Atheism;

   You live 70-80 years if you’re lucky, then you die. Unless you’re a handful of famous/infamous people, after a couple of generations, nobody remembers you anymore. So, what is the real purpose of your life?
If you’re an atheist, there is no real purpose. You may say that you want to make the world a better place. But you’re just a bunch of electrons, protons and neutrons randomly thrown together. Where did this idea of making the world a better place come from? Certainly not from a bunch of matter randomly thrown together.
In fact, you act the way you act because your genes (which are just a bunch of electrons, protons and neutrons) tell you how to react. Atheist philosopher Michael Rise says “…ethics, as we understand it, is an illusion fobbed off on us by our genes, to get us to cooperate…ethics is a shared illusion of the human race.” One wonders how our genes know how to get us to cooperate.
Atheist philosopher William Provine says, “There is no ultimate foundation for ethics, no ultimate meaning for life, and no free will for humans either (because our genes determine our actions).”
Atheist filmmaker Woody Allen says in a Newsweek magazine article, “I make movies not to make any type of grand statement but simply to take my mind off the existential horror of being alive.” Allen numbs this bleakness with humor.
Atheists say that;
– you’re nobody special. You’re just a conglomeration of chemicals.
– there’s no special purpose to your life. You live, you die, you cease to exist. There is no afterlife.
– there’s no right and wrong. Just an agreed upon set of morals to live by that can and will change over time.

Yet humans do have a universal morality. Its expressions may vary but there are certain universals. Where did these morals come from? Humans are a hopeful group. Where does this hope come from? Why do we consider suicide an unfortunate option, one that is looked with pity on? Why do we look on adultery as wrong? Because we violated our promise to another person, you say. But if there are no absolute morals, why is adultery wrong? So you temporarily changed our mind, so what? But we do feel guilty when we commit adultery. Any morality atheists have is borrowed from other religions.
     If you don’t believe in God, there is nothing to live for, no afterlife to look forward to, no reason to live a good life because there are no absolute morals, only an agreed upon set of opinions. Its all vanity of vanities (Ecclesiastes 1:2-11). But you say, mankind is getting better. There are brighter days ahead. What makes you say that? Its just the chemicals in your brain saying that. But what makes chemicals think? After observing the 20^th century where more people were killed than in any other century, what makes you think so positively about our chances of survival? Humanity’s actions speak otherwise. Your heart’s desire that humanity will get better but why do you think that? If there is no God, where does that thought come from?  If there is no purpose in life, after a devastating event (like the death of a spouse), then suicide becomes a rational option.

     Any way you look at it, atheism doesn’t square up with reality on just about anything.

                                                                                     Christianity;

     It is universal that everyone has a yearning to feel that they matter, that their life and what they did with it matters. We all want meaning and purpose in our lives. Where does this yearning come from? We have a desire for our children to live a good, productive life. Parents are protective of their children. We will sacrifice for them. Why? Where do these feelings come from? If our spouse or child is drowning, why would you try to save them? Where does this feeling come from? We have an innate desire to be productive. Work satisfies this. We desire friendship and being part of a good community of friends. Why do we have these desires? Where do they come from? Atheism has no answer for these yearnings, but Christianity does.
Christianity says we’re made in the image of God, that we’re made with eternity in our hearts. That’s why we look forward to a better world here and now but also in the afterlife. It’s also why we don’t consider suicide a rational alternative. We love other people because God loves us and we’re made in His image. We sacrifice for our loved ones because God sacrificed His son, Jesus, for us. We have hope because He instilled it in us. We have a certain morality because we’re made in His image and He’s a moral God. We feel bad when we fall short of His morality. Only when we repeatedly violate His morality on a constant basis can our consciousness become “seared”. This is what happens to serial killers and people like Stalin, Mao and Hitler. We are protective of our spouse and children because He is protective of us and He sacrificed His only son to be in a relationship with us.
We want to learn and advance our society because God gave us dominion over the created cosmos (Genesis 1:26-28) and wanted us to rule it according to His standards. But because we are fallen human beings, we fall short of this mandate. Yet we still strive for it.
Christianity squares up with reality. Atheism doesn’t.

