Have Faith In God

Scripture

And it is impossible to please God without faith. Anyone who wants to come to Him must believe that God exists and that he rewards those who sincerely seek Him.

~Hebrews 11:6, NLT

Quote

If people did not believe in God, then they would readily harm others without fear of eternal consequences.

~Immanuel Kant

Immanuel Kant was an 18th century German philosopher who is recognized today as the father of modern philosophy. Fredrick Nietzsche accused Kant of being more of a theologian than a philosopher. Nietzsche said,  “Kant is merely a sophisticated apologist for traditional Christian religious belief.” Kant wanted to prove to the sophisticated mind that the common man was right to believe in God. One of his ontological arguments for the existence of God is man’s belief that God exist. This faith in the Supreme Being is a fact that prevents mankind from destroying himself. It is the only thing that keeps him from self-destruction.

Kant believed in two worlds or realms: the phenomenal {natural} and the noumenal {spiritual}. The physical appeals to the five senses and the metaphysical that cannot be detected by the natural senses, at least not without help. The microscope has made it possible for man to see what was once invisible. In there proof that the metaphysical exist? Close you mouth and hold your nose for about 30 seconds and you will quickly become aware of the metaphysical. What you cannot see with your naked eye is the oxygen in the atmosphere that keeps you alive. Do you believe in oxygen? Do you believe in the wind? Do you believe in pain? All these come from the world of metaphysics. To deny them would be insane.

When the infidel Robert G. Ingersoll was delivering his lectures against Christ and the Bible, his oratorical ability usually assured him of a large crowd. One night after an inflammatory speech in which he severely attacked man’s faith in Christ, he dramatically took out his watch and said, “I’ll give God a chance to prove that He exists and is almighty. I challenge Him to strike me dead within 5 minutes!” First there was silence, then people became uneasy. Some left the hall, unable to take the nervous strain of the occasion. At the end of the allotted time, the atheist exclaimed derisively, “See! There is no God. I am still very much alive!” After the lecture a reporter interviewed a Christian lady, “Well, Ingersoll certainly proved something tonight!” “ Yes he did,” she said. “He proved God does not take orders from fools.”

God’s way of relating to man is through revelation and faith. God allows us to know only what He chooses for us to know. Jesus said to His disciples in John 16:12, “I have much more to say to you. It is more than you can handle right now but when the Spirit comes, He will guide you into all the truth.” Revelation is progressive because we could not handle the whole truth at one time, it would kill us. I have a radio in my new building so I can listen to Christmas music while I am working. Two things make this possible: the reality of the sound waves in the air and the mechanical ability for the radio to pickup and broadcast the sound. Revelation is the sound waves and faith is the radio. God is as real as the sound waves but you will not hear Him without faith.

• I confirmed something last night that I had long suspected: GOOGLE is censored. There are things you cannot find on google that were there a few years ago. The censorship does not favor conservatives or people of faith.
• I also read while on google, Wikipedia actually that Madelyn Murray O’Hair was murdered. In 1995, O’Hair, her son Jon, and her granddaughter Robin disappeared from Austin, Texas, and were kidnapped, murdered, and mutilated by David Roland Waters, a convicted felon out on parole, and fellow career criminals Gary Karr and Danny Fry. Waters was an employee of the American Atheists from February 1993 to April 1994, first as a typesetter and later as office manager. He didn’t do it for the money {$600,000}, he did it because he hated her. No one investigated the crime for a year and then a son, William {Bill} Murray began looking into her disappearance. No one cared enough to investigate.
• Dean Martin’s song “Baby It Is Cold Outside” is apropos for the current weather, amen! I sure would not want to be homeless in this weather. We have a heat wave coming: it is going to get up to 50* today and be 70* in New Orleans tomorrow.
• LORD willing, a big day for the Bailey bunch tomorrow: Joe David graduates from NEW ORLEANS BAPTIST THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY. This is just a little over 42 years from my graduation. I graduated in May of 1974 and Hannah June was born on June 30, three days after Junior Hill had finished a revival meeting in the church where we served. I have been back to the city only once since my graduation.
• Trivia! I visited Joyce Chaney yesterday. She is back home and tickled pink. She and I got to talking about old times so here is the trivia question: Two ladies use to attend DBC weekly. They were members of Mrs. Lillian’s senior adult ladies class. They always rode together but neither drove. Both lived in Lawrence county, who were they?
• I had a tomato sandwich for breakfast. The tomato came from our garden. June gathered the green ones before the first frost sometime in November. She put them in the window and I ate the last one yesterday. Probably not a record. We had a late frost one year when we lived on Craze Road. 
• I have been looking for Ice Punch Poinsettias. Three years ago, I could get them in Falkville but for the last two or so, I can’t find them. The closest I have found on line is in Atlanta.