The Three Most Asked Questions in Life

     From time immemorial, people have asked these three questions:
– Who am I?
– Why am I here?
– What happens when I die?

     Four types of people attempt to answer these questions. These four types of people make up the entire human race.

• Monotheists…people who believe in one God. These would include Christians, Muslims and Jews.
  
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• Polytheists…people who believe in many gods. These would include Hindu’s and many other Eastern religions.
  
• Agnostics…people who aren’t sure or don’t believe that there is enough evidence to believe in any god.
• Atheists…people who don’t believe in any God at all. These people can be called naturalists, materialists and some evolutionists like Richard Dawkins, Daniel Dennett and Sam Harris.
  
       Since most agnostics would answer these questions like atheists, we’ll count them as atheists for the purpose of our discussion.

     Atheists believe that mankind evolved from chemicals randomly combining together to produce humans. That we’re just “accidents of nature”. That there is no reality outrside of the physical world. That there is no ultimate purpose in life. That our morality is just an agreed upon set of behaviors. That these behaviors can, do and will change with time. That our morals are nothing more than preferences that help us to survive. Read “Is Morality Relative or Absolute” at https://bsssb-llc.com/is-morality-absolute-or-relative/.
Philosopher Michael Ruse says that “…ethics, as we understand it, is an illusion fobbed off on us by our genes to get us to cooperate…ethics is a shared illusion of the human race.”
Philosopher William Provine says that “There is no ultimate foundation for ethics, no ultimate meaning for life, and no free will for humans either (because our genes determine our actions)”.
Atheists believe that we’re born, we live, we die and that’s it. There is no afterlife. When we die, we just cease to exist. There’s no ultimate purpose in life. Any human desire for a better life is just our brain chemicals reacting in a certain way. There is no absolute right and wrong.

Atheists would answer these three questions like this:
– Who am I? Nobody special. You’re just a conglomeration of chemicals.
– Why am I here? There’s no special purpose for your life at all. You’re just one out of several billion people on one planet out of trillions in the universe.
– What happens after I die? You cease to exist. There is no afterlife.

Polytheists believe in many gods that all merge into one god. This god is not a “he”, it’s an “it”. It is not a personal god but an impersonal one. You have somehow inherited a lot of bad deeds or bad karma. Because most polytheists believe in reincarnation, you must go thru several lifetimes where your good deeds outweigh your bad deeds. When you finally work off all of your bad deeds or your bad karma, your consciousness gets absorbed into “god”. Many polytheists describe it as a drop of water added to the ocean. Your individuality is gone. You don’t exist anymore.
Polytheists would answer the three questions as follows:
– Who am I? Your physical body is an illusion. Your consciousness is the real you. You are a part of god, you just don’t realize it yet.
– Why am I here? To work off your bad karma. They don’t explain how or why you got these bad deeds or bad karma.
– What happens to me when I die? You become part of the universal, impersonal “it”. Your consciousness gets absorbed into the universal, impersonal consciousness.
They don’t believe in an absolute right or wrong as one guru teaches one set of morals and another guru teaches another set.

Monotheists, who believe in one God, answer these three questions in a variety of ways:
– Islamists…
Who am I? You’re a creation of Allah (Quran 95:4).
Why am I here? To obey and serve Allah and to fulfill the five pillars of Islam, which are-
Shahadah – declaring and believing in one God, Allah.
Salah – Praying 5 times a day.
Zakah – giving money to Allah
Sawm – Fasting during Ramadan.
Hajj – Going to Mecca at least once in your lifetime.
Life is a test to show us who are the best in deeds (Quran 49:13 & 67:2)
What happens when I die? If your good deeds outweigh your bad deeds (and you won’t know this until you die), you’ll be welcomed into Islamic heaven. If not, you’ll go to hell (Quran 3:115-116).

– Jews…
Who am I? A creation of God, usually by evolution, to teach the world about God by loving Him and observing His commandments.
Why am I here? To fear God and keep His commandments (Ecclesiastes 12:13) . To believe in a future Messiah sent by God who will deliver the Jews.
What happens when I die? Jews believe in an afterlife. There will be a final judgement where everyone receives a forever physical body. Some people will go to heaven (if they are good Jews in this life) and others will go to a place of torment (Daniel 12:2 & Isaiah 25 & 26).

– Christians…
Who am I? We are people designed in the image of Almighty God, the Creator of the Universe (Genesis 1:28). We have infinite worth because God says we do. Our worth is not based on anything we have done. It is based on the word of the God who created us.
Why am I here? What is the reason for my earthly existence?  He made us to freely choose to have a relationship with Him because He loves us. We’re free to have this relationship with Him, to tell other people about Him and to rule over His whole creation as He originally wanted us to (Genesis 1:28). In the meantime, we live as He instructed us to.
What happens when I die? Your body goes into the ground. Your spirit goes up to heaven to be with God. When Jesus returns to this Earth, everyone will be physically resurrected into a new, non-perishable body. Then God will judge everyone. If your sins have been forgiven, while you were alive, you’ll go to heaven for an eternity. If not, you’ll go to hell for an eternity. Either way, God will honor the choice you made in this earthly life.
In  heaven, we’ll spend an eternity exploring the resurrected universe and using the talents God had given us to glorify Him. For specifics, take/watch my class entitled Heaven & Hell at https://bsssb-llc.com/video-courses-overview/heaven-and-hell/.

