I didn't MEAN to lie!

 Lying is weird. Usually, I know that I'm lying when I'm lying. Sometimes I sincerely believe that a fact is true and adamantly stick to it, just to find out later that I was incorrect.

Usually, it's somewhere in the middle.

I'd been suffering from some crises (yes plural) of faith, mostly because of the Evangelical support of former president, Donald Trump, so I said, "goodbye," to my church family, expressing that my beliefs hadn't changed, but I needed to be there for my girlfriend who was considering returning to church, but wanted to attend a PCUSA church in Champaign/Urbana. 

Yep, it affected me more than I thought it would. Looking back, it had affected me already more than I thought it had.

There are some foundational beliefs that I no longer hold. God cannot be all-knowing, all-present, all-powerful, AND benevolent in a world where evil exists. ONE of those things can't be true. Refusing to believe that God isn't benevolent, It has to be one of the omni-whatevers. I'm not sure which one, though.

Also, how can a benevolent God allow any of his children whom he professes to love to endure eternal damnation? I Corinthians 3 talks about building on the foundation laid by Jesus with, "gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw," that the fire would reveal and test each one's work. I have come to believe that the fire may be unquenchable in that it cannot be avoided, but it doesn't burn everything. Gold, silver, and precious stones (good works and/or good fruit) will not be burnt, only that which is unacceptable. Paul clearly states, "the builder will be saved, but only as through fire."

"The builder will be saved."

Dr. Dan McClellan, Bible scholar, author, and TikTok creator, is adamant that we all negotiate with the text of the Bible because it is not univocal. If that is true, then I would feel free and justified in rejecting any part of the Bible -- or at least understanding it differently than it may have been taught by any of the denominations I've belonged to -- that seemingly or actually contradicts I Corinthians 3. I have found myself in the past agreeing more with the preterist view of Revelation of St. John than with the literal interpretation of the pre-millenialist view. This means that it was written as a polemic against a real world leader of the day in which it was written, and not as literal prophecy.

I shouldn't be surprised. My views on the Bible and Christianity have changed over the years. In the past, I've tried to find a denomination that "fits" me. I've given up on that. I am truly a sect unto my own.

Some YouTube posts

Recently, I've come across a really great YouTube video by user bzel333.  I have found his videos to be very informative and accurate, but this time I had been going through a bit of a season of doubt.  Thanks to bzel333 and this video, my faith has been strengthened.




Then, I came across a number of videos that were published from an atheist perspective.  Following are the videos and my responses:




Even an overwhelming majority is still argumentum ad populam.

These "arguments" are not very good ones, obviously. There are much, much better arguments that the rank and file simply have not been properly taught. There are a number of reasons for this, namely apathy and laziness on the part of Christians.

If you want to see true genius, check out Thomas Aquinas. Ed Feser wrote a really great book entitled _The Last Superstition: A Refutation of the New Atheism_ that's also worth reading.



I see some problems here. First, you start out discussing the teleological argument, but change to the cosmological argument. The second problem is that neither argument states that something complex must come from something even more complex. This means you have succumbed to a straw-man fallacy.  Furthermore, neither argument states that God came from nothing, but is the first uncaused cause. Finally, the universe did begin, so we can't save a step there.

I've run out of space :)



For the wages of sin is death, BUT the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 3.23, HCSB) ?? I encourage you to read it in it's context. In fact, read the whole book of Romans.

Also, claiming to be a Christian and being saved by the blood of Jesus (and becoming an heir to inherit eternal life) are not the same thing. "For by grace you are saved through faith, and this is not from yourselves; it is God's gift" (Ephesians 2:8) Also see Matthew 7:21



While that may be what a lot of people think, it's not what Jesus taught. The video by bzel333 sums it up best: