Why do Christians bother with their religion?

Question

I have been asking various questions and from the responses can only conclude the following.
The Christian faith is illogical,hypocrytical and inconsistent.
e.g. Thou shalt not kill.Yet we are taught God wiped out every living thing on the planet except Noah,his family and the animals in the ark.
Apparently it is a sin of the parents to have a child out of wedlock.
If Jesus is the son of God and God and Mary were not married,this makes God a sinner.(Does it make Mary an adulterer as well?)
No-one seems to know for sure who wrote the Bible but it's teachings are accepted unconditionally.
Can anyone please explain this to me?

fireball2
I ask questions in the search for knowledge.That is why I come here.

theladylooking
You need to get your spellchecker looked at.
I see nothing embarasing about asking questions.I like to learn

rainbowseer
I, along with my wife,made our son.
So,I have the right to kill him?
Not that I want to

Answer 1

Sermon Text for October 1, 2006
"Which Is Better?" #74-03
Presented on The Lutheran Hour on October 1, 2006
By Rev. Dr. Ken Klaus, Speaker for Lutheran Hour Ministries
Copyright 2006, Lutheran Hour Ministries

James 5:7-8

Christ is risen! He is risen, indeed! The risen Lord is with us. His blood forgives us; His power sustains us. This day we give thanks to God who gives us patience for the living of this day and prepares us for that day when time is no more.

I don't remember if the story I'm going to share with you is real or not. I know it was told to me by one of my parochial school kindergarten teachers about 20 years ago. I just can't remember whether she was telling me about an event which actually happened to her, or whether it had happened to someone else. At any rate, I'm sure all kindergarten teachers and most moms can identify with the teacher who was helping one of her children put on his boots. It was Minnesota, and it was winter, and boots and mittens were a necessity. Twenty years ago, without this stretchable rubber stuff, putting on boots was a struggle; a struggle the teacher did without complaint. It was only when she had wiggled and worked the second boot almost on, that her student commented, "Teacher, I think my boots are on the wrong foot." Sure enough, they were. "This has been a long day," the teacher thought to herself. The day didn't get any shorter as she wiggled and worked the boy's boots off.

With a deep sigh, and a heaven-sent prayer, she started the process all over again. This teacher did not perspire easily, but little beads of sweat popped out on her forehead. She helped the student up and said, "There, that's done." The boy looked at his feet and said, "Teacher, these aren't my boots." At that moment, she called on all those years of experience, and, gently said, "Oh, I'm sorry, dear. Maybe that's why they went on so hard. Let's get them off and put your boots on." It was amazing how clear her words were, considering she was speaking them through clenched teeth. Veins were standing out on her neck and forehead by the time those boots were off. Only then did the boy comment, "These boots are my brother's. Mom said that I had to wear them today."

She knelt down and struggled and scuffled and tussled to slide those overshoes on one more time. With a sense of satisfaction, she looked down on her student and asked, "Now, where are your mittens?" He replied, "I didn't want to lose them, so I stuffed them into the toes of my boots."

The subject for the Lord's message today is "patience." Now, believe it or not, I have actually known some people like that teacher. Although I never met her, Mother Teresa is said to have been that kind of person. When she was asked, if she didn't get angry at all the social injustice all around the world, she replied, "Why should I spend energy in anger that I can expend in love?" When she was asked by a Time magazine reporter, "How does it feel to be a failure? You have fed hundreds of thousands, maybe millions of people in India, and there are still millions of hungry people all around." Mother Teresa replied, "I am but a pencil in the hand of God. He writes with His love in my life. I yield and He writes. God has not called me to be successful. God called me to be faithful."

In the 5th chapter of the New Testament epistle of James, there is a sentence which holds up a farmer as being the epitome of patience. James wrote, "See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, being patient about it..." Well, I've seen how some farmers wait for the precious fruit of the earth. Some of them, certainly not all of them, but some of them can get pretty weird and wacky as they wait. If you farmers out there doubt the truth of what I'm saying, all I can suggest is: talk to your wife. Ask her, "Honey, you've never seen me get just a little bit weird while I'm waiting for planting time, or harvest time, or getting rain, have you?" Then, after you've asked, and after she's done laughing, be quiet and listen to her answer.