     Now, I’d like to ask you the following questions:
1…Which belief system is more appealing?
2…Which belief system is true and matches up with reality?

Atheists say when you die, you cease to exist. Unless you’re an Einstein or Napoleon, you’ll be forgotten in a couple of generations. Your body will decay in

the grave.

Polytheists believe you’ll be absorbed into the great god, Brahma. Your body will decay in the grave. Your individuality will be gone. “You” will be gone. You’ll become like a drop in the ocean.

Monotheists believe in an after-life but only one guarantees a perfect life in heaven.

     Atheism doesn’t match up to reality. Any ultimate purpose for our lives is illusory. We’re just one out of billions of people on this planet in this time period. Our planet is just one of trillions of planets circling other stars in billions of years. Sometime in the distant future, our universe will die a “heat death” where nothing can exist. Morality just becomes “preferences”. What’s moral in one time period may not be moral in another. There’s no purpose in our life, no reason for us to exist and when we die, we cease to exist.

Polytheists don’t explain where our bad deeds (karma) come from or why we must work it off.  There is no absolute system of morality. Guru’s (polytheists holy men) often contradict each other. They cannot explain the human desire for a better life or where this desire comes from. They cannot explain why humans feel like individuals.

Only Christianity can be proven to match up with reality and is true. Read/watch my class on “Prove to me that God exists” at https://bsssb-llc.com/video-courses-overview/prove-to-me-that-god-exists/. Only Christianity compellingly answers all of these questions. We do have purpose in our life. Our “personality” and our resurrected body will exist for all eternity. We will be rewarded for what we have done in our Earthly life (Revelation 22:12). Our life has purpose and meaning and we live like it does.

     Most people don’t think thru these 3 questions. But when they do, it becomes apparent that Christianity answers them compellingly and correctly.

Book reference:
“Reflections on the Existence of God” by Richard E. Simmons III

Here’s to a GREAT eternity,
Dave Maynard
https://bsssb-llc.com

How is Jesus Different from Other Religious Leaders?

      Many religions believe in Jesus. The Bible even says the demons believe in Jesus (James 2:29—“You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder”). But what we need to determine is :
– what do they mean by “believe”?
– how do they define Jesus? There is more than one Jesus (Matthew 24:23-26  “…For false Christs…will appear and perform great signs and miracles to deceive even the elect-if that were possible…”). I can say I believe in Dave Maynard who lives in Jackson, Michigan but there are 3 Dave Maynards who live in Jackson, Michigan and they are all quite different people. You need to be more specific.
– you need to determine if their definition of Jesus is correct. Three people may give you direction to a certain destination but if two of them are wrong and you believe them, you’ll never reach your intended destination.

     Now let’s look at the two different types of belief.
– one is just an acknowledgement of something. I believe the sky is blue but that doesn’t impact my life. I will not dedicate my life to proving the sky is blue. This type of belief or acknowledgement has no effect on my life. The demons believe that Jesus is Lord but they don’t allow that belief to transform them (James 2:29).
– the other belief is a transformational belief. Christians not only believe in Jesus, they have received Him into their life. He comes in and transforms our lives (John 1:12  “Yet to all who received Him, to those who believed in His name, He gave the right to become children of God.”).

     According to the most basic of laws, the law of non-contradiction says that “A” cannot be “non-A”. If Islam says Jesus is one thing and Christianity says He is something different, both cannot be right. Either they’re both wrong or one is wrong and one is right.
Now let’s look at how certain religions/belief systems define Jesus.

     Christianity…Jesus is God in the flesh, a part of the trinity, God the Son, who came down from heaven, died for our sins, rose from the dead for our justification and will come back to set up Kingdom for all eternity.

     Judaism…Jesus was just a human being, a Jew who some people mistakenly believed was the promised Jewish Messiah. He was a Jewish prophet who lived and died in 1^st century Palestine. There is only one God, not a trinity, and Jesus is not Him.

     Islam…Jesus was a great prophet in a line of prophets (Moses, David, Solomon, Jonah, etc.) but Mohammed was the greatest prophet of all. Jesus lived and died in 1^st century Palestine. To say Jesus is God is blasphemy. Jesus was only a human being. They don’t believe in the trinity  nor do hey believe he was crucified.

     Hinduism…God is an impersonal force, an undefinable thing. Hinduism recognizes thousands of lesser gods but they’re all part of one big impersonal force called Brahma. Jesus may be one of these lesser gods or just a human being. They don’t believe in the trinity. He lived and died in 1^st century Palestine.

     Buddhism…most Buddhists are atheists. Some Buddhists believe that Buddha was a god. Jesus may have been a teacher who lived and died in 1^st century Palestine. Jesus isn’t really much of a factor in Buddhism. Obviously, they don’t believe in the trinity.

