I have committed murder.
I’m not talking about the murder described in 1 John 3:15 (Amplified):
Anyone who hates (abominates, detests) his brother [in Christ] is [at heart] a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding persevering) within him.
Although, I’ve done plenty of that type of murder, in this article I’m talking about another kind. You know, the taking of another person’s life. The Bible says it very succinctly (no matter what translation you use):
Exodus 20:13 (New Living Translation) “You must not murder.”
Plain and simple. You must not commit murder – direct from the mouth of God.
As I sit and analyze this situation – I realize that I didn’t commit the murder myself. I was an accessory to the fact. In fact, I was the mastermind behind it all. I thought about it, made the decision, found someone who would do it for me, paid for it, and sat by as I watched the life being drained from the victim. The victim had no choice in the matter. The victim was not allowed to speak or to plead for the life that I was playing God with. I didn’t let him utter a word. I would not give him a chance to plead for his life, or give me reasons why it was not a good idea to kill him. I didn’t want him to change my mind at all.
This is an agonizing article to write; I’m going to be extremely open and very honest with you. You may end up hating me, you may refuse to associate with me, or it may not affect our relationship in any way. The purpose of this article is to help others who may be considering this very same act. Please don’t do what I did. I hope that by sharing my heart and the brutal facts, you will see the truth.
The Premise for the Murder
When I was around 22 years old, I met a young man that I was attracted to. This was during the time in my life when I liked to do things my way without considering the consequences. I thought I loved him, I embraced lust, and we had sex.
The inevitable happened, and I got pregnant. At first we were very excited about the baby. I remember talking to my mom on a payphone and flipping through the yellow pages. I randomly opened up to a section where baby clothes were featured. I felt a little thrill in my heart and mentioned it to her. She laughed with me.
This young man and I decided to get married. The next step was to inform my new fiancee’s parents. They were angry and shocked and spent the next two hours telling him that this was going to ruin his life. The parents successfully talked him out of marrying the woman who held their new grand-baby in her womb. He broke off the engagement.
We had a problem on our hands now. It was our choice to have unprotected sex. We made an adult decision, and now an adult consequence was on our hands.
A baby was being formed in my body. Already things were happening with that child. The cells were multiplying and the formation process of a new human being was working towards completion. My blood was flowing towards this new person as I nourished the cells in the body that was growing. This organism was alive. Alive. It had life in it. There was life flowing from my body into the life of this new body. A new life had begun.
The deed was done, the consequence was real.
So, I took the coward’s way out. I was going to get rid of the problem that I created by taking the easy road. Why should I be responsible for my choices? I was going to rid myself of an inconvenience by making another choice. To have this new life snuffed out before it had a chance to convince me otherwise. I didn’t want to hear his/her voice.
The Murder Process
I went to Planned Parenthood and hired them to commit this murder for me. I was one in a long line of cattle being herded through the gate where life was taken without much thought. What a fantastic way to end my little problem. My Problem.
They didn’t say much. They didn’t tell me what I would feel like after the procedure. I don’t even remember if they asked me to think about it a little longer. They didn’t explain the person-in-the-making process that this new life was going through (even though I knew it already). They just wanted to help me easily get rid of the consequence of my behavior. Why should I have to pay for my choice to have unprotected sex? After all, we were in the new age of not taking responsibility for our actions. And Planned Parenthood was excellent at enabling women to avoid having to display a strength of character and face the problem they created head on.
I went in, dressed in my operation gown, laid on the table, and received the medication to avoid feeling the pain of what I was doing to my body and to my unborn child. I’m not going to go into the gory details here, but I will recount what I said to the doctor as the procedure was almost completed. I said, “I didn’t really want to do this.”
He blankly looked at me and said, “Uh-huh…” His eyes told me, “Yeah right. You wouldn’t be in here if you didn’t want it done.”
The Recrimination That Follows Murder
Here is where I want to be completely clear about what it was like after I easily got rid of my problem.
I felt horrible – like a monster.
I’d like to say that just today, as I was thinking of writing this article, I tried to rationalize my actions by saying to myself, “Well, I didn’t know God back then.”
God gently reminded me, “Yes you did, child. You had accepted Jesus as your Savior at the age of seventeen. You still chose to walk in your ways, and I let you. You had a choice. You chose wrong because you were weak. You didn’t have the character to face a problem that you created. You, an adult, did not take the responsible way out.”
Let’s call it like it is: God is right. I murdered another human being because I didn’t want the hassle of taking care of a problem that I created. I had a choice, but my choice was the coward’s way out.
Then depression hit. It was a very difficult time that followed this act. I was depressed because I had gotten rid of a new human being just to make my life easier. Now it was hard to live with myself. I saw myself for what I was – a weak human being who didn’t have the character to face my problems with courage. And I regretted it. My boyfriend didn’t care about it one way or another. We didn’t marry. No great loss – he had no character either.