Still, I have met people of patience. There was the mother and father in South Dakota whose little girl was severely developmentally disabled. I watched them work with their daughter day after day, year after year. They had no guarantee that their efforts would bear fruit. Even so, they continued on patiently, lovingly. And when they did see a positive response, even if that response was so small as to go unnoticed by anyone else, they rejoiced. They celebrated like it was Christmas, birthday, anniversary, and the Fourth of July all rolled into one. I have seen the patience of a husband directed to his wife. She had had a stroke at the age of 38. She was unable to take care of herself; goodness, she was, semi-comatose, unable to do anything, really. Still, he visited her in the nursing home every day. On the way home from work, he visited her. He told her about the exciting proceedings in the lives of their growing children; he brought her flowers on their anniversary, candy on her birthday. He knew she wouldn't eat the candy... that was really for her caregivers. He knew she couldn't see the flowers. But he was patient. He didn't know how much she could understand, so he patiently lived his life as if she could understand everything.

In the course of my ministry I've been brought into contact with great men and women in government, industry, entertainment, and the church. Still none of these great men and women have impressed me as much as God's special people of patience. Maybe that's because I'm so very much not one of them. You and I have been told that "Patience is a virtue;" but as a blacksmith's son, I've always preferred, "Strike while the iron is hot." Some push for patience when they quote, "Rome was not built in a day;" but I would rather hear, "Opportunity knocks but once." Wise men have said, "All things come to he who waits;" but I've kind of thought that "The things that come to he who waits are the things which have been left behind by the folks who got there first." I'm impatient, and you probably are, too. When I go to a fast food place, I expect fast food to be fast. At the bank's drive through, I want to drive through; and if the lady in front of me has to do multiple high finance transactions, she ought to go inside. I don't like it when people with 21 items go to the lane which is supposed to top out at 20. I don't like waiting in the doctor's or dentist's office; I know he's busy, but so am I. I don't like the fellow who has the discourtesy of doing the speed limit on a winding road where I can't pass him. I find myself asking, "Why can't things go my way every once in awhile? Why am I always the one who has to wait?" I'm impatient.

Because I pretty much think patience is a pathetic thing, I find it had to preach a sermon about the stuff... patience, I mean. Still, that's what James tells me to be. He says, "Be patient... until the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, being patient about it, until it receives the early and the late rains. You also, be patient," James says, "Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand." You see, when I hear those words, I want to ask James, "Just how patient am I supposed to be? Look, James, you said those words 2,000 years ago; everybody who first read them is dead, has been dead for over 1,000 years. How patient do I have to be?"

And I'm not alone in asking how patient is patient. Moses who put up with one adversity and complaint after another asked, "Return, O Lord! How long? Have pity on Your servants!" (Psalm 90:13). King David who saw one son rebel against him, and another die in infancy asked, "How long, O Lord? Will You forget me forever? How long will You hide your face from me?" (Psalm 13:1). The Old Testament prophet Habakkuk asked, "O Lord, how long shall I cry for help, and You will not hear? Or cry to You 'Violence!' and You will not save?" (Habakkuk 1:2). In the book of Revelation, John sees a vision where God's martyrs in heaven call out "with a loud voice, 'O Sovereign Lord, holy and true, how long before You will judge and avenge our blood on those that dwell on the earth?'" (Revelation 6:10-11).

Maybe, because the Bible seems to be populated with impatient people, God has gone out of His way to tell His people to be patient. In the book of Romans, Paul wrote, "Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer" (Romans 12:12); in 1 Corinthians the Lord defines love, and that definition begins: "Love is patient; love is kind" (1 Corinthians 13:4); the apostle John wrote: suffering and persecution "...calls for patient endurance on the part of the saints who obey God's commandments and (who) remain faithful to Jesus" (Revelation 14:12).

