. [WR 169]

We will examine two major branches of Buddhism:

* Theravada is the older, conservative wing which follows the original teachings of Gautama. These Buddhists are found mainly in Southern Asia - Thailand, Burma, etc.

* Mahayana is the newer, liberal wing of Buddhism. Those of this view refer to conservatives as the "little vehicle" and themselves as the "great vehicle" because they believe their views are more practical for most people. They are found mainly in central and northern Asia - Japan, China, Korea, etc.

We will attempt to describe some concepts often accepted in Buddhism, but please remember that there are vast variations within Buddhism. The material here presented is based on the Encyclopedia Britannica .

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I. God

A. Buddhist Teaching about God

The Conservative View : Gautama taught nothing about God. He refused even to deny or affirm God's existence. He definitely denied that he himself was divine.Instead his teachings were designed to obtain relief from suffering by means of human effort alone. Original and conservative Buddhism involves neither faith nor worship, neither prayer nor praise nor forgiveness of sins. In that sense, conservative Buddhism is not really a religion but a moral philosophy designed to overcome suffering.

The Liberal View : Liberal Buddhists do accept existence of Deity, an absolute Supreme Being or power. In fact they deify Gautama Buddha as divine, even though he himself denied it!. Prayers and worship are offered to Buddhas, including use of images.

B. The Bible Teaching.

Romans 1:20 - "Though God is invisible, His power and divinity can be seen through the things that are made."

The Conservative View says, "There is no God who created the world and controls man's destiny. Man is his own master. The way is one of self-effort, free from prayer and superstition" .

Well This reminds me with scripture when God said "My people have committed two sins: They have forsaken me, the spring of living water, and have dug their own cisterns, broken cisterns that cannot hold water" (Jeremiah 2: 13).

Furthermore, man cannot be divine and cannot become God.

Ezekiel 28:2,6-10 - God brings a curse on any man who claims to be God.

Conservative Buddhism contradicts the Bible evidence that God exists and that the purpose of religion is to please God. Liberal Buddhism contradicts the Bible teaching that there is one God and that man is not divine.

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II. The Destiny of Man

A. Buddhist Teaching about God

Rebirth (reincarnation)

Regarding the spirit of man, conservatives believe man has no spirit or inner part that lives after death. Only the consequences of past deeds (karma) lives from life to life. Liberals believe man has a spirit that continues from life to life. Many Buddhists believe that, when a man dies, he will return to live as another human on earth. The cycle of birth and rebirth continues indefinitely until one is "released."

Karma (action)

Everything (good or bad) that happens to a man is the result of his conduct in previous lives. What happens in future lives is determined by his actions now. Nothing is really a result of a person's environment, the acts of others, or the work of God. All is payment for what the person himself did in the past.

Nirvana (release)

Conservative Buddhists believe that the ultimate goal of man is to be released from the cycle of rebirth and suffering. This is a state of rest without continuation of earthly desires. Whether or not this state is conscious is not defined. They deny annihilation, but they also deny existence as individuals distinct from others. Liberal Buddhists do believe in a concept of conscious happiness.

B. The Bible Teaching.

Rebirth (reincarnation)

Man lives and dies (physically) only once. In Hebrews 9:27 "It is appointed to man once to die."

"and the dust returns to the ground it came from, and the spirit returns to God who gave it."[Ecclesiastes 12:7]. Man lives one life then dies. At Jesus' return, the spirit is reunited with the body and man is judged for that one life. There is no other life on earth and no other chance to please God after this life.

Karma (action)

I'll start by really explaining what karma is defined as. When you really look at it, karma is just about cause and effect. If you do good things, good things will happen to you. If you do bad things, bad things will happen to you. When you apply this to the idea of reincarnation (the origin of the idea of karma), then a person that leads a good life will be reincarnated into a higher state of being, while a person that leads a bad life will be reincarnated into a lower state of being. The way you live your life causes you to either be rewarded or punished.

Whether or not you attribute karma to reincarnation, the idea of "what goes around comes around" is not at all compatible with Christianity. Christianity teaches that we all have done bad things, and we all deserve punishment. We can't atone for our misdeeds by trying to do good deeds. Christianity believes in grace, not karma. They are two completely contradictory ideas, and you cannot logically believe in both. Karma says you get the reward or punishment that you deserve. Grace says you get the reward even if you deserve the punishment.

"The beauty of grace is that it makes life not fair." -Be My Escape by Relient K

If we always reap what we sow, the Bible would clearly confirm this. To the contrary; let's look at just a few passages of scripture that contradict karmic philosophy:

Jeremiah 12:13: "They have sown wheat and have reaped thorns, they have strained themselves to no profit."