About a year later, the horror of what I did hit home heavily in my heart. I remember crying, sobbing out to God for forgiveness. Forgiveness for that act and for other things that I had done. He poured His Healing Balm of Grace over me, and all guilt left. His Mercy had overcome the horror of this heinous act. God forgave my sin.
Ephesians 1:7 (New International Version, ©2010) In him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace.
I was free from guilt and shame, never to murder again. Except for that “hate” thing, but that’s another story, and another character building process that God led me through; with His help I have overcome.
Regrets
To this day, I regret the choice I made. I know about a dozen other ladies who made the same choice, and they all feel the same way I do. They regret it. They suffered depression afterward. To this day, they wish that they had kept that baby. All of us imagine what our son or daughter would have been like had we allowed them to live. What would they look like? What would they be doing right now? What kind of a relationship would we have? What type of personality would they have?
I will regret this act until the day that I die. My eyes fill up with tears every time I think about the son or daughter that I will not get to intimately know during my time here on earth.
That’s how many women feel after having an abortion performed.
I wish that the abortion laws in place in South Dakota had been the law in Florida when I had the abortion done way back then.
The law states that the woman must receive counseling first, then given 24 hours to think about it. The following is then done:
“Before performing an abortion, a South Dakota doctor must offer the woman the opportunity to view a sonogram. And under a law passed in 2005, doctors are required to read a script meant to discourage women from proceeding with the abortion: “The abortion will terminate the life of a whole, separate, unique, living human being.” Until recently, doctors also had to tell a woman seeking an abortion that she had “an existing relationship with that unborn human being” that was protected under the Constitution and state law and that abortion poses a “known medical risk” and “increased risk of suicide ideation and suicide.”
This question seems to come up quite often whenever this topic is discussed: Is a fetus a human being? I can only point to the Bible for that:
Isaiah 44:24 (Amplified Bible) Thus says the Lord, your Redeemer, and He Who formed you from the womb: “I am the Lord, Who made all things, Who alone stretched out the heavens, Who spread out the earth by Myself [who was with Me]?”
And:
Jeremiah 1:5 (Amplified Bible) “Before I formed you in the womb I knew [and] approved of you [as My chosen instrument], and before you were born I separated and set you apart, consecrating you…”
And:
Isaish 44:2 (NIV) This is what the LORD says—
He who made you, who formed you in the womb,
and who will help you..
God, the Creator, forms human beings in the womb. His intention from the very beginning is a life. A human’s life. A life that He loves and wants to form a relationship with. A life with purpose. A life that will make a difference. That is God’s sole purpose in creating human beings – and it all begins right at that moment when an egg unites with a sperm. The creation process has begun, the personality and the physical qualities have already been envisioned and formed. A human being has been created.
Ephesians 1:5 (New Living Translation) God decided in advance to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. This is what he wanted to do, and it gave him great pleasure.
If you or someone you know is considering having an abortion, please – Please! – reconsider. Read this article and then read it again. Do not live a life of regret. If you make the adult choice to have unprotected sex, please live with the consequences. Be responsible, have character, be strong. You will not regret it. There are always other options, adoption being one of them. There are so many parents out there that are desiring a baby but cannot have one. Don’t throw away that gift that you have received – the ability to conceive – give that gift to someone else if you don’t want it.
My husband came up with a very good perspective. Suppose you were forced to have that baby but could kill him/her at age three. Would you do it? Most likely not – so what difference is there between a three year old and a three month old besides a couple of years?
A Note for Those Who Noticed
I repeated the same thing over and over again. It was done intentionally. Here it is in a nutshell: If you have premarital sex and end up pregnant, you have a choice. The choice you make will determine your character, your maturity and your integrity. If you choose to be responsible for your actions, then you show a strength of character, the maturity of facing consequences for your choices, and integrity in following through. You will not live a life of regret. You won’t become depressed over the loss of another human being’s life. You will grow through the experience. You will become a better person.
Isaiah 42:5 (NIV) This is what God the LORD says—
the Creator of the heavens, who stretches them out,
who spreads out the earth with all that springs from it,
who gives breath to its people,
and life to those who walk on it..
What a great and honest Kat Mussings.
I hope that the reader hears the love and forgiveness that God has for all and especially those who, because of todays brainwashing, didn’t know or understand the consequences.
“A HOPE”
My wife had two miscarriages before we had our first child, my son Wayne. It was just as if a child had been born and then died. I specifically remember sobbing to my mother on the second miscarriage.
Without me knowing, my wife had always lifted a prayer and a thought to God our loving Father wondering, “What were those babies? Girls or boys?”
Fifteen years later, I was at the hospital ministering to an elderly lady in the hospital who was in her eighties and whose husband had already been promoted to the place we know as heaven. A woman who had no idea of our miscarriages.
