Q & A

An inclusive greeting to every super interesting individual reading this. Hope you are all in sound health and life is bearable at this point.
So, I’ve spent the last three years in personal research (quite intensively, I might add) concerning Biblical themes, historicity, elements in relation to science, critiques of Biblical reliability, and so forth – I amassed quite a lot of logic and reason: This was out of a personal duty to find out if this Biblical faith that I subscribe to was of any substance and evidence. And I stand here a satisfied human being that yes, the Bible is an extraordinary book that is authentic, historical, and trustworthy (in my personal opinion after three long years of reading and reading and reading).

This page is dedicated to answering Bible related questions about life and everything else. Let’s get into it:

Is there any evidence of the existence of God, and how do we know that the God of the Bible is the one, true God? Firstly, I believe that there is a certain element of truth in the opinion of the majority. That is, if a lot of people are doing something, then it has to make sense, otherwise why are all these people doing it, right? And according to research, 84% of the 2015 world census of 6.9 billion people practice religion. And out of the remaining 16%, a large portion do believe in some form of supreme being, various forms of spirituality and greater invisible, but yet mystical force or forces. The reality is that, either most of these people are idiots, or there is a universal desire to interact with higher intelligence and a creative originator.
Secondly, the systematic, organised and balanced structure in nature. Everyone agrees that language is an evolution of efficient communication among a particular society, right? DNA, the basic genetic code that contains all the information of generations past and the combination of new information, is a language that is intricately executed, not by chance or random processes, but by an intelligent programmer that methodically calculated and launched it into existence. Every individual snowflake is unique from each other; and the composite patterns are just breathtaking.
Every individual that has ever existed, or will ever exist, has a unique retinal structure; thumbprints, and hair strands are individually unique from every other person. That is crazy, but yet awesome! (Also, it is amazing to also realise that the unique traits of an individual is a form of the Creative Intelligence binding each individual to an accountability for one’s actions and words. Probably all of these evidences, thumb prints, statements and video footage of us will be used as evidence in the process of Biblical Judgement. If everything was just random processes then there’s bound to be trillions of replicated human beings, like plastic dolls – and not much uniqueness. Amazingly, that’s not the case!

These all point to Intelligent Design and Origin.

Next, is the existence of ultimate justice and sovereignty. Most intelligent people and academics argue that there isn’t any ultimate or absolute truth; all truths are relative!
Tell that to millions of criminals incarcerated for doing things relative to their beliefs and understandings. Tell that to victims of some form of abuse or tragedy caused by others. Tell them that there’s no absolute wrong, and their traumatic experiences are just relatively normal and not wrongful. Some would then say, well, if God was all-caring and just, why doesn’t He stop rapists, terrorists, murderers, pedophiles and others from committing such acts? This is where the God of the Bible is in a vast contrast to other gods and forms of divinity.

The key to understanding, in this context, is insight into God’s mentality. In 2 Peter 3:9, the Bible says, “The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is long suffering to us-ward, not willing that ANY should perish, but that ALL should come to repentance.” And in Exodus 34:5-7, the Bible says, “And the Lord descended in the cloud, and stood with him there, and proclaimed the name of the Lord. And the Lord passed by before him, and proclaimed, The Lord, The Lord God, merciful and gracious, long suffering, and abundant in goodness and truth, keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, and that will by no means clear the guilty…”

With that, the Bible also says in Ecclesiastes 8:11, “Because sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily, therefore the heart of the sons of men is fully set in them to do evil.” And furthermore, in Jeremiah 17:10, “I the Lord search the heart…to give every man according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings.”  And also in Psalm 37: 1,2, 13-15 , “Fret not thyself because of evildoers, neither be thou envious against the workers of iniquity. For they shall soon be cut down like the grass, and wither as the green herb…The wicked plotteth against the just, and gnasheth upon him with his teeth. The Lord shall laugh at him: for [God] seeth that his day is coming. The wicked have drawn out the sword, and have bent their bow, to cast down the poor and needy, and to slay such as be of upright conversation. Their sword shall enter into their own heart, and their bows shall be broken.”

And finally, in Revelation 20:11-12, the Bible states “And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them. And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works.”
“Or despisest thou the riches of his goodness and forbearance and longsuffering; not knowing that the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance? But after thy hardness and impenitent heart treasurest up unto thyself wrath against the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God; Who will render to every man according to his deeds: To them who by patient continuance in well doing seek for glory and honour and immortality, eternal life: But unto them that are contentious, and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, indignation and wrath, tribulation and anguish, upon every soul of man that doeth evil, of the Jew first, and also of the Gentile; But glory, honour, and peace, to every man that worketh good, to the Jew first, and also to the Gentile: for there is no respect of persons with God.” (Romans 2: 4-11)

2. Is Easter and Christmas a Christian holiday? What holidays should Christians be celebrating? The Bible mentions Easter in Acts 12:4. In that Bible text, it says, ‘And when [king Herod Agrippa] had apprehended [Peter], he put him in prison, and delivered him to four quaternions of soldiers to keep him; intending after Easter to bring him forth before the people.’  Now some of us might jump for joy and say, ah, yes! Easter is a Biblical holiday after all! Don’t bother leaving your seat yet! It would be pertinent at this point to read an important detail mentioned in Acts 12:3. The Bible says, ‘ And because [Herod] saw it pleased the Jews [to persecute leading Christians], he proceeded further to take Peter also. (THEN were the days of the Unleavened Bread.)’   