Psalm 126:5: "Those who sow in tears shall reap with joyful shouting."

Galatians 6:7: "Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, this he will also reap. For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life."

In contrary to karmic philosophy, we won't necessarily reap what we sow! John 4:38 states, "I sent you to reap that for which you have not labored [sown]; others have labored and you have entered into their labor."

And 1 Corinthians 3:7 states, "So then neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but God who causes the growth."

As we can see, believers who think that karma is a Christian concept are mistaken (missing the mark). Nothing we think, say or do determines a karmic cycle, for the Bible tells us that our "righteous works" are as filthy rags to the Lord (Isaiah 64:6), and that our righteousness is only in Jesus Christ, our Savior (2 Corinthians 5:21)!

Whilst on the cross, Our Lord promised the good thief he would be with him in paradise that very day. Under karmic law, a thief of his ilk would have necessitated hundreds of life times to remove his own karma. Our Lord carries this burden for each of us. If reincarnation were a reality, perhaps some might like to spend hundreds of lifetimes on this very sad world to be released - but why would they?

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To be Continued "Buddhism and Christianity 2"

The Battle is in your Mind

1) Mental Strongholds

The Stronghold is an area that is dominated by an enemy. If Satan dominates your attitude toward yourself, God, food, or money, etc., he is in control in that area.

"For the weapons of our warfare are not physical, but they are mighty before God for the overthrow and destruction of strongholds." (2 Corinthians 10:4-5)

Satan relentlessly seeks to build strongholds in our minds. He is a liar and he only lies or twists the truth, which is lying. He deceives. We are deceived when we believe things that are not true.

we see that the whispered voices within that we often times hear echoing in our mind which most deem as merely their own thoughts COULD be an angel or even the God Jesus or the Holy Ghost. We also find in God's Word that satan talks to souls too. Satan can cause THOUGHTS to be planted in our mind. Generally, His best method of communicating with God's people as to plant his seeds of deceit is by using human whisperers.

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2) A Deceived Mind Produces A Deceived Life

Eve was deceived by the lies of Satan. He attacked her mind.(Genesis 3:1-6). Adam and Eve were both punished for hearing and believing his lies......

Judas became victim of satan's whispers ...In ( John 13:2) "And supper being ended, the devil having now put into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon's son, to betray him;"

Eve and Judas should have checked their hearts !

Jesus told us "Watch out that no one deceives you." (Matthew 24:4)

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3) The Renewing Of The Mind Is A Vital Necessity.

while Satan cannot read our minds, he can influence our thoughts. Thus, the Bible instructs us to "put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes" (Eph. 6:11).

Our mind must be renewed if we want to experience God's good plan. "Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is--his good, pleasing and perfect will." (Romans 12:2)

The Fruits of Satan whispers are Hatred , Anger , Pride.....etc , The enemy of your soul is trying to change your spirit so you would not "inherit the kingdom of God" so WATCH OUT !!

It is time to move on. Because Where the mind goes, the man follows.

Set your mind and keep it set on what is above (high things), not on low earthly things. It is a process, so don't give up!

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What About Atrocities That Have Been Done in the Name of Religion?

Many atheists claim that religion is evil and, as such, cannot be from God. It is true that there are many examples of evil committed in the name of Christianity. In the past, those who disagreed with "official" church doctrine, such as Galileo were persecuted or killed. Many other Christians were brought before the Inquisition because they were teaching from the Bible instead of from "officially sanctioned" Roman Catholic Church materials. In addition, the Crusades resulted in "holy" wars between "Christians," Jews, and Moslems. In more modern times, wars have been fought between Catholics and Protestants in Northern Ireland and between Jews and Arabs in the Middle East. However, common to all this violence was an underlying struggle for power. Today, some people kill abortionists in the name of God. Are these people unwilling pawns of religionor using religion to justify their own evil agendas?

History of human atrocities

Therefore, I absolutely agree with atheists and others who say that many atrocious things have been done in the name of God, and even in the name of Christianity. However, these atrocities were not perpetrated by God, but by evil human beings. If we look at the history of democide (which includes genocide, politicide, and mass murder, but not war-dead) prior to the 20th century, we find that millions of people were killed by people groups who wanted the other people groups eliminated. Note that these numbers do not include those killed through wars.

