What is Christianity?

Jar, I am new to this board. In fact, this reply to you is my first post. With that being said, I find it amusing that an individual who is less than a century old has the audacity to tell us what happened billions of years ago?
Also, it is not possible for someone (or anyone) to explain what it means to be a Christian when they do not understand who and what God is, or His purpose in creating Man.
Man's ultimate potential is mind-blowing; yet, the Holy Bible (in unambiguous wording) makes it clear why we were created, and what God expects from us.

Let's get this straight right off the bat: there is no evidence to support the earth being billions of years old. If one chooses to believes this, they are free to do so, but understand that this is just an opinion--nothing more.
There can be no dispute in operational (observable and testable) science; it proves or disproves itself. But with historical science there is no means to achieve this.
It is impossible to prove that the earth is billions of years old. It can't be done. And, if it can't be demonstrated and provable it is simply voodoo science, and is no more than a belief.
I will most certainly address the other issues you raised, but it would be better to hash one issue at a time, especially since I work sixty hours a week.

The Bible does not state that the sun orbits the earth--never even hints at the notion. Operational science (that which is observable and testable) would disprove this quite easily.
I am for science. Science is not my enemy.
Through geology we observe the layers of rocks, their size, and what bonds them together. We can also determine their composition and of what type they are. We can see this with our own eyes; we can experience it first-hand. This is "operational science." It is observable and verifiable. How these layers of rocks came about is "historical science," and it is disputable.
The same thing goes for paleontology and fossils. Everyone can agree with operational science, which is the fact that fossils exist. The differences in opinion (and, this is all anyone can have) is in the historical science.
Isn't it funny that with C14 dating we should (according to the experts) have no detectable C14 in fossils greater than 50,000 years in age. According to these same experts dinosaurs died out tens of millions of years ago; yet, dinosaurs have C14, and some have soft muscle tissue in their bones, with blood platelets and DNA. Observational science tells us that these animals are less than 50,000 years old.
I am not against anyone believing in evolution or in billions of years, but I am against teaching this as science, and in lying to young school kids.

I don't know very much about intelligent design scientists and their beliefs. I have only listened to Mr. Ham once or twice and to Creation.com a couple of times. Also, I do not know what the consensus is.I will be the first to tell you that I am conflicted about the age of the earth. I firmly believe that the account in Genesis occurred 6000 years ago. I firmly believe that any and all humans and animals were created at that time, and none before. The Bible plainly states that death came through Adam. This issue is settled in my mind.However, I wonder if there could be some years between Genesis 1 and 2, and I'll tell you why I wonder about this.Verse 1 tells us that in the beginning God created everything in the universe. Verse 2 is a little more ambiguous. Here it is: "And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep..."The word was is from the Hebrew 'kayah,' and could also be interpreted (and probably should be) as "came to be" or "became."
The word w/o form ('tohuw' #8414 Strong's Concordance) is best interpreted as waste, or desolation. Void (#922 Strong) refers to "an undistinguishable ruin." Neither word should refer to a planet in it originally created condition.Psalms 104:30 "Thou sendest forth thou spirit, they are created: and thou renewest (Chadash # 2318 "to be new" or "rebuild")the face of the earth.The war between Michael and his angels and Lucifer and his minion (Isa 14:12... & Rev 12:7) had destroyed a great deal of the solar system, and perhaps much more than this. Just take a look at other moons and planets in out SS than have not been renewed. There is much, much, more than this, but this is a short discussion board.One more thing: The creation account in Genesis (at least in my opinion) is all about readying earth for the habitation of man. It should have the perspective of one standing on the face of the earth and not in space. When God first said let there be light He was simply removing all the debris from earth's atmosphere allowing sunlight to penetrate, but the light was merely translucent. Later He created a firmament (our atmosphere--sky), which removed all water vapor from the atmosphere and the stars, moon, and sunlight were clearly visible.

***A good deal can be learned about science from the Bible. In many instances it has been far ahead of the secular world.
Science used to teach that the earth was flat and that people could walk off the edges. Isaiah 40:22 (written around 700 BC) stated as a matter-of-fact that the world is a circle. The word "circle" is from the Hebrew word Chuwg (#2329 Strong), it refers to the earth as a sphere.The dimensions for Noah's Ark, which has a design ratio of 30x5x3, was shown by Dr. S. W. Hong (an atheist), of the Korean Institute of Ocean Engineering, to have the highest degree of seaworthiness. Modern cargo ships are built with similar ratios. This design ratio offers optimum overturn stability; structural integrity; and greater lengthwise pitch stability in heavy seas.God told the Israelites to bury their refuse, especially their fecal matter. In 1700 Europe citizens were tossing their garbage into the street, which ran rampant with diseases.Moses and the Israelites were aware that our life is in our blood. Science was still blood-letting in the 1800's. George Washington probably died from this practice.In the mid 1800's in England a large number of birth mothers were dying. It was found that this number could be lowered significantly when doctors washed their hands in running water after each birth. They should have read Leviticus.Bible states that God created life according to "kinds." It is still true that animals can only recreate after their own "kind."There are countless other examples in the Bible. If you wish to see more, let me know.

