My Personal Catechism

This is my catechism... sorta an imitation of the Shorter Catechism, but it's far shorter than the shorter catechism. =P

My personal Catechism

1. What is the number of God; what is this relationship?

Deut 6:4; 1 Cor 8:4, 6; 1 John 5:7-8; Mat 3:16-17; 28:19; II Cor 13:14; John 1:14, 18; 15:26; Gal 4:6

There are three persons in the unity of the Godhead, consisting of one substance, power and eternity: God the father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. The Father is begotten by and proceeds from none; the Son is eternally begotten of the Father; the Holly Spirit eternally proceeds from the Father and the Son.



2. What is the nature/character of God?

Deut 6:4; 1 Cor 8:4,6; 1 Thes 1:9; Jer 10:10 ; Job 11:7-9; 26:14; 1 Tim 1:7; Deut 4:15-16; John 4:24; Luke 24:39; 1 Kings 8:27; Jer 23:23; Psalms 90:2; 1 Tim 1:17; Psalms 145:3; John 5:26; Acts 17:24-25; Psalms 119:68; Acts 7:2; 1 Tim 6:15; Ro 9:5; Ex 3:14; John 4:24; Acts 14:11, 15; James 1:17; Mal 3:6; Gen 17:1; Rev 4:8; Ro 16:27; Isa 6:3; Rev 4:8; Psalms 115:3; Eph 1:11; Prov 16:4; Ro 11:36; 1 John 4:8; Ex 34:6-7; Heb 11:6; Neh 9:32-33; Psalms 5:4-6; Nahum 1:2-3; Job 22:2-3; Ro 11:36; Rev 4:11; 1 Tim 6:15; Dan 4:25; Ps 145:17; Ro 7:1;

There is only one, living and true God; invisible, without body parts; immense, unfathomable, all powerful, all wise, Totally holy/pure, free, loving, unchangeable; Always was, is, and will be;. His being and perfection has no limit. He is not susceptible to impressions from external agents. Absolute and complete in Himself .Working all things in accordance with His righteous and holy will for His own glory, He abounds in mercy and forgiveness; rewarder of those that seek Him. He is terrible in judgment because of his hatred for sin; not clearing the guilty. He has all things in and of Himself, He needs nothing and derives no glory from any of His creation, but manifests His own glory on His creation. He has complete dominion over all and does to, for, and by them, whatever he pleases. Knowing all, nothing is uncertain for Him. All He does is Holy.



3. How did all that exist come into existence?

Col 1:15, 16; John 1:2,3; Genesis 1:2; Job 26:13; 33:4; Ro 1:20; Jer 10:12; Ps 104:24; 33:5, 6; Gen 1; Heb 11:3; Col 1:16; Acts 17:24; Heb 1:3

God created all things for His pleasure and the manifestation of his character. He created everything out of nothing. Everything whether visible or invisible, was created to be very good. Last of all His creation was first of all His creation. God created Man last and set him up as head of all the rest of creation. The Godhead performed creation as a unit; Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.



4. After creating all, what involvement did God have with His creation?

Dan 4:34-35; Ps 135:6; Acts 17:25-28; Job 38-41; Matthew 10:29-31; Pro 15:3; Ps 104:24; 145:17; Acts 15:18; Ps 94:8-11; Acts 2:23;

God is in control of all that happens to His creation. From the greatest to the least, nothing happens to his creation without His knowledge.



5. What was the nature/character of man as God created him?

Gen 2:7; Ecc 12:7; Luke 23:43; Matt 10:28; Gen 1:26; Col 3:10; Eph 4:24; Ro 2:14-15; Ecc 7:29; Gen 3:6; Gen 2:17; 3:8-11, 23; Gen 1:28

Man, the last being created by God was created in the image of God with an immortal soul, capable of reason. God gave him knowledge, righteousness and true holiness in His image. On man’s heart God wrote His law and gave him the power to fulfill this law. God left man with the ability to sin; the liberty to transgress against his own creator. Along with the law written on his heart God also gave man a command; to not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. While they kept this law, they were happily in communion with God and had dominion over the creatures.



6. Did man stay in this state of righteousness allowing communion with God?

Gen 3:13; 2 Cor 11:3; Ro 11:32; Gen 3:6-8; Ecc 7:29; Ro 3:23; Gen 2:17; Eph 2:1; Tit 1:15; Gen 6:5; Jer 17:9; Ro 3:10-18;

The first man and woman (Adam and Eve) sinned by eating the forbidden fruit. God allowed this sin in order to use it for His own glory. In committing this sin, Adam and Eve lost communion with God and fell from righteousness. They became dead in sin and every part of their bodies and souls were defiled.