TABLE 3.1 Selected Pre-20th Century Democide and Totals1
Cases	Years2	Democide3	Religious?
China	221 B.C.-19 C.	33,519,0004	No
Mongols	14 C-15 C	29,927,000	No
Slavery of Africans	1451-1870	17,267,000	No
Amer-Indians	16 C-19 C	13,778,000	No
Thirty Years War	1618-1648	5,750,000	No
In India	13 C-1 9 C	4,511,0005	No
In Iran	5 C-19 C	2,000,0004,5	No
Ottoman Empire	12 C-19 C	2,000,0005	No
In Japan	1570-19 C	1,500,0005	No
In Russia	10 C-19 C	1,007,0005	No
Christian Crusades	1095-1272	1,000,000	Yes
Aztecs	Centuries	1,000,0006	Yes
Spanish Inquisition	16 C-18 C	350,000	Yes
French Revolution	1793-1794	263,000	No
Albigensian Crusade	1208-1249	200,000	Yes
Witch Hunts	15 C-17 C	100,000	Yes
Total For All Cases	pre-20 C	133,147,000	2,650,000
Hypothetical Total	30 C B.C.-19 C A.D.	625,716,0007
International war-related dead	30 C B.C.-19 C A.D.	40,457,0008
Plague dead (Black Death)	541 A.D.-1912	102,070,0009
Adopted from STATISTICS OF DEMOCIDE. Unless otherwise noted, years and centuries are A.D. Unless otherwise noted, these are a best guess estimate in a low to high range. Excludes democide in China by Mongols. An absolute low. A very speculative absolute low. From STATISTICS OF DEMOCIDE.. Calculated from the 20th century democide rate and the population for each century since 30 B.C. From table STATISTICS OF DEMOCIDE. Total undoubtedly inflated by democide. A minimum: includes plague dead in circa 541-542 A.D.; 1346-1771 in Europe; 1771 in Moscow; 1894 in Hong Kong; and 1898-1912 in India. From Duplaix (1988, p. 677-678).

What percentage of these killings were due to religious democide? It is less than 3% of the totals. The surprising thing is that these killings occurred during a period of time when virtually all the peoples of the world were involved in some sort of religion. Here is the data for the 20th century:

TABLE 1.2 20th Century Democide1
REGIMES	YEARS	DEMOCIDE2	Atheist?
U.S.S.R.	1917-87	61,911,000	Yes
China (PRC)	1949-87	35,236,000	Yes
Germany	1933-45	20,946,000	No
China (KMT)	1928-49	10,075,000	No
Japan	1936-45	5,964,000	No
China (Mao Soviets)3	1923-49	3,466,000	Yes
Cambodia	1975-79	2,035,000	Yes
Turkey (Armenian Genocide)	1909-18	1,883,000	No
Vietnam	1945-87	1,670,000	Yes
Poland	1945-48	1,585,000	Yes
Pakistan	1958-87	1,503,000	No
Yugoslavia (Tito)	1944-87	1,072,000	Yes
North Korea	1948-87	1,663,000	Yes
Mexico	1900-20	1,417,000	No
Russia	1900-17	1,066,000	Yes
China (Warlords)	1917-49	910,000	No
Turkey (Ataturk)	1919-23	878,000	No
United Kingdom	1900-87	816,000	No
Portugal (Dictatorship)	1926-82	741,000	No
Indonesia	1965-87	729,000	No
LESSER MURDERERS	1900-87	2,792,000	?
WORLD TOTAL	1900-87	169,202,000	107,047,000
From STATISTICS OF DEMOCIDE. Includes genocide, politicide, and mass murder; excludes war-dead. These are probable mid-estimates in low to high ranges. Figures may not sum due to round off. Guerrilla period.

Vox Day, in The Irrational Atheist, lists 22 atheistic regimes that committed 153,368,610 murders in the 20^th century alone:

Murders by Atheists (20^th Century)

Country	Dates	Murders
Afghanistan	1978-1992	1,750,000
Albania	1944-1985	100,000
Angola	1975-2002	125,000
Bulgaria	1944-1989	222,000
China/PRC	1923-2007	76,702,000
Cuba	1959-1992	73,000
Czechoslovakia	1948-1968	65,000
Ethiopia	1974-1991	1,343,610
France	1793-1794	40,000
Greece	1946-1949	20,000
Hungary	1948-1989	27,000
Kampuchea/Cambodia	1973-1991	2,627,000
Laos	1975-2007	93,000
Mongolia	1926-2007	100,000
Mozambique	1975-1990	118,000
North Korea	1948-2007	3,163,000
Poland	1945-1948	1,607,000
Romania	1948-1987	438,000
Spain (Republic)	1936-1939	102,000
U.S.S.R.	1917-1987	61,911,000
Vietnam	1945-2007	1,670,000
Yugoslavia	1944-1980	1,072,000

Figure 1. Percentage of democide based upon type of government control.

