Salvation comes through Christ and Him alone. Overcoming one's personal issues is a lifelong process (selfishness, jealousy, anger, etc.) and if we aim to trust God, we can overcome strongholds associated with a sinful nature. Rejection of Christ is a non-starter. You will not earn God's...
The law could never save us, so teaching us the law was not the purpose of His incarnation. His death paid the penalty for what we deserved for all who believe. His resurrection assures believers of eternal union with Him. You cannot be deemed righteous in God's eyes by observing the law.
In God's view as a just and holy God, there is no one innocent because of sin. I believe God bestows grace on the young and immature, people with mental retardation, etc. To those who are mentally mature and capable of accepting the truth, there is no excuse.
Many people converted to Christianity because they believed in the person of Jesus Christ, God manifest in the flesh who bore their sins and the condemnation they rightly deserved. They believed in His resurrection and the eternal justification through grace that it provided them.
Heaven and earth passing away speaks to the universe and physical earth, not the heavenly realm. God promises us an eternal inheritance with Him. His promises (His Word) does not pass away and we (who believe) are assured of that.
I'm not disagreeing with you that the older manuscripts did end abruptly at Mark 16:8. But at that point, what had been confirmed? The tomb was empty! If later disciples of Mark added additional information (versus 9-20), it implies that there were older sources regarding the resurrection...
"Only Begotten" in the Greek translation is monogenes, which speaks to the uniqueness in kind that Jesus is in relation to to the Father. He is eternal in nature and was this in the beginning (John 1:1) and His incarnation for a divine purpose represented the manifestation of God in the flesh...
Did bad things happen to the apostles. Did bad things happen to David?, Moses?, The prophets? Jesus? Were Christians burned in the coliseum or fed to wild beasts? In a fallen world, bad things happen to people, good or bad.
Just pay attention to the evidence all around you rather than trying to contend how old the earth is. If you do not believe we the live in a fallen and deprived world, the evidence disputes it.
The resurrection was not added to Mark. Secondary divergence in regards to independent sources does not make them invalid nor does it impact the central doctrine of the Gospels. Secondly, an older creed predating Mark's Gospel and passed down to Paul (as referenced in 1 Corinthians 15) validates...
There is no basis for your claim. The majority of scholars (both Christian and Skeptic) agree on the following:
(1) He was crucified at the command of Pontius Pilate during the reign of Tiberus
(2) He was buried in a borrowed tomb (Joseph of Arimathea)
(3) After 3 days, the tomb was empty...
It is substantiated by Scripture and could have been challenged or disputed by people who were living during that time. There is no other credible piece of work that does just that. Secondly, how do you vet ancient history or history in general. Were the conquests of Alexander the Great history...
Jesus was not born of a natural conception (man and woman having sexual intercourse). That's what makes it supernatural. There was no seed of a man that tainted Jesus in any way. Jesus was God in the flesh. His birth, sinless life, miracles, death and resurrection (empty tomb) validate His claims.
You're right, but there has to be a central truth and foundation that underscores our purpose in life. Reflect on the central themes of Scripture:
(1) Creation was good
(2) Man was provided free will and stewardship over creation
(3) Evil present (God provided angelic beings with free will...
False doctrine. The curse of sin came through the seed of man (Romans 5:12), we (creation) were cursed with a sinful nature. Jesus was not born through the tainted seed of man, but through divine intervention (immaculate conception). He was without sin, but bore the sinful condemnation for...
The challenge is you're trying to define God based on human understanding. The Scriptures clearly point to the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. That does not diminish or take away from the oneness of God, it more reveals the essence and fullness of God, which is beyond our full understanding in our...