For the sake of the Name,
Dave Maynard

     America has turned away from God. We now have leaders in charge that support abortion, LBGQT so called “rights”, allowing men to use girls toilet and shower facilities while competing in their sports and a slew of other ungodly things.
What are we bible believing Christians to do? I answered this question in a previous blog entitled “When who you voted for doesn’t get elected”. We’re to keep on doing what God has called us to do in the first place. It’s never easy to see our great country morally slide down into the abyss. Israel did this many times in the book of Judges, 1^st and 2^nd Samuel, 1^st and 2^nd Kings and all of the Old Testament prophets. But God always had a righteous remnant of true believers who remained faithful thru all of their moral slides. Yes, Israel got worse with each slide. God would cause revival but it was always short lived and it’s getting shorter in our time now. Eventually, God punished Israel by having foreign nations conquer them.
America is not to that point yet and there’s no guarantee that we will ever be. 2^nd Chronicle 7:14 provides us a way out. Right now, in the non-western world, there is revival going on. There are small beginning embers of it here in America. Read https://gregstier.org/3-signs-the-3rd-great-awakening-has-begun/.
We need to pray that these smoldering embers turn into a raging fire. Read Psalms 80:1-3, 14-19 & 85:4-6.

     America has had several revivals before (https://bsssb-llc.com/heeding-the-watchmen-on-the-wall/), bult it seems like the light is getting lighter and the dark is getting darker. Even the secular politicians are noticing this divide (https://www.governing.com/now/It-Took-Decades-for-America-to-Become-This-Divided.html). Most prophecy experts agree that it will get very dark before the Lord’s return. They also agree that the birth pangs are getting more frequent and more intense (Matthew 24). Whenever the Lord does come back, He will find His faithful remnant (Romans 9:27). Maybe you can be one of those faithful.
But until that time, we need to be going about the Lord’s work in our personal, work, spiritual, family and political lives. Jesus is the Lord of our whole life and we need to glorify Him in all areas of it. Even if the majority doesn’t agree with us. Remember, I’d rather be judged by the world and stand with God, than stand with the world and be judged by God.
What has God called you to do in your private and public life? What gifts and talents has He given you to accomplish your calling? Do you even know what your calling is? How does He want you to boldly stand up for His truth? Even if you make mistakes, at least you’ll be doing something for Him. The time may be short. May you be doing what He has called you to do when He returns.

Working together in our callings,
Dave Maynard
https://bsssb-llc.com

                                                     Tools to Help You Answer Criticisms of Christianity

When someone gives you a criticism of Christianity and you’re not quite sure how to answer them, these tools will help you.
I: Don’t panic
1…Nobody can answer all the questions right away.
2…Don’t think there aren’t answers just because you don’t know them.
3…Don’t feel like the answer has to be short. Some require lengthy responses.
4…Don’t be afraid to tell someone that you know there’s an answer to their question/criticism but you’ll have to get back with them on it. Then follow thru and get back to them.
5…Write down the question/criticism as a way to get back with them (usually by email). Doing this will help you to follow thru on getting them an answer to it.
6….Realize that the Bible is true and that anything that contradicts it is false. Every criticism will fall apart somewhere.
7…Try to determine if they’re really interested in hearing an answer. Are they willing to spend some time reading your answer or your link to an answer?

II: Compare the question/criticism to what the Bible actually teaches. An easy way to do this is to google a critique of the question/criticism.
1…If someone is demanding proof of the resurrection, google “proofs of the resurrection”.
2…Is the criticism of a major or a minor doctrine? If someone is arguing about the mode of baptism (whether you get sprinkled or dunked) that’s a minor point of doctrine. It’s not worth arguing about. But if someone questions whether Jesus really existed or if He’s coming back, then that’s the time to take a stand.

III: Make sure your definitions are in agreement. When someone says that America is not a Christian nation, ask them what they mean by a “Christian nation”. Do they mean a nation that’s based on Christian principles or do they mean a nation, like Iran, which is an Islamic theocracy (where the government and the religion are one and the same)?