And then, of course, there is that quote of James... the one about us waiting for Jesus like a farmer waits for his crop. Let me tell you a little bit about what was happening that caused God to inspire James to share that message with His people. The years following the death and resurrection of the Savior were not easy for Christ's elect. They were mistreated; they were taken advantage of, they were even murdered by those who were politically powerful. Now, it doesn't take too many days of that kind of treatment before people, even God's people, start asking questions. What questions? You know the kind of questions I mean. The questions that parents have always asked when they stand helplessly at the bedside of their sick child; the questions that faithful spouses ask when they find they have been betrayed; the questions that a man or woman asks when they, due to no fault of their own, have been let go from work; the questions a farmer asks as the hail comes down upon the field which was to have been harvested next week; the questions that all of us ask when we feel unloved, unwanted, unappreciated, neglected.

That's right. I said all of us, both believers and unbelievers, ask those questions when difficulties arise. True, unbelievers may, for many years, buy into the belief, the lie, that seductively whispers, "You are master of your fate; you are captain of your soul." They may have found contentment in the concept which says: "If you control your finances, your health, your retirement, your relationships; if you control every aspect of your life, you can find gratification and satisfaction." The great difficulty is: nobody can control all those variables. The day comes for them, the unbeliever, as it comes for everyone, when sickness, suffering, sadness, and death start swirling around. They find control has slipped from their grasp. That is when those who have been vehement, even violent in their protests and rejection of God, find themselves asking, "Does God have it in for me?" The question surprises them. Why should they think that the person whose very existence they have denied for so long has it in for them? I'll tell you why: The Lord has put the knowledge of His existence into every human heart. It is there in each of us. It has always been there. It has been waiting for the moment when you are the weakest and your need is the greatest to come to the fore. It is then, at that moment, when you can do nothing that God wishes to do everything.

And what is the everything God wish to do for you? Ask your Christian friends; they'll tell you. They know hurt. The same problems and pains, the same sorrows and sadnesses which beset unbelievers also come to Christians. Being a Christian does not mean you are immune from suffering; it does not mean that you have no crosses to carry; It doesn't mean all your sicknesses will be miraculously healed; that all of the injustices you experience will be righted - right now. Being a Christian doesn't mean that everything around you will always be sweetness and light. If it meant those things, you can be sure there would be a lot more Christians in the world.

The truth is, sin, Satan, and death throw their deadly darts at believers and unbelievers alike. We all suffer sorrow and are plagued by pain. Ours may be a physical pain which no doctor's drug or miracle medicine has been able to touch. We may have a personal pain, a pain which comes from being caught in an unreasonable work environment; or a relationship where a spouse is no longer honorable; or a friendship where a dear one has turned against us; or a family member who is badmouthing us to anyone who will listen. Maybe we have a financial pain where the bills are staggering and the paycheck is suffering. Maybe there is something we did, or something we didn't do which rests heavily on our hearts, which runs through our minds again and again. Such pains grind away at the soul. Such pains lead to questions.

Since believers and unbelievers have pain and problems, it is not surprising to find that both believers and unbelievers ask: "Does God have it in for me? Doesn't God care? Is He really out there?" That's right, Christians, being human, ask the same questions unbelievers do. When James wrote to his fellow first-century Christians, that's what they were doing. They were asking, "If God loves me, why doesn't He save me from my suffering?" They were looking for an answer to the query: "If Jesus is victorious, how come we're down here getting clobbered?" Yes, we're alike in asking the questions, but we are different in this: after a believer has asked that question, he waits for God's answer. Through the words of Scripture he is given God's divinely inspired response to his pain and hurt.

That doesn't mean the Christian is always going to like the answer God gives. Jesus, when He was in the Garden of Gethsemane, as He prepared for His final hours, He asked, if it could be the Father's will, that His cup of suffering be taken away; but not His will but the Father's Will be done. Jesus ended up drinking from that cup of pain and death; but that doesn't mean His prayer wasn't answered. It was, and through His suffering, through His stripes, through His death, all who believe on Him as Savior are offered forgiveness of their sins and the knowledge that death is not their end. Christians don't always appreciate or understand God's answer to their pain. Saint Paul prayed three times to have an unspecified thorn in the flesh taken away. It wasn't. But that doesn't mean Paul's prayer wasn't heard. It was. Paul was told that his weakness would give God an opportunity to show His power in a way which wouldn't have been possible if Paul had thought he could do things on his own. Believers know that God hears and answers them. True, His answer may not be the one we want, or according to our timetable; but God always, and I say that again, He always answers us in the way that is best.