Anyone who possess the ability to read should be capable of understanding who God is and His purpose in creating man. He tells us this numerous time. It's not a mystery.Who would want to follow a God they could not relate to?

Heliocentrism has been observed for centuries. Aristarchus was aware of this in the 3rd century BC. However, he was silenced for fear of being charged with impiety.False religious men/systems , especially the Catholic Church, have used fear and intimidation to silence sun-centered observers for years. Copernicus was aware of this in the 1500's, and he based his theory on observations made centuries earlier, but the great false church silenced him.Today, even without a telescope (but much better with), we can make these same observations. It might take an entire year to be certain, but we can prove heliocentrism to ourselves.The universal church had men put to death for going against their dogma. For example, some were bound and one of their legs laid on an open fire until that individual recanted. If the individual would not recant his leg would be burnt to a pitiful nub. Then they would go to the other leg. There are many other examples.You and other evolutionists remind me very much of these false religious leaders, in that you want to suppress knowledge (observable science) because it conflicts with your biased views.You control our school and governmental systems. Professors and teachers who do not support your beliefs are almost always released or mocked, unless they learn to keep their mouths shut. All government grants go to evolutionists; yet, you are still not satisfied.Evolutionists say they want to use "all data" when forming theories and hypotheses, but they are terrified of operation science.You should be ashamed of yourself.

***Because someone calls himself a Christian does not necessarily mean that he is. Just because Bruce Jenner now calls himself a woman does not mean that he is. Just because Rachel Dolezal says she is black does not mean that she is. People pretend to be whom they are not all the time. To be a Christian one must fit Christ's description of a Christian.
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***It is extremely difficult to explain what being a Christian entail to those who are carnal minded. But any discussion must begin with Who and What God is, and why did He create man. Let's begin in the first chapter of John:"1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
2 The same was in the beginning with God.
3 All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made...
10 He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not...
14 And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth."In the very beginning, before the angels and the universe were created, existed the Word. And, the Word was not only with God; He was God.How can this be? It is similar to John Smith being with his father. To paraphrase: In the beginning was John, and John was with Smith (his father), and John was Smith.We understand from vs. 3, 10, and 14 that the God person who came to earth as Jesus existed before this time as the Word (Greek, #3056 Logos, meaning Spokeman, or express image). We also see that it was the Personage known as the Word--later to become Jesus-- who created everything.Further proof that Jesus did the creating: Ephesians 3:9 "9 And to make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God (Theos #2316 Greek), who created all things by Jesus Christ:"It is clear that there are two personages involved here.Now let's go to Genesis 1:26 " 26 And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness:"This is one member of God ( the Word--Spokesman) speaking to another member of God.
God here is from (Hebrew, Elohim--plural in form but single in grammatical usage--much like Greek Theos). Elohim is the same sort of word as committee, group, or family.Again in Genesis 3:22 we see one member of God speaking to another member of God; " 22 And the LORD God said, Behold, the man is become as one of us,"The word did not become the son of God until He had been begotten/sired by God and born of the virgin Mary.The relationship of the two changed in the NT. The greater of the two became the Father; the other became His son. A family. The God family at this time consists of these two personages. After the resurrection it will grow exponentially.the word son is used more than 400 times in the NT, and more than 50% of the time it refers to Jesus Christ . Father is used more than 250 times in reference to God. A family.Notice Hebrews 2:10-11 " 10 For it became him, for whom are all things, and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons unto glory, to make the captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings. 11 For both he that sanctifieth and they who are sanctified are all of one: for which cause he is not ashamed to call them brethren,21:7 "7He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son."Mt 12; 49-50 "49And he stretched forth his hand toward his disciples, and said, Behold my mother and my brethren!
50For whosoever shall do the will of my Father which is in heaven, the same is my brother, and sister, and mother."There are hundreds of other verses that show God's ultimate plan is to create a family--a family of God Beings. This is why humans were created.Jesus is not ashamed to call us brethren because we will be sons of God, just like He is.Read in Romans 8 how the universe is waiting for the sons of God to occupy it. We will become creators, much like our Father is. The universe will become so breathtakingly beautiful.