As she woke up and smiled at me, she began sharing…
“Pastor, I don’t know if I was dreaming, if I had a vision, or if I almost died but I had the strangest dream. I dreamt I went to heaven and saw my husband, my mother and my father all waiting for me! And then I saw two boys who looked just like your son except they were just a little bit older.”
Voila’! My wife’s prayer was answered and we know that we have two more children in heaven.
The hope and consolation is this:
What was destroyed was just the body but not their spirit or their soul. You will see your children, you will embrace your children, you will love your children and every tear, every pain and every sorrow will be wiped away!
Great job Kathy!
Thanks for that, Ken! That is very encouraging – brought tears to my eyes. That is a story that gives much hope to us ladies who wonder… Love you, brother!
Thank you Kat for being so honest and sharing your story. It is an example of His grace and forgiveness. You are an incredible woman of faith. Thank you!
Thanks, Dawn – may God bless you with the desires of your heart. A big hug for you, sister!
A very open and honest essay, Kat. Thank you. May it be the means to help a mother and child in the future — for there to be fewer victims in this terrible crime of legalized abortion.
Thanks, Vanna! Feel free to share the link with all. As I mentioned, I meet many women who regret having done it, but have met only one who didn’t care. Hugs!
Kat, they knew you were going to do that and didn’t put the soul in it. Be at peace.
Linda, thanks for the kind words. I am so glad for God’s forgiveness, because that’s where my peace has come from.
I forgot to mention that according to the Kabbalah, the soul doesn’t enter the baby’s body until the it draws its first breath.
Kat, I’m sorry that you feel such remorse for your actions. I’m even more sorry that the relationship you have with your God caused the remorse.
You didn’t destroy a soul. You freed it to find another vessel in which to enter the world and become someone else’s newborn.
Win, I do regret it – I love children and I gave one up due to selfish reasons. But I am so glad for the relationship with my God that gives me remorse when in selfishness I hurt others. He helps me to love everyone I come into contact with.
I think you need to find a kinder God, Kat.
Hi Linda,
In Kaballah, creation comes from one God; the same God of Judah, and the same God that we believe in. Yes, the Kaballah believes that the first element of the human soul, Nefesh, enters the body at birth, whilst we believe that the soul is implanted at conception (Psalm 139:13, “For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb.”). I can’t argue the specifics of Kaballah, because I’ve never studied it, but the important thing is that we believe in the same God, but with a different interpretation. We follow a strictly biblical teaching.
You say that Kat needs to find a kinder God. We don’t believe that God is a cosmic vending machine, only there to supply everything good we need; we believe in a relationship with our God, and that relationship begins with Mark 1:15 (“The time has come,” he said. “The kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe the good news!”) in answer to God’s covenant (John 3:16: “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” ). This is a God who loves us – I couldn’t sacrifice any of my children to save someone else… would you? But God did, because He loves us.
When you’re in love with someone, you don’t want to hurt them. Not because some rule book says “Don’t hurt the one you love”, but because you love them, and no other reason is needed. How many times have you said “Err… Yes, it’s lovely”, when an Aunt has given you an ugly vase as a present? You don’t like the present, but you love the person, so you don’t want to cause them hurt. It’s like that in our relationship with God. We love him. He gave Kat a beautiful present – a child. And Kat rejected that present. The remorse is twofold; for the murder of that unknown person, which is against God’s commandment, and for the hurt that we caused God in the rejection of his present.
God forgave Kat a long time ago; just over 2,000 years ago, in fact, when Jesus died on the cross for our sins. He didn’t die for all the sinners up to that point – he died for everyone who sins; past, present, and future. Kat’s remorse is the remorse of someone who did something to hurt a person they love. A kinder God, if there were such a person, would not help in the slightest bit with this remorse. The best God is one that says “I know what you did, and I forgave you for it. I remember your sins no more” (Hebrews 8:12 – “For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more.”). And that’s the God we trust, believe in, and worship.
We’ll have to agree to disagree on the subject Pete. I believe that self-esteem comes from oneself (“The Kingdom of God is within you”_Luke 17:21) and do not choose to accept guilt into my life.