7. Did this corrupted sate affect all of mankind?

Gen 1:27, 28; 2:10, 17; Acts 17:26; Ro 5:12-19; 1 Cor 15:21, 22, 45, 49; Ps 51:5; Gen 5:3; Job 14:4; 15:14; Ro 5:6; 8:7; 7:18; Col 1:21; Gen 6:5; 8:21; Ro 3:10-12; James 1:14-15; Ephesians 2:2, 3; Mat 15:19

Being the root of all mankind, Adam’s and Eve’s sin was imputed to all of their decedents; and with the sin, death. All of mankind is in a state of opposition to all that is good; inclined toward all that is evil. It is from this complete corruption that all transgressions precede.



8. How does sin affect man’s state before God?

1 John 3:4; Ro 2:15; 3:9,19; Eph 2:3; Gal 3:10; Ro 6:23; Eph 4:18; Ro 8:20; Lam 3:39; Mat 25:41; 2 Thess 1:9

Every sin,, being contrary to the law of God, brings guilt upon the sinner. This guilt binds man to the wrath of God and the curse of the law. Man is made subject to death by this sin; with all anguishes whether spiritual, temporal, or eternal.



9. Is man capable of restoring his relationship with God?

Isaiah 40:13-17; Job 9:32, 33; 1 Samuel 2:25; Ps 113:5; 100:2, 3; Job 22:2, 3; 35:7, 8; Luke 17:10; Acts 17:24, 25;

The distance separating man from God is so great that man can never breach it through any amount of obedience or good works. Only through God’s grace can the separation be eliminated.



10. How did God breach the separation?

Gal 3:21; Ro 8:3; 3:20, 21; Gen 3:15; Isaiah 42:6; Mark 16:15-16; John 3:16; Romans 10:6, 9; Gal 3:11; Ez 36:26-27; John 6:44-45;

Man by his fall broke the first covenant between him and God, so God was pleased to make a second covenant. This covenant of grace was based on Christ alone; His death, burial, and resurrection. God, through the Holy Spirit makes those he has divinely called able and willing to believe and turn back to God.



11. What is the benefit of this new covenant and the renewed relationship with God?

Heb 9:15-17; 7:22; Luke 22:20; 1 Cor 11:25; Heb 8-10; Ro 4:11; Col 2:11, 12; 1 Cor 5:7; Gal 3:7-9,14; Col 2:17;

Man is no longer responsible for any part of the covenant. God does it all. It is through the messiah and the messiah alone that man receives full remission for sins. With this covenant, man’s relationship with God is restored and with this restoration, he receives the everlasting inheritance as a son of God.

My Personal Confession (think Westminster only not so awesome)

After studying the Westminster Confession, the Shorter Catechism, and excerpts from the Institutes of Religion by John Calvin, for school, I had an amazingly scary assignment. I had to write my own confession and catechism. So yeah, they are nothing like the Westminster or Shorter, but I really need a post because this blog is dying so here is my confession.

My Personal Confession

Knowing that mankind was unable to find God, even with the signs He placed in creation, God gave to man the scriptures which He inspired men to write. The scripture, being the words of God, are most necessary for man to understand salvation and to be protected from the snares of Satan. Only through scripture can man truly understand God, the universe, man, morality and ethics, evil and suffering, man’s state after death, and the meaning of history.


God
There is only one, living, and true God, who is infinite in being and perfection. His is a spirit, entirely pure, invisible, without body, parts, or passions; immutable, immense, eternal, incomprehensible, almighty, completely wise, thoroughly holy, entirely free, utterly absolute. He works all things according to His own immutable and most righteous will, for His own glory. He is most loving, gracious, merciful, long-suffering, abundant in goodness and truth, forgiving iniquity, transgression, and sin. He is the rewarder of all who seek Him diligently. To all men, He is completely just, and terrible in His judgments, hating sin. He will by no means clear the guilty.

God has all life, glory, goodness, and blessedness in and of Himself; and is alone all sufficient, not needing any creature which he has made, nor deriving any glory from them. He instead manifests His own glory in, by, and upon them. He has sovereign dominion over all things, to do by them, for them, or upon them whatever He pleases. He sees all, His knowledge is infinite, infallible, and independent, so nothing is contingent, or uncertain to Him. All His counsels, all His works, and all His commands are completely holy. He is due all worship, service, and obedience from every creature.

There are three persons in the unity of the Godhead, consisting of one substance, power, and eternity: God the father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. The Father is begotten by none and proceeding from none; the Son is eternally begotten of the Father; the Holly Spirit eternally proceeds from the Father and the Son.