It is commonly assumed that God the Father was God of the OT; but this is false. Jesus Christ is both God of the OT and the NT.Here's proof:In Exodus 33:18-23 we find where Moses pleaded with God to allow him to see Him in all His glory, but God replied that no one could see His face and live. Yet, the Lord placed Moses in the clift of a rock and covered Moses eyes until He had passed by. He then removed
His hand and allowed Moses to see His back parts.In Exodus 24: 9-11 it is stated that 70 elders of Israel were allowed to see God, and to eat and drink with Him.
There were numerous men in the Old Testament who saw and spoke with God to His face.None of these men ever saw or spoke with the Father. They saw and spoke with the personage who later became Jesus Christ.Consider these verses:John 1:18 " No man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him."
John 5:37 " And the Father himself, which hath sent me, hath borne witness of me. Ye have neither heard his voice at any time, nor seen his shape."
John 6:46 " Not that any man hath seen the Father, save he which is of God, he hath seen the Father."
John 17:26 " And I have declared unto them thy name, and will declare it:The member of the God family whom the prophets spoke with and saw was not God, the Father, but Jesus Christ.In Exodus 3:14 Moses asked God how to answer the children of Israel when they asked him the name of God who sent him. God's reply was: "I AM THAT I AM: and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you."Now, notice the exchange between Jesus and the Pharisees in John 8:53-59"Art thou greater than our father Abraham, which is dead? and the prophets are dead: whom makest thou thyself?
54 Jesus answered, If I honour myself, my honour is nothing: it is my Father that honoureth me; of whom ye say, that he is your God:
55 Yet ye have not known him; but I know him: and if I should say, I know him not, I shall be a liar like unto you: but I know him, and keep his saying.
56 Your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day: and he saw it, and was glad.
57 Then said the Jews unto him, Thou art not yet fifty years old, and hast thou seen Abraham?
58 Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am.
59 Then took they up stones to cast at him: but Jesus hid himself, and went out of the temple, going through the midst of them, and so passed by."Jesus told them that He was the great "I AM," and they tried to stone Him. They knew exactly what He meant.Also notice what Jesus said when they came by night to arrest Him.
John 18:4-8"Jesus therefore, knowing all things that should come upon him, went forth, and said unto them, Whom seek ye?
5 They answered him, Jesus of Nazareth. Jesus saith unto them, I am he. And Judas also, which betrayed him, stood with them.
6 As soon then as he had said unto them, I am he, they went backward, and fell to the ground.
7 Then asked he them again, Whom seek ye? And they said, Jesus of Nazareth.
8 Jesus answered, I have told you that I am he: if therefore ye seek me, let these go their way:"The word he after "I Am" is in italics, meaning it was added by the translators. Also notice that the guards fell backward when Jesus said that He was the great "I AM."John 8:23-24
23 And he said unto them, Ye are from beneath; I am from above: ye are of this world; I am not of this world.
24 I said therefore unto you, that ye shall die in your sins: for if ye believe not that I am he, ye shall die in your sins.Again, he is added by the translators. Jesus refers to Himself as "I AM" in the following verses"John 6:8 the "bread of Life"
John 8:12 the "light of the world"
John 10:9 the "door"
John10:11 the "good shepherd"
John 11:25 the "resurrection and the life"
John 14:6 the "way, truth, and the life"
John 15:1 the "vine"In the Old Testament God referred to Himself in the same ways.In John 13: 19 Jesus warned His disciples "19 Now I tell you before it come, that, when it is come to pass, ye may believe that I am he." the he is added. Jesus is our "Rock."He is referred to as the "Rock" in dozens of verses in both the OT and the NT.In Exodus 13:21-22 & 14:19 we see that God followed the Israelite out of Egypt in "a pillar of a cloud""21 And the LORD went before them by day in a pillar of a cloud, to lead them the way; and by night in a pillar of fire, to give them light; to go by day and night:
22 He took not away the pillar of the cloud by day, nor the pillar of fire by night, from before the people.
19 And the angel of God, which went before the camp of Israel, removed and went behind them; and the pillar of the cloud went from before their face, and stood behind them:"Now, notice the final and absolute proof that Jesus was the God Personage who led the Israelites out of Egypt and through the Red Sea!1Corinthians 10: 1-41 Moreover, brethren, I would not that ye should be ignorant, how that all our fathers were under the cloud, and all passed through the sea;
2 And were all baptized unto Moses in the cloud and in the sea;
3 And did all eat the same spiritual meat;
4 And did all drink the same spiritual drink: for they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them: and that Rock was Christ.The general consensus among Christianity is that the Father was God of the OT and that Jesus came to abolish the 10 Commandments, and establish a new way to worship, but that is far from the truth.
Jesus Himself wrote the 10 Commandments on stone, which denotes permanence.