Very Very good Kat, I am also guilty of this crime, and i’m also guilty of not caring that i committed murder, it is very horrible to no that in my selfishness and worrying about my own well being that i did not even care that it happened,I will never no what having a daughter is like. because I am an accomplice to murder too, I was not there,I was not even in the same state, but i new it was happening and i condoned it, my selfish reasons go very deep, so deep to even think about it makes me cringe, one of the sadist things though is I claimed I was a Christian, but in truth i was not. I had created a jesus in my own mind to allow me to live the way I wanted, and i did not want another baby. God bless you Kat and your honesty. God forgives bad people Like me, that is what HE came to do. When we are honest before God He forgives us. . In Response to finding a “Kinder God”. What other kinder god could there be? Beside the Christian God, the God of the Bible. All the other religions in the world have god’s or no god’s that make YOU earn their favor or way to their paradise. The one and only true GOD, Has provided the way for us. It is unmerited, undeserved, unearned, Impossible to attain bye your own merits or works. You see We all have broken God’s laws. We have failed to love God with all our heart mind and strength, We create idols, to satisfy our selves, we take Gods name in vain using it as a cuss word, we don’t set aside one hour to God, let alone one day, to thank HIM and worship HIM, We disrespect our parents, We hate and Kill each other, we Lust after the opposite sex, we take things that don’t belong to us (i.e. our bosses time, cheating on taxes just a little, or outright stealing something), We have lied, even white lies, and we all have wanted something that does not belong to us. So when we look at ourselves honestly we have broken God’s holy laws. (the ten commandments Exodus 20) and in order for God to be a loving God, HE must hate what is unloving, so by God’s nature HE must punish us for breaking these law’s, and our just desert would be HELL. But the Christian God took our place and was punished for the laws that we all have broke. Romans 3:23 “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God”. Christ lived and died a perfect life FOR US, The Bible says that if we repent (agree with God, and turn away from sin) And put our faith in the perfection of Christ, that HE died and was punished on the cross in our place and that he defeated death on the Cross for us and rose again. Then we are forgiven of EVERYTHING and can leave God’s court room free and clear. Then we can go to heaven because of Christ the christian GOD. What greater love is there Linda? Repent and trust Christ and He will save you from Hell and grant you everlasting life. He will change your heart, and LIFE forever Believe the Gospel and Obey it.
Kabbalah
Is not even close to Christianity or the Judaism of Christ day.
Kabbalah (Hebrew: קַבָּלָה, Qabbalah lit. “receiving”; Qabala) is a discipline and school of thought concerned with the mystical aspect of Rabbinic Judaism. It is a set of esoteric teachings meant to explain the relationship between an eternal and mysterious Creator and the mortal and finite universe (His creation). While it is heavily used by some denominations, it is not a denomination in and of itself; it is a set of scriptures that exist outside the traditional Jewish Scriptures. Kabbalah seeks to define the nature of the universe and the human being, the nature and purpose of existence, and various other ontological questions. It also presents methods to aid understanding of these concepts and to thereby attain spiritual realization. Kabbalah originally developed entirely within the realm of Jewish thought and constantly uses classical Jewish sources to explain and demonstrate its esoteric teachings. These teachings are thus held by kabbalists to define the inner meaning of both the Tanakh (Hebrew Bible) and traditional rabbinic literature, as well as to explain the significance of Jewish religious observances.[1]
Jesus was a Jew, Chris. Christianity, as we know it today, was a political construct brought about at the behest of the Emperor Constantine. At the time there were many different Christian sects, almost entirely Jewish by origin. Constantine wanted a single religion with a single set of beliefs. As a consequence, a lot of what was believed in those days was ruled out. The gnostic gospels, for example, such as the Gospel of St. Thomas, were excluded from the Canon even though they had the same pedigree. Christianity, as well as Judaism and Islam are still full of sects, each claiming to teach the only truth. I believe our best guide to the truth is the small, still voice within that tells us whether something we’re doing is right or wrong. As for the other things, like lust, God never gave you anything she didn’t want you to use.
Contention arises when Bible critics have knowingly or unknowingly misled people by implying that Old and New Testament books were either excluded from or added into the canon of Scripture at the great ecumenical councils of A.D. 336, 382, 397, and 419. In fact, one result of these gatherings was to confirm the Church’s belief that the books already in the Bible were divinely inspired. Therefore, the Church, at these meetings, neither added to nor took away from the books of the Bible. At that time, the thirty-nine Old Testament books had already been accepted, and the New Testament, as it was written, simply grew up with the ancient Church. Each document, being accepted as it was penned in the first century, was then passed on to Christians of the next century. So, this foolishness about the Roman Emperor Constantine dropping books from the Bible is simply uneducated rumor. Archaeology and History Attest to the Reliability of the Bible
By Richard M. Fales, Ph.D.
No other ancient book is questioned or maligned like the Bible. Critics looking for the flyspeck in the masterpiece allege that there was a long span between the time the events in the New Testament occurred and when they were recorded. They claim another gap exists archaeologically between the earliest copies made and the autographs of the New Testament. In reality, the alleged spaces and socalled gaps exist only in the minds of the critics. Manuscript Evidence.
