Was supposed to post this up weeks ago.. apologies for not doing so.. i don't have an excuse.. just been putting it off.. >.<

The questions i've been given to choose from are as follows:
1. Can a person be saved through general revelation?
2. What happens to those who have never heard about Jesus?
3. What happens to babies and young children when they die?
4. Do mentally ill people go to heaven?

I'm picking question 3 and 4 and will answer them simultaneously.. cos i honestly don't have any other answers for them..

The Bible states that Jesus Christ is the way, the truth and the life, and that no one can come to the Father except through Him.. And therefore, the way to heaven, is through believing that Jesus died for our sins and confessing Him as Lord of our lives.. We have to choose to believe in Him, we have to choose Christ as Lord..

We're now talking about babies and young children who die before they are old enough to understand, or young children who've never had to chance to hear about Jesus.. We're also talking about mentally ill people, and by mentally ill, i would mean that they do not have the ability to decide, to choose, to understand what it is that Jesus has done for us.. they can't choose Jesus because they don't have that mental capacity to.. or for those young kids who pass away before hearing about Jesus.. they didn't have the chance to..

I honestly have to say, i don't know if they will go to heaven.. I am not God.. and i thank God i'm NOT God either.. who am i to say that, God can't be like this.. or God can't be like that.. i am a finite being.. with finite understanding.. i cannot expect me and my finite brain to understand ALL the ways of God.. neither can i be so arrogant to say that, if God is like this, this isn't the kind of God that I want to believe in.. God is God.. God means ruler of all, sovereign one.. doesn't that ring a bell.. if u could understand everything.. u'd be God.. and so.. i can only go by what i know.. and i have to accept that there are certain things that i will not understand.. not in this lifetime.. i'm not ALL-knowing..

I will only know what God has revealed to me.. He reveals through, history, the Bible, through human experiences, etc.. and these tell me that the God I worship and believe in is a God who is holy.. He is just.. He is love.. He is righteous.. and many more.. I love Him because He first loved me.. I try to live a holy life because He has called me to a life that is holy, that is set apart.. I share the gospel because of what He has done for me.. because He is the only way to finding real purpose in life.. because He said that He loves the world.. and therefore the only way people will know is if someone tells them.. then they can make their decision to accept Him or not..

At the end of it all.. i have to say that i don't know the answer to the questions.. but, i trust God anyway.. i love Him anyway.. and I will worship Him anyway..

How can we know God?? God is God.. infinite, holy, sovereign.. in a word.. BIG! We? We're just finite humans, small, limited in understanding in every way possible.. How do we KNOW God?? Well, the bible gives us a couple of pointers on how we can know God.. We can come to know God through two ways.. General revelation and special revelation.. General revelation is how He has communicated or presented Himself to all people of all times and all places.. For example, through creation all around us, through history, even through the make up of what makes us human – not just our physical self, but, our self-awareness, our moral conscience, etc.. Special revelation is a personal sort of experience with God.. a personal understanding.. The way some people see miracles sometimes, or have an encounter with Him, etc.. Erickson says that, Special (or Particular) Revelation means God's manifestation of himself to particular persons at definite times and places, enabling those person to enter into a redemptive relationship with Him..

Every day as we go on about our daily lives, we see evidence of God's creation all around.. the clear blue skies flecked with streaks of white wispy clouds that are sometimes covered through and through with thick, almost solid-looking clouds of the darkest grey u can imagine.. the flashes of lightning that flash across the sky, lighting up the sky ever so scarily beautiful for that moment.. the wonder of creation.. all speaks of a creator God who carefully designed it all and made it beautiful.. the God of creation, the true God.. in the Bible, in Romans 1:20, it says, "For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities-- his eternal power and divine nature-- have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse."

Through the Bible, God has given us His Word.. He speaks to us through His Word.. He reveals himself to us, letting us know that He loves us, and that He has provided a way for us to be in communion, to have fellowship, a relationship with this Creator God.. Jesus, God's Son was sent to us to show us the way to be with God.. He then died for the sins that we do, thus saving us from the punishment of sin, death eternal.. He made a way for us to be able to approach God, taking away our sins, making us righteous through His righteousness.. Through Jesus, we also know God..

God has revealed himself in so many ways to us.. I think that it is us who need to open our eyes and ears to see Him, to hear Him.. We may not know Him fully, simply because we cannot comprehend everything that He is with our finite minds, but, what He reveals to us through the Bible, through creation, etc, we do know God..

Thanks for all ur responses.. I thought that i might as well just put it down as a post rather than continue on in the comments page..

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Yes u are right when u say that as an Asian, believing in the existence of a God isn’t too hard.. we usually grow up with a whole lot of religious beliefs, etc..

I know my definition of God has been very general.. somehow, i don’t think that the God of every religion is the same.. I’ve seen and talked to frens and ppl of other beliefs, and have realised that each is very different..

