The following video explains the message behind the Contradict Movement. Ask me if you have any questions or comments.
Basing Beliefs Only on Emotions and Subjective Experiences Can Be Dangerous!
I had a conversation yesterday with a friend who shared how his mom claims to hear messages from God and sometimes these individual specific messages have been related to him and she shares them with him and expects him to respond as if it is God’s Word to him. He of course questions such revelations. He asks her how she can confirm such words from God? Her response is you can’t invalidate my experience; I know what I heard; I know what I have received from God!
My friend’s response to her, “How is that any different from Joseph Smith [founder of Mormonism]? Everyone has their own experiences, based on how you are confirming your own beliefs?”
Let’s be honest, most of our beliefs are lived in accordance to what we have experienced. I trust the chair I am sitting in right now won’t break. I haven’t inspected it all; I have just sat down in it because it’s in front of a table. I do this based on past experiences, I’ve never had a chair break on me before, and I have only seen a chair break for one other person and that person was much larger than me. However, the sturdiness of a chair can be confirmed apart from individual experience; I do not know the proper formulas and processes, but I trust the people who do whose jobs are to design safe chairs for sitting, so I base my decisions on my experiences in this situation, however such testing can be confirmed and tested objectively by anyone.
When I was very young, I believed Santa Claus traveled the whole world and gave presents to good kids and I also believed that Jesus was God and that he died for the sins of the world. I believed these based on my experiences; my parents were trustworthy from what I had experienced. But as I grew older I began to see objective evidence that this couldn’t be true (the presents I received on Christmas were already in the house weeks before Dec. 25th), so I rejected my beliefs in Santa Claus, but I still held to my beliefs concerning Jesus because I hadn’t found any objective evidence to dissuade that conviction despite learning that my parents weren’t as trustworthy as I had thought. So I must admit my beliefs in Jesus began from experiences only; I had no evidence that Jesus actually rose from the dead, besides being able to say, “The Bible tells me so.”
Saying the Bible is the Word of God because it tells me so, gets me back to my friend’s argument with his mom; if that’s all the evidence you have to make that claim, it’s no different than saying the Qur’an is the word of God because it says it is. How can we invalidate such arguments, if a person just “feels” they are true? This is in fact the arguments that Mormons make. They believe in Mormonism because of the “burning in their bosom.” But what if the feelings change? Or the previous feelings aren’t felt any longer? It’s a dangerous way to justify a belief as worldview impacting as a religious truth-claim. I wonder if it’s why so many kids raised in the church leave the church and the faith when they leave their parents’ homes to go to college.
The problem with many religious truth-claims is that they aren’t falsifiable because they are wrapped up solely in internal, emotions, or subjective experiences.
Waiting on God. Where is God? Daniel Bible Study.
Psalm 22 – “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from saving me, so far from the words of my groaning? O my God, I cry out by day, but you do not answer, by night, and am not silent.”
Are you waiting on anything right now?
Are you questioning where God is in your waiting?
Daniel 1:8,12 – Daniel and his companions fast by eating only meat and vegetables while exile. How long do they do this waiting to be brought of exile? Read Daniel 9:1-2. This is after the Lion’s Den and after the fiery furnace.
How does Daniel respond to this Revelation? Read verses 9:3-19. He receives his answer in 9:20-27.
In Daniel 10:1-Daniel receives a revelation. How did he respond? Read 10:2-3.
When did he receive his answer? Read 10:4-21.
Summary:
At Daniel’s first concern – fasting and prayer. Instant answer.
At Daniel’s second concern – fasting and prayer. 3 weeks until an answer is received. The answer was given immediately but it took 3 weeks to receive it because of enemy attack.
Application for waiting and not sensing God:
- Remember that there is an enemy that causes conflict.
- Be persistent in seeking God, so you will be ready to receive the answer when it arrives.
- Answers come at different intervals to different prayers. God doesn’t always respond in the same way.
- Israel had to wait 70 years to leave the exile. But Daniel kept praying and seeking God. How long might you have to wait?