What percentage of this democide was due to religious conflict? It turns out that religious democide doesn't even make the top 20 (although I am sure there is some in the "lesser murderers" category. Still, the total religious killings is less than 2%. In fact, the top two killers were specifically atheistic states (which had never existed before in human history). Should atheism be blamed for more than 50% of the atrocities committed during the 20th century? The answer of course is No! If one examines the nature of the regimes that committed these atrocities (even the religious ones), the key factor is absolute power (see Figure 1, right). According to Professor R.J. Rummel, in the 1816-2005 period there were 205 wars between non-democracies, 166 wars between non-democracies and democracies, and 0 wars between democracies. Lord Acton's warning that "power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely" seems to be more than just a trite saying.

What about Christians who commit evil?

Jesus Himself addressed the issue of "Christians," performing evil deeds in a rather chilling prophecy:

"Many will say to Me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?' And then I will declare to them, 'I never knew you; DEPART FROM ME, YOU WHO PRACTICE LAWLESSNESS.'" (Matthew 7:22-23)

One should note that Jesus said that "many" people who think they are His followers will be rejected by Jesus when at the judgment when they attempt to claim that they are His disciples. Not all who claim the name of Jesus are actually His disciples. My guess is that in even the best of Christian churches only about half of the people have been truly born again (see John chapter 3).¹ Christianity should be judged on the basis of what Jesus said and did, not on the basis of the actions of people who merely claim to be Christians. Foxe's Book of Martyrs details the deaths of Christians who were killed because of their faith in Christ, in many cases by people claiming to be Christians.

How do you know if a person is a Christian or not?

We cannot know for certain whether a person is or is not a true Christian (only God can makes such a determination).² However, the Bible describes the nature of a person who is indwelt by the Holy Spirit³ (which happens at the point a person accept Jesus as Lord and Savior):

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. (Galatians 5:22-23)

In addition, the true believer does what is right and demonstrates love toward others.⁴ Even non-believers can readily see who the true Christians are. Ultimately, the behavior of those who claim to be Christians but practice evil should not be a consideration in determining if the claims of Christ are true or not.

Conclusion

Yes, "Christians" have committed atrocities against other religious and non-religious people. However, atheists have committed far more atrocities than all religious groups combined. Even so, the key factor in these atrocities has been totalitarian power, rather than religion, which has resulted in these hundreds of millions of murders. The Bible says that people are evil (and the statistics on this page support this claim), but that they can become transformed through the power of the Holy Spirit to live lives of love, joy and peace.

Rapture is Not Real

Definition of "Rapture"

It is a separate or secret event which will happen before Jesus second Coming at the end of the age.

Some Christians don't believe in the Rapture and Some believe that the Rapture will be BEFORE Tribulation, others believe that the Rapture will occur DURING Tribulation and still others believe that the Rapture will occur AFTER Tribulation.

In this Article , we are going to make a little research including evidences from Bible to know if The Rapture theory is Myth or a Fact . we will represent most claims and find answers for each in a very simple way from scriptures.

1) "One is taken along and one left." Mat 24:40

Some Christians just take one scripture to prove their point and not looking to the whole true meaning of passage. Let's read the whole paragraph together.

As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark; and they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them all away. That is how it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. Two men will be in the field; one will be taken and the other left.Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come. (Mat 24:37-42)

Did you catch that? It was all the wicked who were eating, drinking, and marrying that were "TAKEN AWAY," not Noah and his family! ......... Clearly the good are retained and kept, but the bad are severed and taken away! If ever there is to be a rapture, it will be A RAPTURE OF THE WICKED, not of the saints!

Now a few Scriptures to show that it was always God's intention that the righteous remain on this earth:

"The righteous shall never be REMOVED [or raptured]; and the wicked shall not inherit the earth" (Prove. 10:30).

"The righteous shall be recompensed in the EARTH [not raptured to heaven]" (Prov. 11:31).

"Take AWAY the dross from the silver ... Take AWAY the wicked from the King ..." (Prov. 25:4-5).

"They [the wicked] are as stubble before the wind, and as chaff that the storm carrieth AWAY " (Job 21:18).

"... take hold of the ends of the earth that the wicked might be shaken OUT of it" (John 38:13).