And that is the great difference between an unbeliever and a Christian. The unbeliever may imagine his problems have come from the hand of a cruel, cantankerous god; or from some faceless, unthinking blind bit of happenstance; but the Christian, by faith, by past experience, by all of Scripture, knows that God's grace is alive and active in his life; in his own pain and problems. Do you doubt me? Open the Bible to almost any page and you will be confronted by God's grace; His unfailing, unaltered, undefeated, and undeserved kindness. On the dark day when all of our problems, all of our pains, all of our trials and troubles gained entrance into this world; after Satan had successfully tempted our original ancestors to depart from God's will and live life by their own skill and wisdom, God's grace was there. Humanity had made a disastrous decision as pain took the place of perfection; hurt shoved happiness to the side; damnation replaced salvation; and death, temporal and eternal, slammed shut the gates of heaven. Yes, it was a disastrous decision, but it was countered by God's gracious promise to send His Son who would bring light to darkness and forgiveness to sin-stained souls.

If you read the Scripture with an open mind, and I encourage you to take a serious look at God's Book which stands alone in sharing the story of salvation unearned, you will see Jesus, God's Son, your Savior. You will see Him who became one of us so He might take our place. We break God's laws, but He kept them. We fall victim to Satan and the sins he suggests, but Jesus lived His life untainted by transgression. We deserve death, but Jesus died in our place. Beaten, betrayed, and bloodied, He was nailed to the cross by the very people He had come to redeem. Remember, we didn't deserve His sacrifice. The entire plan to buy us back from sin, death, and Satan found its beginning, fulfillment and Judgment Day completion in the gracious heart of God. The angels who announced the Savior's birth had said He was good news of great joy. And so He is. To all who believe He is forgiveness of the past and freedom for the future. He is the Savior who is with us always.

What is the great difference between a Christian and an unbeliever? It is this: Christians know that because of Jesus Christ, it will come out all right. It will come out all right. It will come out all right. Have you ever been with someone who has cancer? The great burden of cancer is not knowing. Will this medicine work? How well will it work? Will the cure be worse than the cancer? Will the cure, if there is a cure, last for any length of time? Will I be able to bear it? Will I lose my hair? Will...? Unanswered questions are all around. The patient just doesn't know. Now, imagine if a doctor could assure his patient that everything will be all right. If the doctor's promise could be believed, there is no pain that a patient would not endure. Everything is going to be all right. Suppose the cure takes a long time? No matter, everything will be all right. My friends, Jesus, the great Healer of souls comes to us in our pain and tells us what no earthly doctor can, in good conscience, say. Jesus looks us in the eye; He puts His hand on our shoulder and He says, "Believe on Me. It is going to be all right in the end." And Christians know that a living Lord will make it all right. Jesus, who has defeated death, has given His promise. And His promise and His presence make all the difference. Would you like such an assurance that it will be all right in your life? Jesus can give it. Call us at The Lutheran Hour. Amen.

LUTHERAN HOUR MAILBOX (Questions & Answers) for October 1, 2006
TOPIC: Do people who are never told about Jesus go to hell when they die?

ANNOUNCER: And now more questions and answers with Pastor Ken Klaus. I'm Mark Eischer. Equipping to Share is the name of a congregational outreach workshop sponsored by Lutheran Hour Ministries. As the name says, it helps people share their faith in the Savior as the Lord provides the opportunity.

KLAUS: An Equipping To Share workshop also gives folks the opportunity to explore questions that come up when they talk to other people who have not yet been brought to Jesus. We've been dealing with some of those questions in hopes that we can help them, and you, the listener.

