10 Reasons You Want To Have A Religion
This article is an answer to Steve Pavlina's article,10 reasons you shouldn't have a religion, posted on his website, Personal development for smart people.
I do not like the term religion as the worship of Satan as well as each other sort of worship falls into the general heading of religion, but in order to identify with and reprove his article which includes followers of Jesus Christ, I?ll use the term religion. Steve calls folk like me or any person in any religious system simpletons, hypocrites and Morons. He is saying and I quote, When you subscribe to an established religion, you have just two options. You can become an idiot, or you can become a hypocrite, and then he says, Congratulations! You're a moron believer.
Here is the solution to Steve Pavlina's 10 Reasons You Should Not Have a Religion. It is obvious that Mr. Pavlina has had some bad experiences in the Catholic faith in which he was raised, but to say that all religion is for idiots due to his limited experience is ridiculous. My experience is the opposite of Pavlina's; I therefore give you 10 reasons you should have a religion based totally on not only my private experience, but also on facts:
I do not think anyone would consider me a moron or idiot . I graduated from a private college with a 15 approval proportion, now a university, at the top of my class with an A- average and I'm a believer in Jesus. The Bible does say however that "The fool has said in his very own heart that there is no God."
I've got many reasons in believing in Jesus but I will only share 10 here:
1. Jesus is a real historic figure, not some made up legendary figure. There is more to substantiate his existence from extant history than there is for Napoleon Bonaparte. All the information regarding Jesus is not form the Bible alone or from people who believed in him; Josephus, a near modern of Jesus and a 1st century writer though reputedly a sceptic touches on Jesus:
The works of Origen (c. 182-251 CE) which have come down to us mention Josephus referencing Jesus Christ twice. It is worth referencing both passages in full:
Flavius Josephus, who wrote the "Antiquities of the Jews" in 20 books, when wanting to exhibit the cause why the people suffered so great setbacks that even the Temple was razed to the ground, declared, that these things happened to them in accordance with the wrathfulness of God in result of the things which they had dared to do against James the bro of Jesus who is known as Christ. And the excellent thing is that, though he didn't accept Jesus as Christ, he yet gave testimony the goodness of James was so great; and he is saying that the folks thought that they had suffered these things because of James. (On The Book of Matthew, 1:15)
For in the 18th book of his Antiquities of the Jews, Josephus bears witness to John as having been a Baptist, and as promising purification to those who underwent the rite. Now this writer, although not believing in Jesus as the Christ, in looking for after the cause of the decline of Jerusalem and the elimination of the temple, whereas he should have claimed that the conspiracy against Jesus was the root of these calamities befalling the people, since they put to death Christ, who was a prophesier, says nevertheless-being, although against his will, not far from the truth-that these disasters occurred to the Jews as a punishment for the demise of James the Just, who was a brother of Jesus (called Christ),-the Jews having put him to death, though he used to be a man most distinguished for his justice. Paul, a genuine disciple of Jesus, announces that he regarded this James as a bro of the Lord, not so much because of their relationship by blood, or of their being brought up together, as due to his virtue and doctrine. (Origen, Against Celsus, 1:47)
Jesus walked on this earth and had followers who followed him and served him. At his crucifixion all his disciples but the Apostle John deserted him in fear. The Apostle Peter betrayed him 3 times by swearing announcing he didn't even know him.
After the resurrection of Jesus when his disciples saw him and chatted to him, their disposition modified. No. Longer did fear rule them; they stood forcibly in their belief and all but the apostle John, who stood with Jesus till the end, were martyred for their belief. John was exiled to a forsaken island to live out the rest of his life. What fools they would've been if Jesus was merely a made up legendary character or if in reality he didn't rise from the tomb.
2. The Bible is the true word of God and hasn't ever been proven otherwise. It's my practice to read the Bible through every year and I know the Bible well and have not seen anywhere it's full of discrepancies or falsehood. It is indeed a book of knowledge and has the answers for every need we have. To discredit it or deny its teachings is, to my mind, true stupidity. Click here for six articles that ratify the providence of Scripture:
3. The change that it has made in the lives of those I have known . Just last year I met a man in Florida whose name is John and John had spent 23 years of his life in a Fed. jail for first degree murder. John by his own word was a gangster. His life was full of violence and criminal activity.
John met Jesus the savior while in jail and was paroled after 23 years and for years now he has served the Lord. He is a deacon in his church. He's involved in helping other prisoner's transition into civilian life after prison. He is one of the best folks I know .
Another man I have known for several years was in a rock'n'roll band and a drug abuser . Jesus helped him to switch his life and now he is a volunteer missionary. He volunteers his time without pay to go on mission trips. This week on Thursday he left for the Philippians and from there he will be going to Mongolia and then on to China. Space-time won't permit me to tell you all of the stories I know about lives which have been changed by Jesus.