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2) Word " Immediately " in Mat 24:29

Let's Study this word "Immediately" in the light of Mark and Matthew Gospels. Look at the two sets of verses from these chapters to see they are describing the SAME SCENE !!

What proves that Matthew 24 is neither for the Gentile Christians ONLY nor for JEWISH Christians ONLY , but is the gathering of the entire body of Christ in heaven and on earth at His coming is the wording in Mark 13:27

"and shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from the uttermost part of the EARTH to the uttermost part of HEAVEN"

As we can see from two sets that they describe the SAME SCENE which is Jesus Second Coming.....If we are to believe the ones He gathers from heaven are a previously raptured Church seven years before His return at the end the age, then He gave no description of this rapture occurring in the four gospels in spite of its description of the seven year tribulation period. The mention of rapture is nowhere to be found. It is non-existent.

Furthermore, there are live saints in the earth who gathered as in Mark 13:27, SO in which case there would have to be another rapture in which the saints are raised or changed at His coming for they are gathered in 1 Thessalonians 4:15-17

15 For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep.

16 For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first:

17 Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. (1 Thessalonians 4:15-17)

The trumpet in Matthew 24:30-31 (look at table) matches that of verse 16 in 1 Thessalonians 4 where the dead in Christ shall rise so if This is a Rapture as some believers claim then this means that the Deads shall rise two Times one in the "First Rapture" and the second will be in "Second Coming" at the end of the age !!!......so word "Immediately" in Mat 24:29 doesn't make sense for those who believe that there is a secret or separate Rapture which will occur AFTER Tribulation before second coming at the end of age.

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3) "Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection" (Rev 20:5-6)

Some Christians believe that There are even TWO Resurrections and that There are even TWO deaths for those that do not choose to believe in Jesus relying their claim on the following scripture

"But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection. Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years." (Revelation 20:5-6)

Here The first resurrection doesn't mean A RAPTURE BUT it is experienced at the moment of salvation when we receive our brand new eternal soul. We become spiritually alive in salvation when God spiritually breathes on our spiritually dead soul, so that we are given a new soul. The Bible speaks of this as a resurrection (Colossians 3:1 and Revelation 20:5-6) or as being born again (John 3:3-8) or as having been regenerated (Titus 3:5)

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4) Period of Thousand Years

" He seized the dragon, that ancient serpent, who is the devil, or Satan, and bound him for a thousand years.He threw him into the Abyss, and locked and sealed it over him, to keep him from deceiving the nations anymore until the thousand years were ended. After that, he must be set free for a short time." (Rev 20:2-3)

John sees the vision of an angel who seizes satan and binds him for a period of a thousand years. Some believers generally call this period of a thousand years the "millennium" . The "millennium" is a harbinger of the end of the world, and the theories of when the "rapture" will occur center around this period of time.

We should also note that the "thousand years" language is part of apocalyptic literature and should not be interpreted literally.

For example,

In Psalm 50:10, we see the cattle on a "thousand hills" . The word "thousand" here obviously means a lot of hills.

In Dan. 7:10, a "thousand thousands" served him . Again, "thousand" means a lot.

In 2 Peter 3:8, "with God one day is a "thousand" years and a "thousand" years is one day."

SO...."Thousand" is Symbolic for a Long Time. It is NOT to be taken Literally.

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CORRELATION OF SIX PROPHECIES ON RETURN OF CHRIST

If we study the following table for a few minutes we are struck with the similarity of events described.

I think it should becoming clear by now that not only is there no evidence in the letter to support a secret rapture prior to Christ's return to His saints, but there is also no evidence to support a Scriptural division among the saints that would call for such a rapture either.

So what is the bottom line of all this? I think it is quite simple. It's observed that the four writers of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John did not put the exact same information in their accounts of our Lord's Crucifixion. But, that does by no means prove that their accounts are, (1) False, (2) Contradictory, or (3) Four different accounts of FOUR DIFFERENT CRUCIFIXIONS!. The chart above is likewise, not six accounts of SIX DIFFERENT COMINGS OF OUR LORD! Nor five, nor four, nor three, nor TWO! Jesus Christ returns a second time to rule with ALL His saints ONCE!

Clearly the Gentile saints are going to be WITH the Jewish saints in the Kingdom of Heaven!

Jesus Christ Himself foretold of the one union of these two different peoples:

"And other sheep have I which are not of this fold. Those also I must be leading, and they will be hearing My voice, and there will be O-N-E FLOCK, ONE SHEPHERD" (John 10:16)!