- Is God teaching something in the waiting? Romans 5:1-6. At just the right time!
- Is God building you up to be prepared for the next thing in the waiting? 2 Peter 1:3-9.
- Look to Jesus… Hebrews 12:2-4.
- Could the waiting be discipline related, or for your strengthening? And what would the discipline produce? Hebrews 12:5-11.
- God has a plan to work Good in all situations. Romans 8:28
The Gay Agenda!
Erwin W. Lutzer in his book, The Truth about Sam-Sex Marriage, quotes Marshall Kirk and Hunter Madsen, both gay activists, in their writings as having said, “Almost all behavior begins to look normal if you are exposed to enough of it at close quarters and among your acquaintances.” The media is definitely helping… most TV shows have at least one homosexual character now, if not more, Smash and Glee are two examples. Movies such as Milk, Brokeback Mountain, and Valentine’s Day play their role.
They also write, “Portray gays as victims, not aggressive challengers.” Victims gain sympathy, especially in the land of the free, and the home of the brave.
They also say that it is best to make gays look good. Now we got homosexual curriculum for schools to highlight the achievements of homosexuals. Anyone who takes a stance against homosexuality must be portrayed as a villain, a bigot, a hater. They must be seen as a gay-basher.
They insist that gays must be portrayed in a positive light.
Lutzer also quotes Eric Pollard, the founder of ACT-UP, a militant homosexual group, as having used Adolf Hitler’s own words as a strategy for homosexual activists: “By clever and persevering use of propaganda, even heaven can be represented as hell to the people, and conversely, the most wretched life as paradise.”
Such strategies are certainly working for the gay communities. And ultimately what happens is that the majority that actually opposes same-sex marriage and believes that homosexuality isn’t beneficial to society are forced into silence.
Support my new book project, GP – God’s Promise. The Kickstart campaign ends on July 15th, 2019: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/contradictmovement/gp-gods-promise
Lutzer in his book presents six things you must know about what’s really at stake with same-sex marriage. The truth must be spoken no matter how hard it is to speak it, and in the face of the strategies of the homosexual communities we must be careful to speak the truth in love. Lutzer does a good job of recognizing that judging an action as wrong, does not mean hating the person, or people who participate in such actions.
This is a tough topic even among Christians as many disagree on the Bible’s teachings on homosexuality, and many openly gay men and women also profess faith in Jesus Christ, while rejecting that homosexuality is a sin, like one of the gay characters in Smash.
2 Peter 2 Bible Study
This is a Bible Study of 2 Peter 2 that I led for a small group.
When I lead Bible Studies I try to ensure that there is plenty of room for open discussion. I firmly believe that all Christians in a gathering around God’s Word have a word to contribute for the mutual benefit of all, just as 1 Corinthians 14 indicates. Our group’s discussion exploded on the Matrix question.
This study has blanks and questions for that. If you want to comment and give your feedback, I’d love to read your input.
2 Peter 2 Study
Progressive Revelation – God is continually revealing himself – getting closer and closer to us in relationship. In the Old Testament he was very physical in his interaction with his people. Now, he has become more and more spiritual.
Read 1 Peter 2:4-12. What are the Old Testament, physical interactions, that parallel the spiritual interactions of the New Testament? It’s almost as if God was using object lessons with Israel to bring them closer to Him – we are physical people, so God who is Spirit, comes to us in physical means to teach us and to grow with us in intimate relationship.
|
Old Testament – Physical Relationship/Interaction |
New Testament – Spiritual Relationship/Interaction |
|
Spiritual House |
|
|
Spiritual Sacrifices |
|
|
Chosen People – Born of God |
|
|
Royal Priesthood |
|
|
Holy Nation – Kingdom of God |
|
|
Aliens and Strangers in the World |
|
- What are Spiritual Sacrifices? How are we priests? Read Romans 12:1-2
- What are the parallels with Romans 12:1-2 and the passage from 1 Peter 2?
- Any connections to the Matrix in 1 Peter 2? Also read 2 Cor. 4:4
Andy Wrasman 