Good News
Well... year 2008 is coming to an end in a few hours time. As 2008 ends and 2009 starts, I thought of doing something different. Instead of the usual kind of posts, I would like to present the gospel. I try to model it from Paul's speech in the Areopagus at Athens in the book of Acts. So...yeah...read on...everyone.
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In the past, humans have always been interested in the supernatural as well as in awe of the nature around them. Since in the past humans relied heavily on nature for their survival, they see themselves at the mercy of nature. Therefore, they created a set of belief systems to try to control or rather to appease the forces controlling nature and these forces were known to them as spirits and gods.
This was the beginnings of religion. Over time, religion is the worship of something or someone. Everyone today holds a form of religion. Most people in cities today hold a materialistic religion. They worship material wealth because in their eyes, wealth is so important that they must strive to acquire more and more of it; since they require it to ‘survive’ like the ancestors in the past.
Therefore, they spend all their energies to acquire and indulge in material wealth. They try to acquire more and more without end in sight. This arises because it does not satisfy. They think they feel unsatisfied because they have not acquired enough. So, they will not feel content at all. But by right, at some point, they should feel satisfied.
Take an example of food. Hunger is a desire for food. When we are hungry, we feel the urge to eat. After we eat a hearty meal, we feel full and satisfied. Our hunger is satisfied. Our stomach is loaded until we can not take in any more.
Likewise, material possessions are important for survival. Just like food, we need some amount to survive. When we have all we need, we should feel content. But most people do not feel that way. They want more and more. No matter how much they get, they may feel satisfied for awhile but not full. Even if we are greedy for food, at one point we have to stop eating as we find it torturous to eat more. But there seems to be no end for material pursuit. Therefore, it goes to follow that we are trying to use material wealth to fill something it is not supposed to fill. It is like eating food when you are thirsty.
As a result, we will feel empty in the end. We feel as though we have not achieved anything in the end. Life seems to have no meaning and without a goal. There seems to be a chasm that we are trying to fill with material wealth but it does not seem to fill. I will tell you what this chasm is.
God created the heavens and the earth and he also created man. Into man, he imparted a part of himself so that man should try to seek after him. But man chose not to follow after God and this created a chasm in man who had departed from God. Man has sought in vain to fill this chasm with everything imaginable but has failed. Today, they run after material pleasures and addictions to try and fill this chasm. In the past God overlooked such ignorance, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent. For he has set a day when he will judge the world with justice by the man he has appointed. He has given proof of this to all men by raising him from the dead.
This man is Jesus Christ and God has revealed him to all mankind. Man has no longer any excuse. No longer can man say, “I do not know”. He now calls men everywhere to repent and turn to him. Therefore, as an ambassador of Christ, I urge all of you who have not yet repented to repent and turn to God through Jesus Christ. He is the way to eternal life and eternal life is this: that people may know the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom he has sent. To know God in an intimate and personal way is what life is all about.
*********************
In the past, humans have always been interested in the supernatural as well as in awe of the nature around them. Since in the past humans relied heavily on nature for their survival, they see themselves at the mercy of nature. Therefore, they created a set of belief systems to try to control or rather to appease the forces controlling nature and these forces were known to them as spirits and gods.
This was the beginnings of religion. Over time, religion is the worship of something or someone. Everyone today holds a form of religion. Most people in cities today hold a materialistic religion. They worship material wealth because in their eyes, wealth is so important that they must strive to acquire more and more of it; since they require it to ‘survive’ like the ancestors in the past.
Therefore, they spend all their energies to acquire and indulge in material wealth. They try to acquire more and more without end in sight. This arises because it does not satisfy. They think they feel unsatisfied because they have not acquired enough. So, they will not feel content at all. But by right, at some point, they should feel satisfied.
Take an example of food. Hunger is a desire for food. When we are hungry, we feel the urge to eat. After we eat a hearty meal, we feel full and satisfied. Our hunger is satisfied. Our stomach is loaded until we can not take in any more.
Likewise, material possessions are important for survival. Just like food, we need some amount to survive. When we have all we need, we should feel content. But most people do not feel that way. They want more and more. No matter how much they get, they may feel satisfied for awhile but not full. Even if we are greedy for food, at one point we have to stop eating as we find it torturous to eat more. But there seems to be no end for material pursuit. Therefore, it goes to follow that we are trying to use material wealth to fill something it is not supposed to fill. It is like eating food when you are thirsty.
As a result, we will feel empty in the end. We feel as though we have not achieved anything in the end. Life seems to have no meaning and without a goal. There seems to be a chasm that we are trying to fill with material wealth but it does not seem to fill. I will tell you what this chasm is.
God created the heavens and the earth and he also created man. Into man, he imparted a part of himself so that man should try to seek after him. But man chose not to follow after God and this created a chasm in man who had departed from God. Man has sought in vain to fill this chasm with everything imaginable but has failed. Today, they run after material pleasures and addictions to try and fill this chasm. In the past God overlooked such ignorance, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent. For he has set a day when he will judge the world with justice by the man he has appointed. He has given proof of this to all men by raising him from the dead.
This man is Jesus Christ and God has revealed him to all mankind. Man has no longer any excuse. No longer can man say, “I do not know”. He now calls men everywhere to repent and turn to him. Therefore, as an ambassador of Christ, I urge all of you who have not yet repented to repent and turn to God through Jesus Christ. He is the way to eternal life and eternal life is this: that people may know the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom he has sent. To know God in an intimate and personal way is what life is all about.
posted by child_of_God at 1:06 AM
2 Comments:
That's a good post, Ian but what about the contention from secularists like Maslow who agree that when basic needs are met, then there is the search for self-awareness?
Viktor Frankle took it one step further with the third school of psychiatry in which he came up with Logotheraphy; the search for meaning. Man needs a meaning to life
So, their contention is that that space in your heart is not really God shaped, but meaning or purpose shaped.
What do you say to those kind of arguments?
Oh...this is new..:P
"So, their contention is that that space in your heart is not really God shaped, but meaning or purpose shaped."
looking at everyday life, do people actually find real purpose and meaning aside from God? what i mean is a meaning and purpose that last, not something like a goal where it is void when it is achieved. there are many people who are succesful but some admit that life is empty.
they may post arguments but it ends at theory. it is not universally practical. thats what i think.
lol...1st time hear this argument:P
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