Since our Lord says that there is "ONE flock and ONE Shepherd" who is man to SPLIT THEM INTO TWO ??!.

Finally, We are brothers and sisters in Christ , Some believe in the rapture and others don't. And as we all come from Different Christian Denominations and may have Varying Beliefs, but we share one POWERFUL Common Bond which should have us Overcome these Little Differences and that is our Love for and Belief in Jesus Christ, which makes us Brothers and Sisters in HIS Family.

"Amen! Come, Lord Jesus!" The grace of the Lord Jesus be with all the saints! Amen! (Rev. 22:20-21).

Are Atheists and Theists Morally Equivalent?

Dawkins goes on to claim that religion is a form of child abuse that should not be taught to young children. However, a recent study by Reginald W. Bibby, Board of Governors Research Chair in the Department of Sociology at the University of Lethbridge, Canada, shows that atheists rate several moral values less important than theists do. Some of his studies will be introduced in this Article

Religion and morality

Christians are far more likely than atheists to be part of groups that work hard to instill values about being good to other people, and having good relationships. The teachings of the Bible emphasize values such as honesty, love, forgiveness, patience, and generosity. Many of these values are not emphasized in social circles dominated by atheists.

Importance of moral values

A survey of 1,600 Canadians asked them what were their beliefs about God and what moral values they considered to be "very important." The results of the survey are shown below:

Moral Values of Theists vs. Atheists1 Moral Value Theists Atheists

Honesty 94% 89%

Kindness 88 75

Family life 88 65

Being loved 86 70

Friendship 85 74

Courtesy 81 71

Concern for others 82 63

Forgiveness 84 52

Politeness 77 65

Friendliness 79 66

Patience 72 39

Generosity 67 37

Although the differences between theists and atheists in the importance of values such as honesty, politeness, and friendliness are generally small, moral values emphasized by religious beliefs, such as Christianity, including patience, forgiveness, and generosity exhibit major differences in attitudes (30%+ differences between theists and atheists).

What really concerns me is that only half of atheists think that forgiveness is very important. Either these people have not been married or maybe married multiple times, since a lack of forgiveness in a marriage is a sure recipe for disaster. Couple that moral belief with a perception that neither patience nor generosity are very important, and it seems that the divorce rates are likely to go up significantly in the near future.

According to Professor Bibby, Grandma is the "symbolic saintly person in the clan. So valuing Grandma also means valuing many of the things important to her. In successive generations you have a lingering effect of morality. But further down the road generations get further removed from the sources of those values. That's where it gets tricky."

Conclusion

Contrary to the claim of the "New Atheism," it seems that atheism leads to a decline in the perception of the importance of many personal moral values, especially those that have a big impact on interpersonal relationships. Since these new atheists are still being influenced by persons of traditional religious moral values, it seems likely that the importance of these values will diminish even further in the beliefs of the next generation of atheists. According to Reginald Bibby, the author of the study, "To the extent that Canadians say good-bye to God, we may find that we pay a significant social price." In addition, a recent scientific study shows that a certain atheistic belief (determinism or lack of free will) negatively impacts moral behavior.

Does Atheism Lead to Immoral Behavior

Atheism does not lead to increased immoral behavior according to the writing of many atheists. In theory, one can be morally responsible atheist. However, in practice, does atheism/agnosticism encourage or discourage a higher level of moral and ethical behavior?

Principles of Christian morality

Christians are far more likely than atheists to be part of groups that work hard to instill values about being good to other people, and having good relationships. The teachings of the Bible emphasize values such as honesty, love, forgiveness, sexual fidelity, patience,and generosity. In addition, all Christian denominations strongly discourage negative behaviors, such as fornication, profanity,gambling, gossiping, retaliation, drunkenness, and lying. Many of these values are not emphasized in social circles dominated by atheists. Do these teachings influence moral behavior?

Evangelicals vs. atheists

A a random sample of 1003 adults were surveyed in May, 2008 by The Barna Group for their participation in a number of negative behaviors within the previous week. The results showed that there were vast differences in the behaviors of evangelicals compared to agnostics/atheists.

Moral Behaviors of Evangelicals vs. Atheists6 Sin Evangelicals Atheists

Viewing pornography 12% 50%

Profanity in public 16 60

Gambling 2 7

Gossiping 4 34

Sex with non-spouse 3 ?

Retaliation ? 11

Drunkenness 0.5 33

Lying 1 ?