IV: Is their question/criticism based on a desire to genuinely hear an answer or is it emotion-based?
1…Pro-abortion people usually base their arguments on emotion. They’ll point out that the girl should have control over her own body or that the baby may be deformed or that she cannot afford to have a child at this time. All of these are emotion-based reasons. Point out to them that the baby is a human being and aborting it is killing an innocent person. Or that the baby’s body in NOT part of the mother’s body, it’s only attached to it. These are  rational reasons. An excellent resource is Scott Klusendorf’s book, “The Case for Life”.

V: Determine what parts of their question/criticism are facts and which are assumptions. Words like, could, might, maybe, probably and may should be red flag words. They tell you that the critic is assuming or interpreting something rather than stating facts.

VI: Don’t be afraid to question their “facts”. An example is the divorce rate being 50%. They get this figure by taking the number of divorces in one year and divide it by the number of marriages that year. But this doesn’t take into account people who have been divorced more than one time. People like the late Elizabeth Taylor, who was divorced 7 times, really skew the number. The more accurate figure is obtained by going into the general public and asking married couples if either of them has ever been divorced. When they do this, the real divorce rate is about 30%.

VII: If their ‘facts’ sound suspicious, check them out. It may not be that the facts are incorrect, but that they are biased. An example is that Columbus killed millions of Native Americans. Most of those killed were because the Europeans brought diseases over which the Natives had no immunity to. Germ theory was not known until the mid-1800’s, so the Europeans and Columbus could not be held responsible for these deaths. This is not to reject how badly the Europeans treated the Natives.

VIII: Check their logic. Are they using ‘straw man’ arguments, ‘circular reasoning’, faulty analogies, etc. To find out what faulty logic they may be using, check out potential fallacies at https://kreativcopywriting.com/10-logical-fallacies-know-spot/

IX: Try to figure out what the critic’s biases are. They may never be able to see beyond their biases. We all have biases but many of us are able to see beyond them. Some people will not agree with you no matter how much proof you can give them. For example, some people will not see any good that America or a certain politician has done. They only see the bad things about our country or about that politician. Over time, you may learn to recognize this type of person.

XI: Realize that they may not be reacting to what you’re actually saying. They may be rejecting what you’re saying because they don’t want to give up a sin in their own life. Aldous Huxley said that he didn’t not believe Christianity. He couldn’t accept it because it would mean giving up his sinful sexual lifestyle. He liked his sexual sin more than he wanted to believe in Jesus. This would definitely be time to leave the conversation.

     Remember that faith crises don’t happen when you start asking questions. It happens when you stop seeking answers. Remember John 6:68-69 that says the evidence of your faith far outweighs the uncertainty of any unresolved questions you may have.
The next time you get a question/criticism that contradicts the Bible, remember these critical thinking rules. Use them enough so that they become second nature to you. Then you’ll be able to think thru any challenging message and arrive at a biblically sound conclusion. Remember 1^st Peter 3:15-16…”…Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do so with gentleness and respect…”

     One criticism of Christians is that we’re harsh and judgmental when speaking with non-Christians. Is this true?

     I’m sure there are some believers who are like this. But consider the following:
– What do non-Christians mean that we’re harsh and judgmental?
– Do they mean you have be Mr. Nice Guy even when confronted with terrible evil?
– Do they mean you have to agree with them?
– Do they mean we have to legally support their right even if we disagree with it?
– Do they mean that no one can be offended by what we say?
– Do we have to remain cool, calm and unemotional when discussing controversial subjects?

     It’s no surprise that people may disagree with Christians on certain issues. But when they are passionate about their beliefs while expecting us to be cool, calm and collected about ours, that’s hypocritical. If we’ve been civil and polite, don’t let them tell you otherwise. If they feel offended by our views, that’s their problem, not ours. Be able to support your viewpoint without losing your temper. If it’s an online exchange, be civil and polite but firm in your convictions. If they accuse you of being judgmental, point out that they’re doing the exact same thing by judging you. You don’t have to accept their opinion as a fact.