The Universe
All that makes up the universe is created by God, out of nothing. All things whether visible or invisible were created in six days and declared good by God. Nothing came about of its own will; nothing was made by any other besides God. Everything God created reflects all that He is. His power, His size, His creativity, all that God is, is reveled to man through his creation. Every aspect of the universe is unique for each part is formed by God to be distinct.



Man
After creating all other beings, God formed Man, male and female, with reasonable and immortal souls. He endued them with knowledge, righteousness, and true holiness, after His own image. He wrote His law in their hearts, and gave them power to fulfill it. But He gave them freedom under their own will and possibility of transgressing. Beside this law written in their hearts, God also commanded them not to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. While they obeyed this command they were happily in communion with God. But on breaking this command, they would become separated from God and suffer the humility and pain of this separation.

Man being created above animals was given dominion over them. He ruled over them and protected them. But on disobeying God’s command, this changed. Enmity was put between Man and beast.


Morality and Ethics
God alone is good. He is the Rock, his works are perfect, and all his ways are just. He is a faithful God who does no wrong. He is upright and just. He is our only paradigm. To discover what is right and what is wrong, God’s character must be studied for his character is goodness.


Evil and suffering
At the moment of Man’s disobedience to God, everything changed. Immediately separation came into every relationship. Man was separated from God; separated from man; and separated from animal. From that first sin against God, man has been wicked. Though created righteous, man had the ability to sin and he gave into the temptations placed before him by Satan. Evil entered the world with that sin. The perfect world that God had created was corrupted by man’s disobedience. And as a result of this corruption that permeates the world, suffering is everywhere. This suffering could be taken away by God, along with the evil. For the two are inseparable. But the only way to take away the evil and suffering is to destroy all that is living, for evil resides in the hearts of men. So instead God made a different solution. Rather than destroying all that He had created, He paid the penalty for the sin Himself. The suffering and evil are still here, but for those that are saved, there is joy and peace in God.


Man’s state after death
Man was created with an immortal soul. Even after the body dies, the soul lives on. God created two destinations for the souls of men: Heaven and Hell. Heaven is where all those found righteous will spend eternity after their earthly death. Hell is the destination of those found unrighteous. All men, being corrupt and wicked, have the eternal destination of Hell.

God, however, did not wish for men to perish so He made a way for man to be saved from eternal damnation. He sent His own Son, Jesus Christ to die for the sins of the world. After His resurrection on the third day, Jesus ascended back into Heaven to sit at the right hand of God where He acts as our mediator. It is only through trusting in Him that any man can be saved from Hell. For Jesus is the only way to the Father.

Man, however, would never choose to put his faith in Jesus; he sees no problem with himself and desires to be the master of his own life. So there is still no eternal hope for man by himself. It is only through the effectual and divine calling that man will ever come to God. God draws men to Himself and gives them their faith in Christ so that they might be saved. It is in this way and in this way alone, that man can be found righteous in God’s sight. It is not man’s own righteousness but the righteousness of Jesus Christ.

If, however, man is not called to belief, if he lives his life in his own way, doing as he pleases, he will be found guilty in God’s sight. The righteousness of Christ will be found nowhere near him. And he will spend eternity in the burning fire of Hell, where worm does not die, nor is thirst quenched. There is nothing but misery; the gnashing of teeth and weeping of tears.


History
The world is growing gradually worse and it will become no better. We see this in history. The purpose of history is to show us what to expect next. As we look at past empires and nations we can often predict what will happen in modern nations. We see the truths of the Bible unfold in history as well as in the present. And if we have a good idea of the history of the world, we will be well prepared for what will come about in the future.




So yeah, um, that's it. Nothing like the Westminster, I know, but I suppose they had several people to write it and it took them years, so I'm trying to be satisfied with it.

Euthyphro Dilemma: Solution

The solution to the dilemma I previously presented is quite simple really. In debating anything, you cannot allow your opponent to corner you. You absolutely must be alert enough to find a way out of the corner your being shoved into. The only way to accomplish this is to be well prepared. Since it's not possible to at all times be prepared to debate anything under the sun, you have to decide what is truly important to you. As Christians, it only makes sense to prepare our minds with a knowledge of the bible.It is our foundation for life. And as such, we should equip ourselves with an understanding of it's content.

This of course doesn't happen over night. You can spend every waking moment of your entire life studying the Bible and yet not fully comprehend the vast stores of wisdom it has to offer. So, you must pick what you will study. But there are somethings that are needed. One of the most frequently attacked aspects of Christianity is the nature of God. This means that knowing God's nature is of utmost importance.