Average 6 29

These results show that atheists/agnostics participate in morally questionable behaviors to a much greater degree than evangelical Christians - an average of nearly five times the frequency! The data calls into question the atheists' claim that moral choices are deterministic and the people do not have the ability to exercise free will. If human behavior were merely a combination of genes and biochemistry, then beliefs would have no effect on moral choices. Obviously, this is a failed hypothesis, since beliefs do influence behavior. Another study, published in 2008, showed that increasing belief in determinism negatively impacted moral behavior (cheating).

Liberal/Conservative morality

The fact that liberals and conservatives see morality from a different perspective is not difficult to discern. However, recent studies demonstrate exactly how differently these groups interpret what is moral/immoral. The graph at right shows how liberals put a high moral value on fairness and lack of harm, but do not value loyalty to their ingroup, importance of authority, or personal purity as being important (left side of graph). However, conservatives value all five categories of morality about the same (right side of graph). Since most atheists tend to more politically liberal, it is likely that their political perspective explains their lack of emphasis on personal purity found in the Barna study. However, whether the political beliefs cause the moral viewpoint or the moral viewpoint causes the political beliefs is difficult to determine from this kind of study.

Doing good

The Barna study is not the only one reporting difference between theists and atheists. The Hoover Institution (part of Stanford University) has studied philanthropic giving and volunteerism among populations.10 Making 30,000 observations over 50 different communities, they found that religious people are much more likely to donate money to charities (91 percent to 66 percent) more likely to volunteer time (67 percent to 44 percent). The amount they give is also quite different with religious people averaging $2,210, compared to only $642 among the secular, even though incomes and education levels are virtually the same. Religious people's giving is not just to religious causes either, since they also out give secular people when donating to secular causes.

Conclusion

Although, in theory, atheists can lead moral lives, the absence of an absolute moral foundation probably leads to moral drifting over time. This phenomenon also occurs in Christians who abandon church and Christian fellowship. As a result, the differences in morality between atheists and evangelicals is striking, with atheists being much more prone to viewing pornography, using profanity in public, gossiping, and drunkenness. For the 8 sins surveyed in the Barna study, atheists were nearly 5 times more likely to commit those sins than evangelical Christians. In addition, atheists are much less likely to donate to charities (even secular ones) and perform volunteer services in their communities compared with religious people. So, even though atheists can lead a moral life, on average, they don't measure up. Although it is possible that atheism is not the cause of moral failure, it seems unlikely that there are genetic or other demographic factors that account for the differences in behavior.

Do Animals go to Heaven ?

Many Christians wonder, "Do animals have souls? Will I see my pet in heaven?". does animal intelligence constitute a soul? Does a pet's emotions and ability to relate to human beings mean that animals possess an immortal spirit that will survive after death?. Theologians say NO. They point out that man was created superior to animals and that animals can't be equal with him and that they do not have immortal souls and are not responsible for their actions.

Well Most of us can't picture a paradise of unspeakable beauty without flowers, trees, and animals.

If we read In Revelation 5:13-14, " And EVERY CREATURE which is in HEAVEN, and on the Earth, and under the Earth, and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, heard I saying, Blessing, and honour, and glory, and power, be unto Him that sitteth upon the throne......"

Did you see word "EVERY CREATURE" ?.....It seems that Heaven has many !

In 2 Kings 2:11," And it came to pass, as they still went on, and talked, that, behold, there appeared a chariot of fire, and HORSES of fire, and parted them both asunder; and Elijah went up by a whirlwind into Heaven."

Also If we read in Revelation 19:14 "And the armies which were in Heaven followed Him upon white HORSES, clothed in fine linen, white and clean".

As we observe there are Spiritual Horses in Heaven.!!

Ok ... But what about when the animals die ... Can they go to Heaven?

After the great flood ... Noah, and his family and the animals were allowed to leave the Ark and God made a covenant with man AND every living CREATURE.

In Mark 16:15 ," And He said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the Gospel to EVERY CREATURE." WOW Does This mean that we have to preach and talk about Jesus to our pets ??...Well Science proved that Animals have rational intelligence !

The Church traditionally teaches that animals do not go to heaven , However St. Thomas Aquinas wrote about animals having a soul, but it wasn't similar to that of humans . St. Francis of Assisi saw animals as God's creatures to be honored and respected , he said. "But a lot of people have a hard time with that, and I do too, when I see a grieving pet owner. I know God wants us to be totally happy in heaven, and if our dog will help make us fully happy, and if God can resurrect us, I'm sure he could resurrect a dog, too."

