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"Before Abraham was, I AM" John 8:58  

GOD, Religion and Reality; My Personal Journey (Blog)

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"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son,
that whosoever believeth in him should not perish,
but have everlasting life."  (John 3:16)

The primary purpose of this website is to proclaim and testify of the divinity of our Lord, Jesus Christ; that He is the literal Son of God, the Lord Jehovah of the Old Testament, the prophesied Messiah, the Sacrificial Lamb and Saviour of all mankind and the resurrected Christ who sits at the right hand of God.  He is my personal Saviour, my greatest teacher and role model, hope provider and comforter and most beloved friend.

It is generally well known that the major religions of the world (with Christianity and Islam representing the largest groups) differ significantly in their beliefs as to who Jesus Christ (and what his role) really was.  The most notable differences are generally based on each religions' accepted books of sacred text or scripture such as the Bible, the Talmud, the Qur'an, etc..  For example, Islamists who base their beliefs on the Qur'an, will assert that Jesus Christ was a prophet who performed miracles through the power of God, but reject the Christian belief of Christ's divinity.  While most of the Christian world, which uses the Bible (the LDS, use the Book of Mormon as well) does have a steadfast belief in the Lord's deity, there are numerous sub groups (as with most other major religions) which often present significant variances in doctrine and interpretation of scripture.  These various sub groups include denominations, sects, individual unaffiliated churches, para-church groups, etc.  The dissimilarities in belief between such groups can include weighty issues like the Godhead or so called "Trinity", the nature or character attributes of God himself and the concept of Heaven and Hell and how God will judge us as individuals.  A telling example is the disparity in answers given by many Christian leaders to questions like; are God the Father and His son Jesus the same person, or are they two distinct entities?  And does He (or they) have form or a body or is he a spirit only (without form)?  To an inquiring child, some "Christian" explanations of the relationship between God the Father and His son Jesus and their individual characteristics can be quite muddled and baffling.  Although basic understanding of Christ's divine nature and His vital role in our salvation is, or should be, at the core of Christian faith, there are still some unresolved doctrinal differences.

Believers in the "historical" Jesus and will say things like; they believe He was a "good man", that He was a great moral teacher, a sage or philosopher; some will even give credence to the claim that he was a prophet.  Others will look at the historical Jesus less favourably and say that He was likely just a lunatic or a liar.  Some might speculate that the gospels of the New Testament were made up or based on legends or mythology, while others will simply choose not to believe in His existence at all (historical or otherwise).  Sadly, many people, for different reasons, including perhaps, a sense of futility in trying to find answers to the "unknown", will simply choose not give it much thought; whether by choice or as the result of being distracted by the cares of the world, the search for God is called off.  Whatever one's personal beliefs, the question of who Jesus Christ really was and his remarkable life on earth, if given any measure of study and honest contemplation should hold great significance and implications that simply cannot be ignored or taken lightly.

Differences in religious belief (again, even within the major religious groups themselves) have oftentimes resulted in confusion or contention and the strife that follows.  Religious tolerance is today a topic of real concern for many who feel it should be a moral and social responsibility of global scale.  A particular concern for good people of all major faiths is the hard core extremists who exploit religion and religious differences and use it as a divisive tool to promote hateful and brutally violent or even murderous agendas.  Also disturbing, are the so called "religious police" and letter of the law zealots who often impose terrible hardships and sometime inflict pain or violence on defenceless individuals (making one wonder where the higher law of love and compassion fit in).  In making these statements I want to acknowledge that history shows that violence and killing and imposing terrible hardships on people in the name of religion has not been limited to any one religious group.  On a less grim note but also of great concern is the plenitude of religious cons or "wolves in sheepskin" who fool many, and leave others cynical of religious leaders and churches or organizations.  Also abounding is religious misinformation and misunderstandings that confuse people and sometimes seemingly pits science against religion.  These statements point to some of the darker side of religion but there but the story doesn't end here, there is light, there is great hope and good news.

The above brief narrative of the the current state of world religions paints a somewhat sobering and discouraging, perhaps even frightening collage, but starting from a grounded reality can provide a needed perspective that can help one appreciate the need for a better understanding and application of the pure and full gospel of Jesus Christ.  Of course, it is not all bad news; religion can and does inspire people to do a great deal of good and one could arguably say it does this for most people in the world.  The human factor in any faith can sometimes makes religion a sour word (even good people can do bad things or be hypocritical sometimes).  Although this site talks about "the good, the bad and the ugly" in religion in an effort to raise awareness in people of all faiths, it's key message is about the power of the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ, studying and living his wonderful teachings and in the process gaining a testimony of who He really is and becoming one with him.  God loves his children and those who humbly and diligently seek him in earnest, enduring to the end, will know of his guiding light and sustaining love.  I can bear personal witness that God does give us direction and support, but we have to choose to follow.  The road isn't easy, it is not supposed to be, but that doesn't mean we can't have the power, peace and joy that comes from following our Lord.  I hope I can help a little towards this end, by helping others in their journey and as I continue my own.