We had a great first meeting with a great group of people. The discussion was deep, yet relaxed. I appreciated how everyone was respectful while giving opinions. It’s a privilege to be able to explore God’s Truths with other curious, open souls.
We went through the questions that I posted last time to get a feel for where we all are. When we discussed the Trinity, probably more questions than answers were raised. This led to a discussion about what exactly is the Holy Spirit and could salvation be achieved for average people (like not Moses and Abraham, etc.) before Jesus. I asked the question, “Which member of the Trinity do you identify with the most?” and found some of the answers to be a bit surprising. We realized that our views of who God is often rests upon our own upbringing, traditions and perspectives on life. Does your relationship with your own father effect how you view the Heavenly Father? Did you grow up in a church where the Holy Spirit was emphasized (like “catching the Holy Ghost!”) or de-emphasized?
A large reason for the questions I asked was to make us think about how we can easily let our own traditions, cultures and experiences define who God is instead of the other way around. We’ll never be able to remove all of our bias, and perhaps we’re not meant to, but when we think about topics like “who is God” and “why were we made,” we do ourselves a service to step away from everything that we’ve always known and attempt to look at the world and beyond with a fresh set of eyes. Just as it’s unfair to project your own bad experiences, short comings and emotions on other people (“my father was abusive, so all men are horrible” or “I went after my dreams and failed, so I tell my children to play it safe and always be realistic” for example), it’s not fair to project onto God in the same manner. Assumptions can be harmful and cause you to miss out on good things. It’s not always pretty and it’s not always comfortable, but the reward for stepping outside of our comfort and allowing God to show us new parts to Him far outweighs anything we have to endure.
I also revealed that I threw in the question about the creation of the world just to grate at everyone’s nerves. While the topic is interesting, I find it to be one that we allow ourselves to get too wrapped up in and distracted from the bigger picture. I’m not saying that we should never explore and discuss the topic, I’m just saying that we need to keep the right perspective. So, in light of perspective, we’ll be starting with the foundation of the Christian faith–Jesus and His resurrection.
We’re going to examine the evidence. Was Jesus who He said He was? Did He really rise from the dead? What separates this story from fairy tales and beliefs in Santa Clause and the Easter Bunny? For those of us who believe, are we idiots for thinking that there is such thing as salvation and hope in Jesus Christ, as some critics would suggest?
Let me just say that the more I research, the more difficult it is for me to not believe. I know that I don’t have all the answers and I’m well aware that there’s a lot I’m getting wrong; we’re all wrong to some extent when it comes to matters of faith. However, on this issue of Jesus, His existence, His claims and His resurrection, as you stack the evidence, the testimonies, the cross references, it becomes a difficult issue to dispute.
We’re not going to be able to hit on everything in detail, but I’ll be presenting some basic arguments for Christ. I will also have plenty of bonus material for you to explore farther. Notes to print off to bring with you Wednesday should be up by Monday if not before, so stay tuned!