Alexander Hislop (1807-1865), a Protestant Scottish minister, in his book The Two Babylons, writes,‘Among the Pagans this Lent seems to have been an indispensable preliminary to the great annual festival in commemoration of the death and resurrection of Tammuz, which was celebrated by alternate weeping and rejoicing . . . being observed in Palestine and Assyria in June, therefore called the ‘month of Tammuz;’ in Egypt, about the middle of May, and in Britain, some time in April. To conciliate the Pagans to nominal Christianity, Rome, pursuing its usual policy, took measures to get the Christian and Pagan festivals amalgamated, and, by a complicated but skillful adjustment of the calendar, it was found no difficult matter, in general, to get Paganism and Christianity — now far sunk in idolatry — in this as in so many other things, to shake hands.’ (p. 105)  

Long before Christianity, the Bible explains the tradition of baking cakes to the goddess Ishtar; in the book of Jeremiah 7:16-19, the Bible says, ‘Therefore pray not thou for this people, neither lift up cry nor prayer for them, neither make intercession to me: for I will not hear thee. Seest thou not what they do in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem? The children gather wood, and the fathers kindle the fire, and the women knead their dough, to make cakes to the queen of heaven, and to pour out drink offerings unto other gods, that they may provoke me to anger. Do they provoke me to anger? saith the Lord: do they not provoke themselves to the confusion of their own faces?’  Also, in Ezekiel 8:13-14, the Bible says, ‘He said also unto me, Turn thee yet again, and thou shalt see greater abominations that they do. Then he brought me to the door of the gate of the Lord’s house which was toward the north; and, behold, there sat women weeping for Tammuz.’

I hope these Biblical accounts are not floating over your heads. In the apostate periods of the Old Testament, there was baking of cakes to the Queen of Heaven, and also women weeping for Tammuz, the god of the Chaldeans.
Christmas, on the other hand also has pagan roots, despite its modern Christian garb. 

3. What is the difference between the SOUL and SPIRIT? Are they the same? We are first introduced to the soul in Genesis 2:7. The Bible says, ‘And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.’  Now, it is essential to take into consideration that whenever someone dies in the Bible, it is usually referred to as giving up the ghost. A couple of examples are, Genesis 25:8 concerning Abraham, and John 19:30 regarding Jesus. A conclusive Bible text that directly relates to Genesis 2:7, is Ecclesiastes 12:7.

Therein, the Bible says, ‘Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was: and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it.’  From these previous Bible passages, it is safe to conclude that dust + breath of God (a.k.a. spirit or ghost) = living soul/soul.   For the Bible also states in Psalm 115:17, ‘The dead praise not the Lord, neither any that go down into silence.’ Additionally, in Ecclesiastes 9:5-6, the Bible teaches, ‘For the living know that they shall die: but the dead know not any thing, neither have they any more a reward; for the memory of them is forgotten. Also their love, and their hatred, and their envy, is now perished; neither have they any more a portion for ever in any thing that is done under the sun.‘ 

The blessed hope for those that die, having that hope of immortality through and with Jesus, the Bible assures, ‘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: 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 4:16-17)

Now, some may ask about the thief on the cross who was assured of eternal life that day, and Lazarus the poor man being raised to the bosom of Abraham, in the parable of Jesus? A non-negotiable context when studying the Bible is that Scripture cannot contradict Scripture, therefore these two incidents must harmonize with the rest of the Bible. Let us now consider the first: the thief on the cross of which eternal life was assured him. In the Book of Luke 23:42-43, the Bible states, ‘And he said unto Jesus, Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom. And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, Today shalt thou be with me in paradise.‘

To begin with, Jesus did not ascend into heaven when he died, that is a Biblical fact. When he rose from the dead on the third day (which is almost hard to believe for the average person, but yes; Jesus did rise from death on the third day), Mary Magdalene comes to His tomb to treat his corpse, only to realize that His body was missing.

We catch up with Mary Magdalene, in John 20:14-17, which states, ‘And when she had thus said, she turned herself back, and saw Jesus standing, and knew not that it was Jesus. Jesus saith unto her, Woman, why weepest thou? whom seekest thou? She, supposing him to be the gardener, saith unto him, Sir, if thou have borne him hence, tell me where thou hast laid him, and I will take him away. Jesus saith unto her, Mary. She turned herself, and saith unto him, Rabboni; which is to say, Master. Jesus saith unto her, Touch me not; for I am not yet ascended to my Father: but go to my brethren, and say unto them, I ascend unto my Father, and your Father; and to my God, and your God.’

Here Jesus is explaining that He had not ascended to heaven after death on the cross. Then where did Jesus go? He rested in the grave on the Sabbath day, and resurrected on the first day (Mark 15:42; 16:1-2; Ephesians 4:9).   Secondly, concerning the parable of Jesus: speaking about Lazarus the poor man and the rich man, after dealing with the principle of being entrusted with material goods in the previous parable (Luke 16:1-9), Jesus opened up the issue of being entrusted with the truth (Luke 16:19-31).

By the parable of another rich man, He graphically illustrated how the Jews had been unfaithful with spiritual riches as the steward had been unfaithful with physical wealth. There is no where in the Bible where it teaches that the wicked will be burn forever. (Get in depth info in my book Sex. Hell? Evolution and Religion)

The Bible states in Revelation 21:8, “But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.” And also in Malachi 4:3, the Bible states, ‘And ye shall tread down the wicked; for they shall be ashes under the soles of your feet in the day that I shall do this, saith the Lord of hosts.’