Aristotle’s Ode to Poetics was written between 384 and 322 B.C. The earliest copy of this work dates A.D. 1100, and there are only forty-nine extant manuscripts. The gap between the original writing and the earliest copy is 1,400 years. There are only seven extant manuscripts of Plato’s Tetralogies, written 427–347 B.C. The earliest copy is A.D. 900—a gap of over 1,200 years. What about the New Testament? Jesus was crucified in A.D. 30. The New Testament was written between A.D. 48 and 95. The oldest manuscripts date to the last quarter of the first century, and the second oldest A.D. 125. This gives us a narrow gap of thirty-five to forty years from the originals written by the apostles. From the early centuries, we have some 5,300 Greek manuscripts of the New Testament. Altogether, including Syriac, Latin, Coptic, and Aramaic, we have a whopping 24,633 texts of the ancient New Testament to confirm the wording of the Scriptures. So the bottom line is, there was no great period between the events of the New Testament and the New Testament writings. Nor is there a great time lapse between the original writings and the oldest copies.
With the great body of manuscript evidence, it can be proved, beyond a doubt, that the New Testament says exactly the same things today as it originally did nearly 2,000 years ago. Corroborating Writings. Critics also charge that there are no ancient writings about Jesus outside the New Testament. This is another ridiculous claim. Writings confirming His birth, ministry, death, and resurrection include Flavius Josephus (A.D. 93), the Babylonian Talmud (A.D. 70–200), Pliny the Younger’s letter to the Emperor Trajan (approx. A.D. 100), the Annals of Tacitus (A.D. 115–117), Mara Bar Serapion (sometime after A.D. 73), and Suetonius’ Life of Claudius and Life of Nero (A.D. 120).
Fulfilled Prophecies
Prophecies from the Old and New Testaments that have been fulfilled also add credibility to the Bible. The Scriptures predicted the rise and fall of great empires like Greece and Rome (Daniel 2:39, 40), and foretold the destruction of cities like Tyre and Sidon (Isaiah 23). Tyre’s demise is recorded by ancient historians, who tell how Alexander the Great lay siege to the city for seven months. King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon had failed in a 13-year attempt to capture the seacoast city and completely destroy its inhabitants. During the siege of 573 B.C., much of the population of Tyre moved to its new island home approximately half a mile from the land city. Here it remained surrounded by walls as high as 150 feet until judgment fell in 332 B.C. with the arrival of Alexander the Great. In the seven-month siege, he fulfilled the remainder of the prophecies (Zechariah 9:4; Ezekiel 26:12) concerning the city at sea by completely destroying Tyre, killing 8,000 of its inhabitants and selling 30,000 of its population into slavery. To reach the island, he scraped up the dust and rubble of the old land city of Tyre, just like the Bible predicted, and cast them into the sea, building a 200-footwide causeway out to the island. Alexander’s death and the murder of his two sons was also foretold in the Scripture. Another startling prophecy was Jesus’ detailed prediction of Jerusalem’s destruction, and the further spreading of the Jewish diaspora throughout the world, which is recorded in Luke 21. In A.D. 70, not only was Jerusalem destroyed by Titus, the future emperor of Rome, but another prediction of Jesus Christ in Matthew 24:1,2 came to pass—the complete destruction of the temple of God.
Messianic Prophecies
In the Book of Daniel, the Bible prophesied the coming of the one and only Jewish Messiah prior to the temple’s demise. The Old Testament prophets declared He would be born in Bethlehem (Micah 5:2) to a virgin (Isaiah 7:14), be betrayed for thirty pieces of silver (Zechariah 11:12,13), die by crucifixion (Psalm 22), and be buried in a rich man’s tomb (Isaiah 53:9). There was only one person who fits all of the messianic prophecies of the Old Testament who lived before A.D. 70: Jesus of Nazareth, the Son of Mary. Yes, the Bible is an amazing book. (See also 1 Peter 1:25 footnote.)
“The Bible has changed down through the ages.”
No, it hasn’t. God has preserved His Word. In the spring of 1947, the Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered. These manuscripts were copies of large portions of the Old Testament, a thousand years older than any other existing copies. Study of the scrolls has revealed that the Bible hasn’t changed in content down through the ages as many skeptics had surmised. (See 1 Peter 1:25 footnote.)
Anyone can now obtain access to computer programs that give the original Hebrew and Greek words, and the only “changes” have been made for clarity. For example, the old English translation of 2 Corinthians 12:8 is “For this thing I besought the Lord thrice …,” while a contemporary translation is “Concerning this thing I pleaded with the Lord three times…”
The Bible Stands Alone
Compiled by Jordan and Justin Drake
In 1889 a schoolteacher told a ten-year-old boy, “You will never amount to very much.” That boy was Albert Einstein. In 1954 a music manager told a young singer, “You ought to go back to driving a truck.” That singer was Elvis Presley. In 1962 a record company told a group of singers, “We don’t like your sound. Groups with guitars are definitely on their way out.” They said that to the Beatles. Man is prone to make mistakes. Those who reject the Bible should take the time to look at the evidence before they come to a verdict.