     Some believers feel if we offend someone, we’re not speaking the truth in love. Why are they focusing on the “in love” part while ignoring the “truth” part? Sometimes the truth hurts and sometimes it offends people. We should never let the “in love” part stop us from telling the “truth” part. Please understand, I’m not saying it’s OK to be obnoxious. But there were times when Jesus was mad and even called people names. Ephesians 4:26 says, “In your anger do not sin”. So yes, we can be angry about something evil or someone that’s done evil. But there are guidelines that the bible gives that we should follow so that justice can be served without falling into sin. That is why we’re commanded to “love your neighbors as yourself (Mark 12:31). Jesus reserved His name-calling for those who twisted the scripture to suit their own religious/political agenda. This is a fine line for us Christians to walk but walk it we must.

The teachers of the Law and the Pharisees were the religious leaders of Israel, but they were also the political leaders. Rome let them rule and only interfered when collecting taxes and applying the death penalty. All other religious and political rules were up to these “leaders”. All of Matthew 23 has Jesus addressing these “leaders”. It’s in this chapter that He calls them “blind guides”, “a brood of vipers”, “hypocrites”, “blind fools”, “whitewashed tombs” and a slew of other names. Yes, Jesus called these people names. He even accused them of murdering the Old Testament prophets that God has sent to correct the ungodly path that these “leaders” had lead Israel down. Somehow, I can’t imagine that the Old Testament prophets were “nice, inoffensive guys that everyone liked” (1^st Kings 22:13-28).

     There is such a thing as righteous anger and Jesus displayed it at times. If we want to be more like Jesus, shouldn’t that include this aspect of His character also? Many of the Old Testament prophets railed against Israel for sinning against God. Should we be different? God has called believers to be watchmen-on-the-wall (Ezekiel 33). God has harsh words for watchmen who don’t do their job (Ezekiel 33: 4-6). Like the Old Testament prophets warning Israel that they were sinning against God, shouldn’t we be warning people when America turns against God when they enact ungodly laws, politicians or by their actions? We aren’t being faithful to God when we are speaking “in love” but not the “truth”. But our anger should not control us long. We shouldn’t live there and we should always be forgiving toward the person who wronged us. We don’t want a ‘root of bitterness’ to grow inside of us (Hebrews 12:15). Maybe we should wait awhile to consider how we react to something (James 1:19-20).
I would rather stand with God and be judged by the world than stand with the world and be judged by God. We shouldn’t be pressured into silence because we might offend someone. The gospel is offensive (1^st Corinthians 1:18).

     Finally, what does the bible mean when it says to “Speak the truth in love”? It doesn’t mean to always be ‘Mr. Nice, Inoffensive Guy’. It is love that causes a person to flag down passing cars that the bridge ahead is out. Some people see this as a nuisance and drive right by that person. You may never know how you affected that person. Maybe he just wrote you off as a religious fanatic. Maybe God used what you said to him years later, right before he accepted Jesus as his Savior. This happened to me. I had ridiculed my college roommate’s faith several times. But years later, when I accepted Jesus into my life, God reminded me of some of the things that he has said to me. My old college roommate planted and watered the seed that eventually grow into faith in Jesus. Unfortunately, he never knew of my decision to accept Christ. I’m sure he’ll know about it in heaven.

We may be despised and ridiculed by the world for what we believe in, but what sweet words Jesus will say to us when we meet Him, “Well done good and faithful servant…” (Matthew 25:21).
     But some people will not listen to you no matter how nicely you witness to them. Jeremiah spoke against the evils of his day. He was sawn in half because he kept doing what God had called him to do.

Web References:
https://www.compellingtruth.org/Jesus-angry.html
https://www.crosswalk.com/faith/bible-study/the-lord-s-anger-4-times-jesus-did-not-turn-the-other-cheek.html
https://www.christianitytoday.com/biblestudies/bible-answers/theology/righteousanger.html

In Christ,
Dave Maynard
https://bsssb-llc.com

The 2020 Presidential election may not be settled for some time. For a good number of people, their candidate will not be elected. I know that can be depressing. It will be instructive to look to scripture to see if something like this has happened before.

