Aren't there many ways to heaven?

I have heard a lot of people ask this question, or have made a claim that "all religions worship the same God, just in a different way," as an attempt to unify all religions. I have also found myself believing in a similar unitarian theory at one point in my journey of faith.

However, if this is true then why did Jesus feel he had to say "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me"(John 14:6)? Was he lying...?

If you find yourself asking the same kinds of questions you may find this link particularly helpful, or at least interesting. Check it out.

There are a six vids in total so don't just give up on the first one if that doesn't satisfy. Check out the other ones too. I found the 3rd, 5th and 6th ones quite helpful.

Hello again...

To those who have been reading my blogs: thanks for the feedback and I hope it has been at least some food for thought.

I have been on a huge (2-3 years) break from writing anything on this blog. However, I have decided to start putting some posts up again, even if it's just once or twice a month. I figured it will keep my mind occupied with worthwhile things to think about.

It's funny. I actually discovered that since I've had a break from writing posts on this blog I have been shying away from anything dense in terms of literature or philosophy in general. I needed to tone it down for a while and it's been good in many ways. Simplicity is key they say.

I have read a number of very life changing books recently and they all have been biographies (the most recent being the story of Brian "Head" Welch - the former guitarist of the band Korn).

The other two life changing bios I have read recently have been The Heavenly Man and Taming the Tiger.

I would recommend these books to anyone who needs some new inspiration in their lives.

Blog Inspiration Level Declining...

As you can probably already see I am losing motivation to write anything on this blog lately. This is not because I have nothing to write, I am constantly inspired by the things I read. However, I just don't get any satisfaction out of commentating my life through a blog these days. As Sam would put it, I'd much rather talk with people over a coffee (or beer). It's so much more satisfying that way.

So, my apologies to those who like reading my blog. Maybe if people actually get a lot out of reading it I might be inspired to write again. But truly I don't think my words account to much. If you REALLY want to be inspired read The Bible (can never beat it), Francis Schaeffer or Fyodor Dostoyevsky.

Cheers.

- Andy

The Ironic Reality

There is an Ironic reality where, in many cases, the more one gets to know God and begins doing wondrous works in His name for His glory the more one experiences spiritual dryness. Basically, when one thinks he is becoming closer to God is often the time God chooses to hide His presence, or appear as if He has parted from them. Besides all the testimonies I have heard of my godly friends I also happened to read recently in Time Magazine that Mother Teresa went through almost 50 years of spiritual dryness. In fact, during the peaks of her ministry's "success" Mother Teresa felt God's presence the least. She wrote in a letter to Archbishop Ferdinand Périer in 1955 "The more I want Him - the less I am wanted". Then later she wrote in a letter to Jesus (she wrote many letters addressed to Him) "If this brings You glory - if souls are brought to You - with joy I accept all to the end of my life."

Personally I find this encouraging, as I know I have experienced a lot of spiritual dryness in my life. The funny thing is that while this can, in some sense, drive someone to doubt God, the doubt can either make that person run from Him or run to Him. Mother Teresa was definitely someone that ran toward Him. In 1953 she wrote to Périer, “Please pray specially for me that I may not spoil His work and that Our Lord may show Himself – for there is such terrible darkness in me, as if everything was dead. It has been like this more or less from the time I started ‘the work.’” And in 1956 she wrote,“Such deep longing for God – and… repulsed – empty – no faith – no love – no zeal. – [The saving of] Souls holds no attraction – Heaven means nothing – pray for me please that I keep smiling at Him in spite of everything.” By 1961 she came to accept this “darkness” as an unavoidable reality in her life. She wrote in a letter to Rev. Joseph Neuner, “I can’t express in words – the gratitude I owe for your kindness to me – for the first time in… years – I have come to love the darkness – for I believe now that it is part of a very, very small part of Jesus’ darkness & pain on earth. You have taught me to accept it [as] a ‘spiritual side of your work’ as you wrote – Today really I feel a deep joy – that Jesus can’t go anywhere through the agony – but that he wants to go through it in me.”