For those with a decent understanding of God, Euthyphro's dilemma is really not to difficult to solve. The thing is, there are not two options, but three. Christians must reject the two options laid out for them. Neither is correct and therefore neither can be chosen. The only remaining question, after rejecting the two given, is, what is the third and correct answer. God's goodness is not a matter of His demanding what goodness is. If that was the case, He could have declared rape, or other physical abuses, as moral. Even mandatory. Goodness also does not come from some higher power above God. There is no one greater than God. Instead, goodness is in God's character. His commands are His expression of His character. So what He tells us is right/wrong is a direct reflection of His own self. Now of course, this all sounds good. But you can't leave things too 'sound good'. You must test everything against scripture.

To start, the idea of God's character being good/righteous must be backed up.

Ezra 9:15, Nehemiah 9:8, Psalm 4:1, 7:9, 7:11, 11:7, 116:5, 119:137, 129:4, 145:17,
Proverbs 21:12, Isaiah 41:10, 45:21, Jeremiah 12:1, Lamentations 1:18, Daniel 9:14,
Zephaniah 3:5, John 17:25, Acts 3:14, 7:52, 1 John 2:1

While these verses tell us of God's righteousness, there still could be confusion. After all, could God's nature not change and thus the paradigm for righteousness change? This is where a very important part of God's nature comes into play. Without His immutability, His goodness is meaningless.

Psalm 102:26-27, Malachi 3:6, Hebrews 13:8, James 1:17

So really, now you can almost say that the first of the two original options is in a way, correct. God does decree what is right and wrong. But it is based on His unchanging nature so it does not vary.
So a thing is good because God has said to to be so, but ALL that he says is based on His nature.

Euthyphro Dilemma

Quite some time ago, a question was posed to me. I have been really busy and therefore have not answered it until now. Well, I must admit, busyness was not all that stopped me. For the most part, I don't like answering questions such as this one rashly, without pondering and musing over the best way to effectively answer. I was also hindered by a fear that creeps up on me quite often. "What if I answer wrong? What if I word it wrong? What if, by something I say, I confuse someone?" So, I was hesitant to make this post. But, I knew I could not put it off much longer, so here I am, rather nervously hoping I can properly convey my thoughts.

"Tell me, is God good because he decides what the good is, or is He good because He is being measured to a standard other than Himself? If the first is the case, then Morality is simply an arbitration and has no objective stake in the truth. If the latter is the case, then God is no longer the basis for objective moral truth and we no longer require Him to fill such a role.

This is called the Euthyphro Dilemma, based on Plato's character of the same name, and is often given in response to the Moral Argument for the existence of God. Have fun with it."

Kerry

This dilemma Euthyphro faced is used today as an attack against Christianity. An example of such attacks is that of Bertrand Russell in his argument against faith, Why I am Not a Christian.

"If you are quite sure there is a difference between right and wrong, you are then in this situation: Is that difference due to God's fiat or is it not? If it is due to God's fiat, then for God Himself there is no difference between right and wrong, and it is no longer a significant statement to say that God is good. If you are going to say, as theologians do, that God is good, you must then say that right and wrong have some meaning which is independent of God's fiat, because God's fiats are good and not good independently of the mere fact that he made them. If you are going to say that, you will then have to say that it is not only through God that right and wrong came into being, but that they are in their essence logically anterior to God."

Russell is endeavoring to undermine God, as portrayed in the Bible, by cornering believers and giving them only two options, both extremely inimical to Christian theism. The question is much like the well known, "Can God create a rock he cannot move?" These questions are enough to make you pull out your hair in despair! Which of course, is exactly their purpose. What better way to turn someone away from their faith than to give them the feeling of inferiority due to confusion and lack of answers to preposterous questions.

To choose the first option takes away God's holiness and righteousness. Though God told us that adultery and covetousness are wrong, He could have arbitrarily said otherwise. There would be no way to know if what we did was right or wrong because the concepts would be relative. God could chose at any time to change the moral standards He set up. We know that this is wrong, because the Bible makes it quite clear that God CANNOT sin. If He cannon sin, that leads us to the conclusion that He did not arbitrarily decide what was right, and what was wrong.

What then? We are left now with the second option. This too, like the first, is not in keeping with what we know from scripture. To state that God is held by a higher law is blasphemous. In the case of this being true, He loses His sovereignty and becomes no better than us. Dependent, secondary, and subject.