You need to learn patience man. It is impossible to tell someone what it means to be a Christian in such a short time. You need to absorb what has already been written.I am by no means done. But, after learning that God wants a family; after learning that He wants to share all He owns with us; after learning that His way is the way of give; and, you still have no inkling about what He expects from us then I must wonder what in life has messed you up so badly!

Okay, let's do it your way!Take my last two posts and show that they are not correct.Prove to me that Jesus was not the God of the OT, or that God does not want a family.Let's see what you do know about the Bible. Being that you claim to be a Christian, you should have extensive knowledge.I don't think that you can discredit my posts at all. No, not you!

And, I'm telling you that I'm answering the question. But, to understand what defines a Christian, one must first define who is Christ. And, they must also define His purpose in creating us.I don't believe that you have the slightest idea about who Christ is. I really don't. You know far too little about Him to be a follower.Again, with the help of your club, I challenge you to disprove my "silly" assertions about Christ. Please!

***You claim to be a Christian; yet, you do not seem to understand anything about Christ. Most of professing Christianity have adopted the doctrines and customs of the false Catholic Church.Just a few:Sunday is never called the "Lord's day." It is simply referred to as the first day of the week. It is a regular work day.Jesus did not rise from the dead on Sunday.The word "trinity" is not found in the Bible. The Holy Spirit is never mentioned as being a person.The Scriptures do not state that humans are immortal, or that we possess an immortal soul.Heaven is not now, nor has it ever been, the destination of humans.The Bible doesn't state that humans will burn in hell forever, or that we will pop and sizzle like a piece of bacon while there.Those in the 2nd resurrection are not resurrected to be sentenced, but to be judged--there is a huge difference.Most churches teach that the Israelites and Jews are synonymous, but the Bible teaches us that Israel was conquered and deported 135 years before Judah was. They are no longer the same people.

There are four verses in the NT that preachers use to support Sunday being the new Sabbath, or Lord's Day. But, what do these verses actually say?Let's see!The first is in John 20:19
"19 Then the same day at evening, being the first day of the week, when the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled for fear of the Jews, came Jesus and stood in the midst, and saith unto them, Peace be unto you.""See," they say. The disciples were assembled on Sunday!
What they fail to point out is that the disciples were hiding from the Jews; they were not holding a church service. To say they were is being dishonest.Please Read Mark 16:14 The disciples were not even aware at that time that Jesus had risen.
"14 Afterward he appeared unto the eleven as they sat at meat, and upbraided them with their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they believed not them which had seen him after he was risen."The second verses are found in Acts 20:7-11,13"7 And upon the first day of the week, when the disciples came together to break bread, Paul preached unto them, ready to depart on the morrow; and continued his speech until midnight.
8 And there were many lights in the upper chamber, where they were gathered together.
9 And there sat in a window a certain young man named Eutychus, being fallen into a deep sleep: and as Paul was long preaching, he sunk down with sleep, and fell down from the third loft, and was taken up dead.
10 And Paul went down, and fell on him, and embracing him said, Trouble not yourselves; for his life is in him.
11 When he therefore was come up again, and had broken bread, and eaten, and talked a long while, even till break of day, so he departed....
13 And we went before to ship, and sailed unto Assos, there intending to take in Paul: for so had he appointed, minding himself to go afoot."This was a special one-time farewell meeting and meal--nothing more. This would have taken place on what we call Saturday night. The following morning, being a Sunday, Paul walked 20 miles to Assos.Notice verse 13.Paul walked 20 miles on Sunday. If Sunday was the new Lord's Day, then how dare Paul labor so extensively on that day.
Verse 11 says that they "broke bread" and ate a meal.In first century Palestine bread was not sliced; it was broken. The following verses (which by no means is complete) clearly show that "breaking bread," constituted eating a meal.
Acts 2:46; Luke 9:16-17; Matthew 14:19 & 15:36; Mark 6:41 & 8:6.Paul was leaving his dear friends and he might never see them again. This was simply a farewell meal, after which Paul walked 20 miles during daylight hours on Sunday.The third such scripture is found in 1Corinthians 16:1-4"1 Now concerning the collection for the saints, as I have given order to the churches of Galatia, even so do ye.
2 Upon the first day of the week let every one of you lay by him in store, as God hath prospered him, that there be no gatherings when I come.
3 And when I come, whomsoever ye shall approve by your letters, them will I send to bring your liberality unto Jerusalem.
4 And if it be meet that I go also, they shall go with me."This was a one-time gathering for Whom? For the saints in Jerusalem, who were going through a severe drought and famine--Romans 15:25-28.Paul was asking the Corinthians to gather grain, fruit, nuts, etc..., which he would collect (several others were coming with him in order to transport these goods, which wouldn't be necessary if only money was involved) when he came.To gather these fruits, grain, and nuts would involve labor. What specific day did Paul ask them to exert this labor? Why Sunday of course--the first day of the week. This certainly doesn't sound like a Sabbath to me.The fourth passage is found in Revelation 1:1010 I was in the Spirit on the Lord's day, and heard behind me a great voice, as of a trumpet,This is not referring worship service. It is a reference to the "Day of the Lord"--mentioned more than 30 times in Bible prophecy. If it was speaking of a specific day of the week, that day would be the true Sabbath Day--Saturday, the seventh day of the week.
Only one day is ever called the Lord's Day, and that is the Sabbath.Read Mark 2:2828 Therefore the Son of man is Lord also of the sabbath.Christ called the Sabbath "My holy day...the holy day of the LordIsaiah 58:13.In Exodus 20:10 God says about the Sabbath "the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord your God"The Sabbath is not our day; it is the Lord's Day.

