Free NONSENSE FROM THE BIBLE by Brian Baker Page B

relate to ‘family values’ and as you can see, there is little or no evidence that the Bible provides good examples of family values. In fact as we have discovered many times, human values far surpass almost everything written in the Bible concerning family life.
     
    Good family values?   Nonsense!

GOD IS LOVE - GOD LOVES YOU
     
    BIBLE NONSENSE NUMBER 4
     
    Christians declare that ‘God Loves You’ or ‘Jesus loves you’ especially when they are seeking to convert an unbeliever and to make a commitment by accepting Jesus as their saviour. The Bible tells that ‘God is Love!’ (1 John 4:8/16) Love is the greatest human emotion which we all seek and it is also a wonderful tool for evangelists to use, especially to bring people ‘to Christ.’ If you have needs or feel unloved or have suffered great disappointments or tragedy in your life, you are then most likely to be in your most fragile and vulnerable condition. The thought that there is a loving God who loves and forgives you whatever you have done, or will provide help, no matter what has happened to you, is a most tempting alternative. A church filled with Christians with raised hands in praise and captivating music heightens the emotion and a positive response is almost irresistible.
    Possibly the most quoted ‘love verse’ by Christians is John 3:16:
     
    For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. 
     
    Christians may claim that God’s love is available to everyone who inhabits this planet and according to the above verse God gives everyone the opportunity to experience eternal life in heaven. Or does he?
     
    This however is a completely false assumption as this promise of eternal life is totally conditional:
     
    1. Belief that Jesus is the son of God is an absolute requirement.
    Christians will not argue with that – it is an acceptable condition and requirement. The second condition is not as simple:
     
     
    2. The ability to hear or receive knowledge of this promise by God is itself conditional.
     
    According to the Bible, salvation is completely dependent on whether you have been fortunate enough to actually hear about Jesus and have then believed in him as the son of God.  Again, Christians accept this without argument and quote several verses known as the ‘great commission’ to evangelise the whole world :
     
    Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost
    Matthew 28:19 (also see: Mark 16:15-18 & Acts 1:8)
     
    Based on the requirement of belief in Jesus as the son of God (John 3:16) God’s love has never been available to everyone as only a very small number of human beings living on the planet 2,000+ years ago would have had the opportunity to experience the life and ministry of Jesus. He reputedly preached only for between 1-3 years at most and only travelled to cities within 170 km of Jerusalem. There were at the time millions of people living on all the continents of the world including India, China, the Americas and the rest of Europe and Asia. There was no satellite television to carry the news and message to the ends of the earth as we have today. The plan failed miserably to achieve great success during or immediately following the alleged lifetime of Jesus.
     
    During the two thousand or so years of Christianity, missionaries and evangelists  have carried the message of the Gospel to every part of the world and Christianity in its’ many forms and colours now claims to have 2.1 billion adherents in the world and is in fact the largest religion, with over 33% of human beings claiming to be Christians. Success? Maybe, but there have also been millions of people in every century who have not been convinced or even had the opportunity to know this plan for their salvation. IF the promise of eternal life can only be obtained by hearing and accepting the