     In our 1st example, Israel had a yo-yo relationship with the Lord in the book of Judges. God would give them great victories over their enemies. Israel was at their highest during these times. Then another generation would arise who didn’t know the Lord or desire to follow in His ways (Judges 2:10-19). Judges 3 starts with this yo-yo relationship with God and it continues throughout the entire book. How would you feel if you were a faithful Jew but saw your nation falling away from God?

     Even when Elijah thought he was the only faithful Jew who believed and followed God, the Lord told him that there was always a faithful remnant of believers in Israel (1^st Kings 19:13-18).

     In the 2^nd example, Israel wanted a king to lead them instead of Judges. God warned them of what would happen if they went with a king, but they wanted to be like the other nations around them. It’s interesting to note that the other nations were pagan nations that had many abominable practices, like child sacrifice and temple prostitutes. God realized they were rejecting Him (1^st Samuel 8:7). He warned them of what a king could do in 1^st Samuel 8:1-18. But the people still wanted a king, so God gave them what they wanted. Sure enough, it turned out to be disastrous for Israel. There were some good kings but most were bad. And the bad ones did terrible harm to Israel as a nation. Pagan gods were introduced, child sacrifice and temple prostitutes and many other abominable practices eventually followed. America is much like ancient Israel. We have the power to determine what kind of President and government that we want. God allows us to choose this but we will suffer the consequences if we choose wrongly.

     But there were still faithful believers in Israel. What did they do when all of this happened? I’m sure they got depressed when yet another ungodly king took the throne. But they remained faithful to God. They went about their normal lives with a godly passion. They never stopped living and believing in God.

     Like Abraham, they looked ahead to the future heaven (Hebrews 11:10, 16), knowing that this temporary suffering would be worth it in eternity (Hebrews 11:26, 1^st Peter 1:3-7 & Revelation 22:12).

     This should be the attitude of all believers in Jesus. Yes, it’s not easy living in a fallen world. And yes, sometimes we do go thru periods of ‘lamenting’. There’s even a book in the Old Testament called “Lamentations”. But we don’t live there. Lamenting is only temporary. When a great nation like America starts on a downward yo-yo moral slide, we all should be concerned. But we should all remember 2^nd Chronicles 7:14. No matter what happens, we should keep our eyes on Jesus (Hebrews 12:1-3). Like the ancient, faithful remnant in Israel, we should keep doing what God has gifted us to do, knowing that in eternity, it will all be worth it.

     What has God called you to do? What spiritual gifts has He equipped you with to carry out your calling? We should always vote our godly values and continue to do what He has called us to do, knowing that it will make a difference in eternity. Will we be faithful to God to keep on doing what He has called us to do?

In Christ,
Dave Maynard

     Most people in their 40’s and 50’s realize that they’re not going to achieve what they hoped for in their 20’s. Or, in a few cases, they did achieve it but found that it wasn’t nearly as satisfying as they had hoped.

     Most people think that their most productive years will be in the 1^st half of their life. They tend to view the 2^nd half as a lot more tranquil, gently going up the hillat a fairly constant rate. But is this reality? Is the 1^st half of your life really more productive than the 2^nd half?

     Studies show that its not. Time and again, we’ve found that the 1^st half of life is preparatory for the 2^nd half. It’s is the 2^nd half that we see more success for our labors. This really goes against conventional wisdom. Even Paul, the apostle, wrote in Philippians 3:12-14, “Not that I have already attained, or am already perfected; but I press on…”

     To determine how successful you’ll be in the 2^nd half of your life, you’ll need to know a few things about yourself:

1…What are you passionate about? In order to give your life meaning, you must have a higher purpose, something that you’re passionate about. The average person dies between 2-7 years after retirement because they’ve lost their purpose in life. They retire “from” something rather than “to” something. A career is something you’re paid to do and what you can retire from. A calling is what you’re made to do. You NEVER retire from your calling.