Mother Teresa had her own personal conviction that Jesus was letting her experience a glimpse of the pain and suffering that He went through on earth. However, by no means is this the way that everyone should interpret their own sufferings. People can easily go to two extremes of what they think God wants for them: either they think God wants nothing but pain for them to grow spiritually, or that He wishes nothing but joy and happiness for them. The truth is God wants the ‘best’ for everyone, but the ‘best’ comes in many forms, often in a way quite unexpected.

The part that touched me the most about the article on Mother Teresa was the fact that she pursued God in spite of her sufferings, doubts even. Perseverance and loyalty is greatly rewarded. I have experienced great fulfilment through perseverance in my own life although it looks nothing like what Mother Teresa went through. It doesn’t have to be that difficult, but suffering is definitely a part of life.

What Rev. James Martin wrote about Mother Teresa stuck out to me, “Let’s say you’re married and you fall in love and you believe with all your heart that marriage is a sacrament. And your wife, God forbid, gets a stroke and she’s comatose. And you will never experience her love again. It’s like loving and caring for a person for 50 years and once in a while you complain to your spiritual director, but you know on the deepest level that she loves you even though she’s silent and that what you’re doing makes sense. Mother Teresa knew that what she was doing made sense.”

Most Christians who discover the realness of God and His love for them know that it makes sense to follow Him despite what they are going through.

Ryan Adams' Stand-Up Session

Ryan Adams is quite a comedian when he is drunk... on Pepsi Max.

Nasty Critique of Emergent/Post-Modern Theology

HT to Sam Harvey for the link to this page.

Is it just me or is the "Church Denominations War" getting uglier everyday? It's about time we realised that it is the work of the devil. By keeping the Christians at each other’s necks we forget the things of vital importance, such as: being Christ's witness (from this word comes all the things that are of utmost importance: love, mercy, compassion, liberation/freedom, justice etc).

Don't get roped in on this war (especially to you bloggers out there. We are the most vulnerable ones to this kind of cynicism). It will keep you from being who you are supposed to be as a Christian. And it will suck you in if you don’t make a conscious decision to not get involved.

“Keep out of foolish arguments with those who boast of their “knowledge” and thus prove their lack of it. Some of these people have missed the most important thing in life – they don’t know God.” 1 Timothy 6:20,21

I have to admit though that actually I find it to be quite funny... I see the humor in such things.

Returning to My First Love

This is a term that many Christians use when referring to the gaining back of the enthusiasm and excitement that they once felt towards following Jesus. What happens when someone "returns to their first love", speaking from my own experience, is that their theological complexes about the Bible and Christianity fade, becoming of secondary importance, and one becomes primarily focussed on pursuing a relationship with Christ rather than knowing about Him.

This is one thing that I have felt is happening to myself lately. It is a truly great and uplifting feeling. Of course there is still an element of anxiety of screwing things up between God and me but I believe that is something that is a natural part of any relationship that is precious to one self.

I would have once said that my faith is rather deep and complicated, with many twists and tangles. But it is interesting how I always come back to this comforting conclusion - I was never meant to understand God but to know Him personally. Just because I have become content with the fact that I will never understand God does not mean that I have stopped searching. I simply shifted my mode of what I am searching for. When one is building a relationship with another person the purpose is not to try and find out as much as possible about that person but to learn what pleases that person, what the person enjoys, and what makes that person feel loved etc. Knowing how many high grades one got in high school or learning of one's drinking habits is simply studying one's profile and does not indicate whatsoever how close you are to that person.

This goes along the lines of what Jesus said in Matthew 7:22,23: "Many will say to Me in that day, Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name do many works of power? And then I will declare to them, I never knew you; "depart from Me, those working lawlessness!"". This verse used to scare me cause I wasn't sure what position I was in with regards to having a relationship with Christ. The first thing to remember is, I guess, that we are only saved by the grace of God and to never take our relationship with Christ for granted.

Let the Word of God inspire you.

"O love Jehovah, all you saints of His; Jehovah preserves the faithful, and abundantly repays the proud doer. Be strong, and He will make your heart stronger, all you who hope in Jehovah." Psalm 31:23,24

Everyday I am realising more and more that blessed are those who have a simple, child-like faith in Jesus Christ.