Mainstream preachers (some who are genuinely deceived and others who are deliberately deceitful) tell us that Christ was in the tomb for 36 hours, which constitutes two nights and one whole day.Furthermore, they would have us believe that the phrase "3 days and three night" is a Greek idiom, which says that even the most minute portion of a day or night can represent and entire day or night. Hence they count the quickly fading light on Friday as one day; they count Saturday as one day; and, they count early Sunday morning (even though it was still dark when they found the empty tomb)as one day. From this they get 3 days.Even with this scenario, how can they come up with 3 nights from Friday and Saturday Nights. This is not the kind of math I was brought up with.Let's look at every scripture that deals with the length of time Jesus was to be in the heart of the earth.In the following verses the term "the third day" is used:Matthew: 16:21; 17:23 & 20:19. Mark 9:31 & 10:34. Luke 9:22; 18:33 & 24:7.The term "in 3 days" is used in Matthew 26:61; Mark 15:29; & John 2:19-20."Within 3 days" is found in Mark 14:58."After 3 days is used in Matthew 27:63 & Mark 8:31I want to make a few facts clear here: God's days began in the evening. Genesis 1:5, 8,13...etc. Exodus 12:18 & Leviticus 23:5,32.
Also, Jesus was well aware of how many hours were in a day and how many were in a night.John 11:9-109 Jesus answered, Are there not twelve hours in the day? If any man walk in the day, he stumbleth not, because he seeth the light of this world.
10 But if a man walk in the night, he stumbleth, because there is no light in him.From the expression "the third day," "in 3 days," and "within 3 days" we can determine that the length of time for Christ to be in the tomb was between 48 and 72 hours. Any other amount of time would not fit the phrases.The expression "after 3 days" is another quantifier. The term simply means that it had to be at least 72 hours to be at the very end of 3 days. It could have been more except for the fact that the other phrases does not permit this to be the case.In Matthew 12 the religious leaders asked Jesus for a sign which would prove that he was the Messiah. They challenged him to, as the expression goes, put up or shut up. Let's read these verses.Matthew 12:38-40"38 Then certain of the scribes and of the Pharisees answered, saying, Master, we would see a sign from thee.
39 But he answered and said unto them, An evil and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given to it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas:
40 For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale's belly; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth."From His own mouth Jesus said that He would be just 3 days and 3 night in the tomb. And, the Book of Jonah was written in Hebrew not Greek--no Greek idiom.Jesus was staking his very credibility on this one sign. And, that sign wasn't His resurrection; although, that was the climax to it. He was staking everything on the "amount of time" that He would remain in the grave before He resurrected.Just as it was in Genesis 1:13 where a total of 3 evenings and 3 mornings made up 3 days, the same can be said about Jesus remaining in the grave.The only way everything about the resurrection comes into agreement is when we accept the time as being 72 hours--no more and no less.