1. It is unique in its continuity.
If just 10 people today were picked who were from the same place, born around the same time, spoke the same language, and made about the same amount of money, and were asked to write on just one controversial subject, they would have trouble agreeing with each other. But the Bible stands alone. It was written over a period of 1,600 years by more than 40 writers from all walks of life. Some were fishermen; some were politicians. Others were generals or kings, shepherds or historians. They were from three different continents, and wrote in three different languages. They wrote on hundreds of controversial subjects yet they wrote with agreement and harmony. They wrote in dungeons, in temples, on beaches, and on hillsides, during peacetime and during war. Yet their words sound like they came from the same source. So even though 10 people today couldn’t write on one controversial subject and agree, God picked 40 different people to write the Bible—and it stands the test of time.
2. It is unique in its circulation.
The invention of the printing press in 1450 made it possible to print books in large quantities. The first book printed was the Bible. Since then, the Bible has been read by more people and printed more times than any other book in history. By 1930, over one billion Bibles had been distributed by Bible societies around the world. By 1977, Bible societies alone were printing over 200 million Bibles each year, and this doesn’t include the rest of the Bible publishing companies. No one who is interested in knowing the truth can ignore such an important book.
3. It is unique in its translation.
The Bible has been translated into over 1,400 languages. No other book even comes close.
4. It is unique in its survival.
In ancient times, books were copied by hand onto manuscripts which were made from parchment and would decay over time. Ancient books are available today only because someone made copies of the originals to preserve them. For example, the original writings of Julius Caesar are no longer around. We know what he wrote only by the copies we have. Only 10 copies still exist, and they were made 1,000 years after he died. Only 600 copies of Homer’s The Iliad exist, made 1,300 years after the originals were written. No other book has as many copies of the ancient manuscripts as the Bible. In fact, there are over 24,000 copies of New Testament manuscripts, some written within 35 years of the writer’s death.
5. It is unique in withstanding attack.
No other book has been so attacked throughout history as the Bible. In A.D. 300 the Roman emperor Diocletian ordered every Bible burned because he thought that by destroying the Scriptures he could destroy Christianity. Anyone caught with a Bible would be executed. But just 25 years later, the Roman emperor Constantine ordered that 50 perfect copies of the Bible be made at government expense. The French philosopher Voltaire, a skeptic who destroyed the faith of many people, boasted that within 100 years of his death, the Bible would disappear from the face of the earth. Voltaire died in 1728, but the Bible lives on. The irony of history is that 50 years after his death, the Geneva Bible Society moved into his former house and used his printing presses to print thousands of Bibles.
The Bible has also survived criticism. No book has been more attacked for its accuracy. And yet archeologists are proving every year that the Bible’s detailed descriptions of historic events are correct. See Matthew 4:4 and 1 Peter 1:25 footnotes.
“Could you be wrong in your claims about Judgment Day and the existence of hell?”
The existence of hell and the surety of the judgment are not the claims of fallible man. The Bible is the source of the claim, and it is utterly infallible. When someone becomes a Christian, he is admitting that he was in the wrong, and that God is justified in His declarations that we have sinned against Him.
However, let’s surmise for a moment that there is no Judgment Day and no hell. That would mean that the Bible is a huge hoax, in which more than forty authors collaborated (over a period of 3,000 years) to produce a document revealing God’s character as “just.” They portrayed Him as a just judge, who warned that He would eventually punish murderers, rapists, liars, thieves, adulterers, etc. Each of those writers (who professed to be godly) therefore bore false witness, transgressing the very commandments they claimed to be true.
It would mean that Jesus Christ was a liar, and that all the claims He made about the reality of judgment were there-fore false. It would also mean that He gave His life in vain, as did multitudes of martyrs who have given their lives for the cause of Christ. Add to that the thought that if there is no ultimate justice, it means that the Creator of all things is unjust—that He sees murder and rape and couldn’t care less, making Him worse than a corrupt human judge who refuses to bring criminals to justice.
Here’s the good news, though, if there is no hell: You won’t know a thing after you die. It will be the end. No heaven, no hell. Just nothing. You won’t even realize that it’s good news.
Here’s the bad news if the Bible is right and that there is eternal justice: You will find yourself standing before the judgment throne of a holy God, who has seen every sin you have ever committed. Think of it. A holy and perfect Creator has seen your thought-life and every secret sin you have ever committed. You have a multitude of sins, and God must by nature carry out justice. Ask Him to remind you of the sins of your youth. Ask Him to bring to remembrance your secret sexual sins, the lies, the gossip, and other idle words. You may have forgotten your past sins, but God hasn’t. Hell will be your just desert (exactly what you deserve), and you will have no one to blame but yourself. This is the claim of the Bible. If you don’t believe it, it is still true. It will still happen.
Yet, there is good news—incredibly good news. We deserve judgment, but God offers us mercy through the cross. He paid our fine so that we could leave the courtroom. He destroyed the power of the grave for all who obey Him. Simply obey the gospel, and live. By doing that you will find out for yourself that the gospel is indeed the “gospel truth.” Jesus said that if you obey Him, you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free (see John 8:31,32).