     Transcendental Meditation…Jesus is not God Almighty. He had the divine essence as a man. Unlike most people, He discovered His divine essence. Each part of creation makes up “God”. God is in you and me and in that tree, the mountains, sky, etc. God is not personal. God is an “it”. They don’t believe in the trinity. Jesus, as an enlightened man, lived and died in 1^st century Palestine.

     Unity School of Christianity…Jesus is only a man who gained a “Christ consciousness.” Jesus had been reincarnated many times and lived many lives before. Jesus didn’t die for our sins and will not return a 2^nd time. God is an impersonal entity, a principle. They don’t believe in the trinity. Jesus was a human being who lived and died in 1^st century Palestine.

      Mormonism…God is an office that you can be elevated to. Our God was once a man with a physic al body the same as ours. If you’re a good Mormon in this life, you may become a Jesus on another world. Eventually you may become God on another world also. Jesus was created as a spirit child of God the Father and the Heavenly Mother. His earthly body was created thru a sexual union of God the Father and Mary. Mormons don’t believe in the trinity.

     Jehovah’s Witnesses…There is one God called Jehovah. They do not believe in the trinity. Jesus is not God Almighty but he is a Mighty God, just lesser than God Almighty. Before He came to earth, he was Michael, the Archangel. Jesus is the first thing that Jehovah God created. Jesus’ body decayed in the grave but his spirit was resurrected. Their belief is similar to the Arian heresy of the 4^th century that the early church condemned at the Council of Nicea (which is where we get the Nicene Creed from).

     Christian Science…Jesus was not God. God has never been a human. He didn’t die on the cross, wasn’t resurrected and isn’t coming back again. God is an impersonal life force. God is all that exists. Anything material (like you and me) is just an illusion. Jesus was just a man who displayed the Christ consciousness. Sin, evil, sickness and death are not real, only illusions. Jesus was a man who lived and died in 1^st century Palestine.

     While there are many other religions, in all of them Jesus is either just a man who lived and died in 1^st century Palestine or he is one of many “divine” people.
– in the Bible, Jesus claims to be God (John1:1, 8:58)
– that all other gods are false gods (Isaiah 44:6,8,9).
– He claims to be the only way to God (John 14:6)
Jesus claimed to be God and backed up those claims by fulfilling over 300 messianic prophecies, something that no one has come close to since. He also proved it by His resurrection from the dead. He left many historical proofs of this.

     Either Jesus is who He claims to be or He is not. There is no middle ground. Who your definition of Jesus is, is extremely important. He only leaves you with 3 choices. Either Jesus is who He says He is or He is not. If He is not, then He is either a liar or a lunatic. But Jesus told people not to lie. How could a lunatic or a liar give the world the highest ethical teachings the world has ever known, a fact endorsed even by His critics? Not many sane people would call Jesus a lunatic or a liar. That only leaves one choice…that He is God.
To those people who say He was only a good teacher, consider these claims of His;
-He told people that if they ate His flesh and drink His blood, they would have eternal life (John 6:53,54).
-He can give life to people after they die (John 11:25,26). In other words, He told people to trust Him with their eternal destiny.
-He is God (John 10:30)
– He will raise Himself from the dead (John 2:19-21)
If your science teacher said these things about himself, I’m sure you’d run for the door and never come back. Jesus did not leave the good teacher option open for us.

     All the other prophets or messiahs of other religions have died and are in the grave. Jesus is the only major religious figure to have conquered the grave. He is the only major religious figure to predict His own death….and resurrection. The bodies of all the other religious figures are in the grave. Jesus’ grave has been empty for 2,000 years.  Even the Jewish religious leaders of His day didn’t disagree that His grave was empty. They only tried to explain why it was empty. Their explanations fell flat (see “The Real Easter Story” on this website for verification of the empty grave).
Jesus was so different from all the other gods, guru’s, messiahs, teachers or founders of all the other religions. He is so popular that all the other religions try to incorporate Him into their religion. While his has happened with a few other religious leaders that were put into a few other religions, Jesus has been put into almost every religion. No other religious leader comes close to His popularity.

     Then there are these other milestones:
– the Bible is the best selling book of all time
– Christianity has stood the test of time despite periods of severe persecution
– the Bible is quoted more than  any other book in history
– our calendar is centered around this obscure peasant born in a remote backwater village
– His short 3 years of ministry has effected the world more than any other person’s entire life has.
– more people will willingly lay down their life rather than deny belief in Him
– more people have testified that He has changed their life for the better than any other person or god in the world throughout history.
– more books have been written about Him than any other person or movement in all of history.
– more compassionate ministries (Salvation Army, soup kitchens, orphanages, food pantries, medical care, grief care, etc.) have started and existed because of His command to feed the hungry, cloth the naked, etc.

     Yes, indeed, Jesus is far different from any other leader, religious or not, that world has ever known.
Who do you think Jesus is? Your eternal destiny hangs on your answer.

Recommended Resources:
Books;
“Kingdom of the Cults” by Walter Martin
“So What’s the Difference” by Fritz Ridenour
Plus many, many more that can be purchased at www.christianbook.com

Websites;
https://carm.org
https://www.watchman.org/

For His Kingdom,
Dave Maynard
http://BSSSB-LLC.com