ANOUNCER: Well, here's a thorny one: If a person is never told about Jesus, do they go to hell?

KLAUS: Well, first of all we need to say it's not important what I think about this question. If you go to 20 different ministers you could end up with 20 different opinions in regard to a question like this. The only important answer, the irrefutable answer that we need to deal with, is God's answer. He's the one who is in charge here.

ANNOUNCER: And His answer is found in the words of Holy Scripture.

KLAUS: Yes. Jesus, God's Son, our Savior, addressed this question when He said, "Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved. Whoever does not believe will be condemned"(Mark 16:16). It was Jesus who said that faith in Him was necessary for heaven. Without it, you're lost.

And that's not the only time that you find that idea in the Bible. Peter said it a little bit differently. After healing a man in the name of Jesus, Peter said, "There is salvation in no one else, there is no other name under heaven, given among men, by which we must be saved" (Acts 4:12). Once again, there doesn't seem to be an exception. Without Jesus, we can't be saved.

You know, I can come up with passage after passage like that. Let me quote just one more. This one comes from Saint John. In what is probably one of the most familiar passages of the Bible, he wrote: "God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life" (John 3:16).

ANNOUNCER: But, it seems so unfair for somebody to be punished for breaking some rule they don't even know about.

KLAUS: That's why a policeman should never arrest a drunken driver. You know, that man has probably never seen the law books that say it's wrong to drink and drive. What I'm saying, Mark, is that ignorance of the law is no excuse. Beside, people, in their hearts, they know there is a God. They also know they are sinners.

ANNOUNCER: That's what Saint Paul wrote to the church at Rome. He said, "When Gentiles, who do not have the law, do by nature things required by the law ... they show that the requirements of the law are written on their hearts..." (Romans 2:14-15 excerpted).

KLAUS: Right. Everybody knows their souls are sick with sin. What they also need to know is that through the suffering , death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, God has given us the only medicine that can cure every sinful soul in the world. There is nobody who, believing on Jesus Christ, won't be saved. That's true for all people, in all times, everywhere.

Now, Jesus' life, death, and resurrection provides the cure for humanity. God has said to His delivery people, and by that, I mean us: Share this medicine with your sick friends, neighbors, family members, coworkers, everybody.

Now, let me ask: should you get upset with a doctor who discovers a cure for all illnesses, makes enough of that medicine for everybody, and refuses to charge a dime for it? Is he to blame that his delivery people don't get the medicine out - or, if somebody chooses not to take it?

ANNOUNCER: No, you can't fault the doctor - and people shouldn't get upset with God, either; because through faith in Christ, He's freely offering everybody the one and only complete cure for sin.

KLAUS: And that's why God's delivery people need to get on the stick and share the Savior as much as they can, wherever they can, as often as they can, to as many people as they can - knowing that the Holy Spirit is at work whenever and wherever the good news of Jesus is shared.

ANNOUNCER: Which is really what The Lutheran Hour has been doing for more than 75 years.

KLAUS: And it's what the people in Equipping To Share workshops are doing: learning how to share the Savior, God's good news of great joy for all people. It should be our first, and most important, priority.

ANNOUNCER: Anything else?

KLAUS: Yes, Mark. I've heard this question before, and there was a long time in history when it was really valid. But nowadays there aren't many places in the world where the name of Jesus isn't known. Today, if someone ends up in hell, it's probably not because he or she hasn't heard about Jesus. It's because he or she rejected Him. Nevertheless, for those who haven't yet heard - or understood - The Lutheran Hour remains committed to bringing Christ to the Nations.

ANNOUNCER: More questions next week. This has been a presentation of Lutheran Hour Ministries.

Music selections for this program:

"A Mighty Fortress" arranged by John Leavitt. Concordia Publishing House/SESAC

"When I Suffer Pains and Losses" arranged by Henry Gerike. Used by permission

"God Loves Me Dearly" Concordia Publishing House/SESAC

"Prelude on 'Lobe den Herren'" by J.S. Bach. From Hymns by Dan Miller (© 1991 DSDS Enterprises)

"Praeludium in D" by Dietrich Buxtehude. From Richard Heschke at the Hradetzky in Red Bank (© 1993 Arkay Records)




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Answer 2

Well, God made everything, so it's His, so he can kill it. You didn't make it so it is not yours to kill.