Why “Christianity” or should i say, Jesus, holds me onto this faith, would be the fact that no other God or religion can claim to saving me from the dark void that lurks within my soul, threatening to swallow me whole.. I find being good, a rather tough thing to do, and to keep on doing.. my nature isn’t one where i would score an A+ in the behaviour section.. I don’t have the means of changing my nature.. it may not be obvious to ppl around me, but i struggle with this “bête noire”.. I try, but i don’t succeed.. When i heard about Jesus, about Him dying on the cross for my sins, not just the world’s, but mine.. When i heard that He took the punishment for all the wrongs that I’ve done.. And that, He helps me to be a better person.. It showed me how much he loved me.. the God that created me, also loved me enough to save me from the depravity of my soul.. it grips me, it touches me like nothing else.. it gave me hope, and still gives me hope that i would one day make my creator proud of me..

Jesus has changed my life.. The bible has been nothing but truth all these while.. Nothing has really been able to contradict it much through it’s long existence til now.. Historical facts and findings have not managed to prove it wrong.. The bible is more than just a book with moral guidelines.. it contains history, and also it tells us about God, of His ppl.. all these many aspects of it have been found faultless.. I don’t find any cause to not believe it..

I believe that Jesus died on the cross for my sins.. I’ve never known such love, that a God would give His life for us, mere humans.. It tugs at the innermost parts of me.. It compels me to try to love this God who loves me more than words can describe..

Did the blog in xanga.. but, got frustrated trying to get it look somewhat decent so that i won't hate looking at it.. and thus decided to switch back to something a little more familiar *smiles* anyway.. here goes..

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I wrote this sometime last week, but somehow or rather didn't get to post it up.. *shrug*

My first blog assignment *w00t!* *groans* wait til u see the question man..

Many religions claim the existence of God. Does God exist? How do we know He existed? There are so many gods, which is the true God? How do we define God?

Okies..

God exists. This is probably one of the hardest questions that i've had to answer. Usually, i won't try, because to me, faith plays a big role in my relationship. I readily believe, due to the fact that i was brought up a Christian. I've wondered what my life would be like if i wasn't born into a Christian family. Would i believe? Would i even bother thinking about God and religion? I'm not that inquisitive, i'm all into science and physics, etc. Yes, i'm a geek. But then again, i'm not a total geek either. Haha.. i only probe into things that have a logical explanation to them and try not to get into mysticism and stuff.. My brain doesn't handle non-tangible things too well.. So this post would not be an easy one for me.

Well, having gone through Lee Strobel's book "The Case for Christ", i think that he's done a great job trying to prove Christ. But it's been awhile since i last read it.

The fact that God exists is pretty obvious, well, maybe to me i guess.. it would be just more of whether or not you wanna agree with it.. okay, if u want it in more diplomatic terms, a creator, a being higher than us finite humans.. Well, many people would give the example of a watch.. let's say, if u take out all the teeny little pieces stuff, the bits and pieces that make the watch a watch, and threw them in a box and shook them, the chances of u getting the watch back to how it looked like originally would be pretty impossible.. and in the same way, the complexity of this universe, the uniqueness of us humans, and well, basically everything, the chances of us being here and everything else existing is pretty slim if u decide to discount the factor a a creator.. everything about us, about the universe is so intricately made that i can't deny the reality of a design behind us all, we can't just be random swirls of dust that just happened to collect together to form, me..

Which is the true God? hmm.. this is getting harder.. LOL!!

Faith would play a big part in this.. and also experiential factors are taken into account.. but then again, the Bible says that God has revealed Himself to all.. and, well, having said that.. i must also say that other ppl from other religions experience their gods too.. I believe the Bible, I believe in Jesus.. I believe what the Bible says about Jesus, and therefore, i also do believe what the Bible tells me about God.. it so far has been right with what is written in it.. in my list, it ranks number one as truth.. *grins*

If i say that God has helped me in this and that, or He has provided this and that for me, and thus a believe, it would make what i believe seem more of a crutch than anything else.. not that He hasn't, but that isn't why i believe either.. i have felt the comfort that only He can give.. I have the assurance that my sins have been forgiven.. that Jesus died for me.. the love that exuberates from God and all that He has done captivates me.. to know that i am loved, inspite and despite all i am.. hmmm.. i can't really explain fully..

Define God..

God is love.. ermm.. God is just as well.. God is holy.. and well.. God is a lot of things.. and i remember a lecturer telling me that, God is all these things, and yet, sometimes all we do is focus on just one or two of these characteristics and build on them.. and then when we portray God to others, He becomes this distorted image that is probably only one of the facades of who He really is.. it is lopsided.. and therefore, i've gotta know more about God.. and present Him as who He really is to others..

This is as far as i'll go for this.. if i do think of other stuff.. i'll write some more :)