Get on your knees today, confess and forsake your sins. Tell God you are truly sorry, then trust the Savior as you would trust yourself to a parachute. Then you will find yourself in a terrible dilemma. You will know for certain that hell is a reality. When you get up the courage to warn people you care about, they will smile passively, and say, “Could you be wrong in your claims about Judgment Day and the existence of hell?”
Sadly, many of today’s Jews profess godliness but don’t embrace the Scriptures as we presume they do. Therefore, it is often difficult to reason with them about Jesus being the Messiah. This is why it is imperative to ask a Jew if he has kept the Law of Moses—to “shut” him up under the Law (Galatians 3:23) and strip him of his self- righteousness. The Law will show him his need of a Savior and become a “schoolmaster” to bring him to Christ (Galatians 3:24), as happened to Paul, Nicodemus, and Nathaniel. It was the Law that brought 3,000 Jews to the foot of the cross on the Day of Pentecost. Without it they would not have known that they had sinned (Romans 7:7), and therefore would not have seen their need of the Savior.
“You are trying to make me feel guilty by quoting the Ten Commandments.”
Ask the person which one of the Ten Commandments makes him feel guilty. Simply state, “The Bible says, ‘You shall not steal.’ If you feel guilty when you hear that, why do you think that is? Could it be because you are guilty?” God gave us our conscience so we would know when we break His Law; the guilt we feel when we do something wrong tells us that we need to repent. See also Romans 2:15 footnote.
I think Linda You should look at the second commandment.
Exodus 20
1THEN GOD spoke all these words:
2I am the Lord your God, Who has brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.
3You shall have no other gods before or besides Me.
4You shall not make yourself any graven image [to worship it] or any likeness of anything that is in the heavens above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth;
5You shall not bow down yourself to them or serve them; for I the Lord your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children to the third and fourth generation of those who hate Me,
6But showing mercy and steadfast love to a thousand generations of those who love Me and keep My commandments.
You see God Never refers to HIMself as a she. also, Just like there is only one way to the moon there is only ONE GOD, and ONE way too God thru Christ. Please dont make the mystake i made, DONT CREATE YOUR OWN gOD to suit yourself. Repent and Trust Christ today.
Fales is a con man, my dear.
http://is.gd/vxfKfJ
Are you ( gasp) judging me?
Have a read of Matthew 7.
The Holy Scriptures
We teach that the Bible is God’s written revelation to man, and thus the sixty six books of the Bible given to us by the Holy Spirit constitute the plenary (inspired equally in all parts) Word of God (1Corinthians 2:7 14; 2 Peter 1:20 21).
We teach that the Word of God is an objective, propositional revelation (1 Thessalonians 2:13; 1 Corinthians 2:13), verbally inspired in every word (2 Timothy 3:16), absolutely inerrant in the original documents, infallible, and God breathed. We teach the literal, grammatical historical interpretation of Scripture which affirms the belief that the opening chapters of Genesis present creation in six literal days (Genesis 1:31; Exodus 31:17).
We teach that the Bible constitutes the only infallible rule of faith and practice (Matthew 5:18; 24:35; John 10:35; 16:12 13; 17:17; 1 Corinthians 2:13; 2 Timothy 3:15 17; Hebrews 4:12; 2 Peter 1:20 21).
We teach that God spoke in His written Word by a process of dual authorship. The Holy Spirit so superintended the human authors that, through their individual personalities and different styles of writing, they composed and recorded God’s Word to man (2 Peter 1:20 21) without error in the whole or in the part (Matthew 5:18; 2 Timothy 3:16). We teach that, whereas there may be several applications of any given passage of Scripture, there is but one true interpretation. The meaning of Scripture is to be found as one diligently applies the literal grammatical historical method of interpretation under the enlightenment of the Holy Spirit (John 7:17; 16:12 15; 1 Corinthians 2:7 15; 1 John 2:20). It is the responsibility of believers to ascertain carefully the true intent and meaning of Scripture, recognizing that proper application is binding on all generations. Yet the truth of Scripture stands in judgment of men; never do men stand in judgment of it.
Yes Linda I Googled his name too and found your website, and like 20 others that show Dr. Fales not to be a fake. So who are you going to believe? I could show you lots of evidence proving the Bible right, but when it comes down to it, you Linda don’t want to believe its true, Because that would mean you would have to be Held accountable to the one and only GOD, That would mean that all the so called foolishness of the Bible you would have to admit that its TRUE all Of it.
1 Corinthians 1:21 21 For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not know him, God was pleased through the foolishness of what was preached to save those who believe. 1 Corinthians 2:14 14But the natural, no spiritual man does not accept or welcome or admit into his heart the gifts and teachings and revelations of the Spirit of God, for they are folly (meaningless nonsense) to him; and he is incapable of knowing them [of progressively recognizing, understanding, and becoming better acquainted with them] because they are spiritually discerned and estimated and appreciated.