Christianity has now 'lost'. With only these two options, there is nowhere to turn. The God that we know and have put our faith in has seemingly been proven false. God is either not good, or He is not sovereign. Both claims refute the Bible. If the Bible is found to be untrue by any contradiction or fallacy of any kind, what is left of Christianity? It is no more. Totally and utterly made obsolete.

I am going to give the solution to this dilemma in a separate post. This is basically just to lay out the problem, let all of you think about it, and hopefully comment on it. Then in a few days (at most a week, all depending on busyness with school), I will post the follow up.

Biblical World View-Question 1

Is there a God or gods? If so, what is He like?

What does the bible have to say about this? Let's take a look and see.
"In the beginning God......." Genesis 1:1

The first verse of the bible tells us that there is a God. So, what is he like?

Duet. 6:4 - Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one.

James 2:19 - You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder.

These verses tell us that there is only one God.

Gen. 1:26 - Then God said, "Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground."

Gen. 11:7 - Come, let us go down and confuse their language so they will not understand each other."

Isaiah 6:8 - Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, "Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?"

Matt. 3:16-17, John 15:26, 1 Pet. 1:2

In these verses God uses a plural pronoun which seams to indicate that there is more than one.

Mat. 28:19 - Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit

This verse gives us the three separate beings of God.

John 1:18 - No one has ever seen God, but God the One and Only, who is at the Father's side, has made him known.

John 17:11b - Holy Father, protect them by the power of your name—the name you gave me—so that they may be one as we are one.

John 17:21 - that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me.

John 17:22 - I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one

While God does have separate beings they are part of the same person. Though this is hard to rap our finite minds around, it's what the bible says so we can be sure that it's true.

Gen 1:1, Gen 1:31, Ps. 33:9, Isa. 44:24, Isa. 45:18, John 1:1-3, Col. 1:16-17, Heb. 11:3, Rev. 4:11

God created all things.

Neh. 9:6 - You alone are the LORD. You made the heavens, even the highest heavens, and all their starry host, the earth and all that is on it, the seas and all that is in them. You give life to everything, and the multitudes of heaven worship you.

Ps. 36:6,7 - Your righteousness is like the mighty mountains,
your justice like the great deep.
O LORD, you preserve both man and beast.

7 How priceless is your unfailing love!
Both high and low among men
find refuge in the shadow of your wings.

Ps. 107:9 - for he satisfies the thirsty
and fills the hungry with good things.

Ps. 121:8 - the LORD will watch over your coming and going
both now and forevermore.

Heb. 1:3 - The Son is the radiance of God's glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven.

The father sustains all things. Jesus, being the exact representation of God's being has the same sustaining power.

1Chron. 29:11,12 - Yours, O LORD, is the greatness and the power
and the glory and the majesty and the splendor,
for everything in heaven and earth is yours.
Yours, O LORD, is the kingdom;
you are exalted as head over all.

12 Wealth and honor come from you;
you are the ruler of all things.
In your hands are strength and power
to exalt and give strength to all.

Ps. 66:7 - He rules forever by his power,
his eyes watch the nations—
let not the rebellious rise up against him.
Selah

Is. 45:7 - I form the light and create darkness,
I bring prosperity and create disaster;
I, the LORD, do all these things.

Dan. 4:35 - All the peoples of the earth
are regarded as nothing.
He does as he pleases
with the powers of heaven
and the peoples of the earth.
No one can hold back his hand
or say to him: "What have you done?"

Ro. 11:36 - For from him and through him and to him are all things.
To him be the glory forever! Amen.

Eph. 1:11 - In him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will,

Rev. 19:6 - Then I heard what sounded like a great multitude, like the roar of rushing waters and like loud peals of thunder, shouting:
"Hallelujah!
For our Lord God Almighty reigns.

God is a powerful ruler. He is over everything. Everything belongs to him.

Mat. 6:26 - Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?

Mat. 10:29 - Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from the will of your Father.

1 Pe. 5:6,7 - Humble yourselves, therefore, under God's mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. 7Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.

God care about us.


Now, this is just scratching the surface of Gods character and attributes, but covering them all and giving each justice would require more than just a single post. It would require an entire blog dedicate to the topic. So for now, I'll just sum up what we do have.

There is one Godhead made up of three individual persons. The father, the son, and the holy spirit. Some kind of way, they are united into one, while still maintaining there uniqueness and identities. As humans we can't really fathom how this is possible but we can accept it as true because the infallible word of God says that it is. God created all things that are in existence. But He didn't create them and then leave them alone. He is here, sustaining all things. Being the creator of all things, He is the ruler over all. Everything belongs to Him. And, on top of this all, He loves and cares about us.