I've never read a verse that says it is a sin to have a child outside of marriage. In fact, Biblical men had children with concubines as well multiple wives. Adultery is a sin because it breaks a vow.
Mary was only betrothed and not married so it wasn't adultery and God had an understanding with Joseph.
Moses wrote the first five books of the bible. The New Testament was written largely by Paul and attribution isn't really a problem for most books.
However there is a condition on the acceptance of it's teachings and that is a condition of faith. The belief in that which you can not know, in order to obtain that which we can not earn.
The Bible is an oracle and along with prayer, you can converse with a living Almighty God!
Once you do that, you'll want to do it more and more because He is so good. And you can feel it! That is why we bother.

Answer 3

If you yank things out of context or don't understand the underlying concepts, then I suppose Christianity might seem illogical. However, there are answers to all of your questions.

God wiped out all living things because the world had become evil and the people were depraved except for Noah. It wasn't an arbitrary, "Hmm, gee, I'm bored and I think I'll just go wipe out the world today." on God's part.

In the Catholic faith, at least, Mary is referred to as the "Spouse of the Holy Spirit," Who caused her to conceive Jesus.

Many of the books of the Bible do have human authors: for example, most of Paul's letters and many of the OT prophets. The ultimate inspiration for the books of the Bible came through the Holy Spirit Who influenced the authors.

Hope that helps.

Answer 4

All you're doing is throwing stumbling blocks in your own way. The Christian faith is about growing in a relationship with the Living God, through His Son Jesus Christ. Can't get there on your own, you have to go through the Son. All the things you're stumbling over is Law. The Relationship is based on Grace, and the forgiveness that comes through the Gift of Pardon Jesus offers. It has nothing to do with Law...the do's and don'ts.

Answer 5

Gd is the maker of humans, he and oly he has the right to wipe out his creation.., they were cruel and evil people he wiped out, he saved the Godly ones. God planted the seed in mary, he did not have sex with her, Please don`t get rediculious,No Mary was not an adulterer, she had never been with a man, and she wasen`t married when she got pregnant, so she couldn`t have been an adulterer, its called fornication, if its before marriage. I think you must be pretty young, someone older would have known the answers to these questions, before they Imbarrassed themself with putting up things they knew nothing about. sorry kid, keep reading you`ll get there, ask God to lead you.

Answer 6

Becoming a Child of GOD is Reality, not Religion.
Getting your Spirit Recreated by Accepting Jesus as your Saviour, makes you a Child of GOD.
Some Children of GOD make a Religion out of their Salvation. Sad.

Answer 7

Ok: God told us not to kill, but the humans he wipped out were extremely wicked and perverted while Noah was a follower of God. God didn't have sex with Mary and we know who wrote most of the books of the Bible, but some are hard to place but you can tell God inspired everyone who wrote them. You should call up a pastor and talk to him.

Answer 8

The same reason why people don't choose to believe. Because you shouldn't have to but you can if you want. According to Christianity God is not human so he can do as he pleases, is that why Christians say, God works in mysterious ways. If they want to believe leave us be, if you don't that is perfectly fine too. I don't criticize other faiths negativley.

Answer 9

Christianity IS illogical, and usually it's also hypocritical and inconsistent. The same goes for most other religions.

However, the examples you cited are not contradictions, because it was God doing them and not humans. Only humans can sin, whatever God does is automatically good because he did it.

Answer 10

Christianity is not based on logic, but on faith.

Faith succeeds where logic fails.

Logic says you can't walk on water, but faith says it already happened.

God did not sin.

Men of God wrote the Bible.

Answer 11

Stop asking on here, and go ask a preacher. Your questions are too complicated to answer on here-- sure we can help you but It will take pages to answer them. and Im sure you have many more questions about the christian faith than what you brought up in here. Write down your questions and go to a preacher and ask away.