So i cant prove it to you because you don’t want to believe it, you have suppressed the truth:
64.Romans 1:18
[ God’s Wrath Against Sinful Humanity ] The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of people, who suppress the truth by their wickedness,
Romans 1:17-1965.Romans 1:25
They exchanged the truth about God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator—who is forever praised. Amen.
So listen to your Conscience you Know you are guilty of breaking God’s laws and in desperate need of HIS forgiveness. Repent and trust Christ today. I’m not Judging you, why would you say that? does something i said make you feel bad?
Matthew 7
1DO NOT judge and criticize and condemn others, so that you may not be judged and criticized and condemned yourselves.
2For just as you judge and criticize and condemn others, you will be judged and criticized and condemned, and in accordance with the measure you [use to] deal out to others, it will be dealt out again to you.
3Why do you stare from without at the very small particle that is in your brother’s eye but do not become aware of and consider the beam of timber that is in your own eye?
4Or how can you say to your brother, Let me get the tiny particle out of your eye, when there is the beam of timber in your own eye?
If you read this in context you will see that this verse is for believers, Brothers and sister’s in Christ. Not non Believers. Also I was not judging you did you not read my first response at the top where I indicated that I am a wretched sinner saved by the grace of GOD. Have a good day Linda
Please post a link to the websites that prove Fales is not a con artist.
How can you say you aren’t judging me when you insist I get down on my knees and ask God for forgiveness? You don’t know my relationship with God, nor the state of my soul. You don’t have the right question them.
Kat,
Thank you sooo much for sharing, I know personally it is a very hard story to share because I have one as well although I was athiest at the time I still knew that something was wrong with what I was doing. You are an amazing woman with a beautiful family including your baby in Heaven which you WILL meet one day… OH what a day that will be, sometimes I can’t wait to meet my daughter. I have shared my story several times and like you… I still cry ALWAYS thinking about Kierra (my daughter), what she would have been like? Would she have looked like me or Chris? Red hair? Brown hair? Color of eyes? Barbies? or Cars? Dance team or Basketball? career? etc. There is not a day that goes by that I do not think of her and what gives me hope is my relationship with Jesus Christ…Just knowing that she is in Heaven with God calms my heart, I will meet her in Heaven and Kat YOU WILL TOO….again thank you there are so many that needs to hear this if your story helps ONE child to live, or one woman to choose life then it is all worth it.
Love in Christ
Vicky Jenkins
That’s a beautiful thought, Vicky – thanks!
“Jesus was a Jew, Chris.”
“… Constantine… As a consequence, a lot of what was believed in those days was ruled out.”
Today, thanks to modern technology and archaeological discoveries, we can safely say that is not true.
The Gospel of St Thomas, for an example, came later and certainly has nothing to do with the St. Thomas the Apostle. We know by the writings of Paul that gnosticism (as well as those who wanted to return the law) was an issue that the Apostles had to combat. Thus, this Gnostic Gospel was correctly excluded from the canonization of scripture.
And lust, contrary to some belief systems, came into mankind after the sin of Adam.
The good thing about scripture (and thank God for the Tannakh or Tanakh) is that it is the one sure validation for believers to judge the voices that we hear. The voices of our bodies, the voices of our friends, the voices of our conscious, the voices of demons and the plethora of other voices can always be judged by the plumb-line of the Tannakh and what we call the New Testament.
It is always refreshing to know that the God of love pursued us, His creation, to bring us back into right fellowship or righteousness with Him.
Yes I never Said that Christ was Not Jewish, I said that Kabbalah is not the Judaism that Christ “the Jewish Messiah” practiced. Also Christianty is not Judaism. I also understand that the Law came in to have an accounting system. Read what Paul wrote
Roman 3:19 Now we know that whatever the Law says, it speaks to those who are under the Law, so that [the murmurs and excuses of] every mouth may be hushed and all the world may be held accountable to God. 20For no person will be justified (made righteous, acquitted, and judged acceptable) in His sight by observing the works prescribed by the Law. For [the real function of] the Law is to make men recognize and be conscious of sin [not mere perception, but an acquaintance with sin which works toward repentance, faith, and holy character].
Galatians 3:24Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith.
With out the Law you dont even know what Sin is, and not knowing the problem, you will never truly understand the solution, Christ alone, Faith alone, Grace alone. the Gospel Good News.
Chris… I am so sorry… I was actually answering Linda Nichols and even hit “reply” to her post.
Apparently it doesn’t go down to a third layer but rather simply starts a new line.
Had it appeared where it was supposed to go, there would have been no misunderstanding.
Actually, I was supporting your position in answer to her comments.
Again, my humble apologies.
Ken
Kathryn, I am so proud of you for posting this. I know it was a hard subject to write on.
It was, Jane. In fact, before I wrote it I had a big discussion with God about it – He won.