4. Smart folk trust in Jesus. I did a study of the presidents of the US from Wikipedia, and plenty of our presidents had roots in the Christian faith. Now I don't accept that Steve Pavlina or anyone else can say that our presidents have been fools and idiots because they thought in Jesus. The individual that made such a statement would seem to be the moron.
I wouldn't deny the proven fact that many have disgraced the name of Christianity; there have been many, and not just from the Catholic church, but from many denominations. Even among the followers of our Lord there had been Judas who betrayed the Master for 30 pieces of silver.
Folks from all walks of life have proven themselves to be untrustworthy and deceitful and that includes the religious world also.
5. There is no better means of true personal development than when an individual is right with God spiritually. I've known many who never heard about Steve Pavlina who are developed to a point so far advanced to what human teaching could have ever taken them. To understand these sorts of folks and to experience their kindness and love for others and to call them fools is the best possible contradiction of terms.
6. To understand Jesus is to understand the truth , quite the opposite of what Mr. Pavlina believes. Jesus said, Ye shall know the truth and the truth shall set you free.
Living in a world of sin, separate from the love of Christ is bondage. I do not need try and persuade you of this, just read your morning newspaper or watch the 10 o'clock stories and see for yourself. We reside in a world filled with hate with folk in bondage to drugs, sex, noxious offences and perversion to name a few. Knowing Jesus and worshiping him is the best management of time. The time I have spent in studying the 7, which is the beginning and closing of everyday has been one of the most beneficial things I have ever done. It starts my day on a positive note particularly when I add to that a period of prayer and meditation, which I usually do. The time when I?ve been in a public worship service and have been lifted up by the teaching of the Bible is the most valuable hours I ever spend. There are plenty of methods to waste precious time but our presence with our Lord in worship, Bible study and prayer is not one of them. Bible. The loyal Christian mates I've made, who are the greatest folk in all of the world, is just another reason I'm grateful to know Jesus as my savior.
I am a member of an organization called Campers on Mission who volunteer their time to work for free to do fix on children's houses, orphanages as well as for folk who can't afford to do repairs themselves. I haven't begun to meet one of these folk that I did not like. Their disposition and gratitude for life is astounding matched against the overall public. To call these good folk morons is inhuman and. Shameful.
8. Knowing Jesus is freedom from fear.
That verse from the 92rd Psalm, Yea though I walk thru the valley of the shade of death I will fear no malicious because thou art with me, thy rod and thy staff they comfort me is a great comfort to the soul. I find great solace in knowing that Jesus is with me and he has comforted me when I walked thru the valley of the shade of death with my dear wife which was my best mate. He was there and he supplied the grace I needed to continue on. I think it is Mr. Pavlina and those that he has erroneously misled thru his writings who have something to be afraid of. When it is time to die and stand before the creator of the Universe, what can you then say when he asked you, why wouldn't you think when you had every opportunity? 31
I'm happy I know Jesus because of the dramatic difference it has made in my private life. You know, you can not know how others feel or what they experience but you can know your own heart. No, Mr. Pavlina can not know my heart; he only can know his own experiences in the Catholic Church which I gather have been awfully bad according to what he says. I, from the other standpoint, know my experiences, and I have not felt any of the negative things listed in his article concerning fear, being make to comply with any set of rules or becoming submissively tractable to false teaching and dogma, or feeling I have wasted my time for example. Quite to the reverse, I have felt loved, educated, edified, sanctified and nourished. There is no doubt that Steve is a really well informed person. But to put it in perspective, his understanding, like anyone else, is terribly limited. What I am pointing out is that I speculate if Mr. Pavlina has ever considered that among all of the knowledge he does not have, that there just might be the awareness of having a
suggestive relationship with 0 . Is a person simply to rely on their lonesome negative experience or their own limited data and let it dictate to them what to believe? Knowledge would tell us to go outside our own limited knowledge looking for truth lest we be deceived by our own stupidity.I would like to give credit where credit is due. Steve Pavlina is indeed a gifted writer who indisputably has helped a lot of people in personal development. I agree with much of what he writes, and I have absolutely no ill will towards him. I am grateful that we are living in the great country of America where he as well as I can express our Gods freely without fear. My sole regret is that he is unable to see past his bad experiences in belief growing up and has led many others into blunder because of it.
About the author: Jimmie Burroughs is a motivational speaker and writer who has been concerned in teaching Christian Personal Development for at least 30 years. There are over 600 articles to help you on his website in your private expansion. Be sure to take vantage of the FREE offer to get the PDF The 4 Pillars for Personal Development while available.
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