As we Know in Garden of Eden before sin entered the world , God told Adam to name the animals (Genesis 2:19).....So THERE WERE Animals in Eden before the Fall of Man ! . According to the Bible, everything about the Garden of Eden was created by God, and God felt that it was VERY GOOD.

Their fall from grace literally changed the world. The world began to die, even as they began to die. We don't know exactly what the world was like before the fall, but we can imagine. Imagine all the negative aspects of Planet Earth were stripped away; no storms, no earthquakes, no pollution, etc. That is the kind of environment that Adam and Eve lived in. Also, there was no fear of any kind. No fear of death, no fear of injury, and no fear of the animals. If you can imagine a planet like that, then it would not be too much of a stretch to imagine that the relationship between Adam & Eve and the animals could have been completely different from what is possible now.

In Isaiah 11:6-9 ;" The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together;...... They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain: for the Earth shall be full of the knowledge of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea. "

Abortion and Adoption

In my view, when a woman (or girl) is in a position to even consider abortion, it's because NONE of the options are good options. I think some of the statistics about later health and psychological effects of abortion have been misrepresented by both sides but it is VERY important that a woman facing an unwanted pregnancy be counseled by someone who does not have a bias or stake in the decision. Of course that is almost impossible to find...it seems to be a very polarized issue. Any medical procedure requires a thorough and accurate assessment of the risks AND benefits of the procedure be given to the person considering it. (It's called "informed consent")

I believe it wasn't the abortion itself - or the "sin" of abortion - that caused any mother's mental anguish, but the conflict between what she felt was a necessary life decision at the time and the politico-religious climate that punished and ostracized her for doing so.

Adoption is also problematic. I know birth mothers who have placed a child for adoption; often the grief is as intense as that experienced by women having abortions. In addition, pregnancy and childbirth are not risk-free so the age and other risk factors of the mother need to be considered as well. On the child's side, Many adopted kids do have issues with attachment/abandoment, even those given up at birth. However, I don't think there are very many (except maybe the most troubled ones in foster care ) who actually wish their birth mother had aborted them.

There are other factors, as well. We always think of abortions as happening to teenagers, single women, or women who were raped. In fact MANY abortions are had by married women who are in their late 30s/early 40s who already have kids, who didn't think they could get pregnant and for whom carrying a pregnancy to term could be very risky. I have met women who are faced with a choice that might put their health (or even life) at risk when they already have children whose lives would be devastated by losing their mother. I know of a lady who had a baby and almost died of eclampsia. The risk of that happening again is quite high. She was married and on the pill and when her child was 2 she conceived and she was forced to make a very agonizing decision. Put her life at risk and potentially leave her 2 year old motherless? Or have an abortion. She did not want to do either. She finally decided on the abortion and then went on to consider other options to avoid pregnancy (including permanent sterilization which is a very hard decision to make as well).

Other factors include the fact that a woman has a much higher risk of domestic violence when she is pregnant (and sometimes that is fatal as well).

And all of that without even addressing the issue of rape.

I really believe that in the case of rape, the decision is even more loaded and that is a case where I really think a lot of compassion and grace are needed to help a woman make that decision. I personally have never been able to really fathom how I could carry a child to term knowing that that child will always connect me with a man who raped me. On the other hand, I could imagine that God could give me the strength to do so and use such a trial to God's glory.

In general, I think abortion should be rare and I think it is always wrong. However, it might be, in some cases, "less wrong" (if that's possible) or at least "equally wrong" as other choices.

I believe There are cases where the woman/girl should make the choice concerning abortion and that's when The Mother's health (Physically or mentally or emotionally) is in danger.

I'm not on the side of the "pro choice" folks who oppose any restrictions on abortion and who ALSO oppose any counseling or services that might influence a woman to not have an abortion. However, I am also not in favor of making it illegal. When abortions were illegal, they still happened but they were very unsafe and many women died. Abortion needs to be an option for a woman who is raped and may experience such severe psychological trauma that she puts her baby at risk (a whole OTHER topic on the effects of severe anxiety and depression on unborn babies) and it also needs to be an option for women whose lives may be threatened by carrying a pregnancy to term. There are situations which are sufficiently tragic that a woman should not be forced to do so even if it is the experience of others that they have felt blessed by doing so. The thing that makes it dfferent from euthanasia is that the baby is residing in the body of another person whose life is also affected by the baby's presence there.

I am pro-life but I have seen so many different situations that point out the fact that a pro-life stance is NOT always a simple "yes or no" decision to make. It requires a lot of counseling, care, and ideally lots of PRAYER.