2…Does your passion involve making other peoples lives better? Is it bigger than yourself? My passion has been to teach people about the Lord and to show them the reasonableness of Christianity and how it can effect their lives for the better.
Success commonly means using your talents to satisfy your own needs and wants. Significance means to use your talents and skills to serve others, to change and bless their lives. Even if most people don’t realize it, they want to be significant.
A good exercise is to visualize what you’d want people to say about you at your own funeral. Take what you’d want them to say and work backward from there. Make this your game plan for the rest of your life. Become that person. Realize that who you are now is on a journey to becoming what you want to be. This is going to be hard work. Are you willing to change certain things about yourself? Like dealing with an anger problem or becoming vulnerable to correction from our spouse? Many people quit at this stage.

3…Are you willing to keep on learning? If you stop learning today, you’ll stop growing tomorrow. But, whatever your passion is, you should always want to know more about it. If you try a way of exercising your talents or “spiritual gifts” and it doesn’t work out, try another way. Don’t give up just because you tried one particular way and it didn’t work. Your ”gift” or “calling” remain the same but the way of expressing them may change.

4…Be  risk-taker. God usually asks you to go further than you can go on your own abilities. He wants you to step out of your comfort zone. To go where only by trusting Him could it be a success. We can water a plant but only God can make it grow (1^st Corinthians 3:6).
David goes up against Goliath, Abraham is asked to sacrifice Isaac, the rich young ruler is asked to sell his possessions and follow Jesus. We are asked to go beyond our comfort zone and plant something, believing that God will make it grow.
In all of this, I am not saying to take unnecessary risks. Seek Godly counsel from trusted, mature Christians (Proverbs 11:4 & 15:22). God will guide your way.

5…It’s about running thru the storm (the problem). The important thing is what we DO in the storm, not what we THINK about the storm. Storms are inevitable. They can happen anytime. The Devil doesn’t want us to succeed. He will do everything in his power to hinder our progress (1^st Thessalonians 2:18). When we are doing what God called us to, we will meet with resistance. We need to keep on going (Philippians 3:13-14). Winston Churchill once said that if you’re going thru hell…keep going.

6…Don’t blow it at the end. Temptation can overtake you at any time, but Satan can sense when you’re vulnerable (1^st Peter 5:8 & James 4:7-8).

7…Weigh things that come into your life in terms of how they fit into your calling. Of course, everyone needs a hobby to relax and re-charge from. Hobbies serve this purpose as long as they don’t become obsessions. Other things and activities may be good but learn to say NO to them if they interfere with your calling. The old saying, “The good is the enemy of the best” is still very true.

8…Finishing well…our calling gives us a sense of responsibility right up to our last day on Earth. Can you finish well? Or is the 2^nd half of your life meant to be turning inward with an ever-shrinking circle of friends and ending up just watching TV? Or can it be something more? You can retire from your job but you should not retire from your calling. When I die and meet Jesus, I want to hear Him say, “Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful in a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your Master’s happiness” (Matthew 25:21).

Book reference:
“Finishing Well” by Bob Buford

Here’s to finishing well,
Dave Maynard
https://bsssb-llc.com

Most of us are brought up to prepare for our life. We go to school, college or trade school to prepare for getting a job that provides us with a living. When we’re married, we prepare to have a family. We raise our kids to prepare them to make a living. We prepare for vacations. We spend a great deal of time, energy, effort and money preparing for things in our lifetime of, maybe 80 years. We hope to leave a legacy for our children and grandchildren.

     We prepare for so many things throughout our lives. But the one thing we don’t prepare for is our death. Oh sure, we may prepare for our funeral or memorial. And we may prepare for giving our assets away. But many of us don’t prepare for life after death. It’s the one thing that every human being will experience but it’s the most ill-prepared for.

     Atheists believe that death is the cessation of our physical life. When your body dies, you cease to exist. Atheists should be very at ease with death and dying. Why then do some prominent atheists struggle with death and dying. Some even fear it.
One of the more famous atheists was a 3^rd century B.C. philosopher named Epicurus. Publicly, he didn’t believe in an afterlife at all. But privately, he struggled with the possibility that he might be wrong.  He wrote that he couldn’t be sure that there wasn’t life after death.
–Sigmund Freud, the father of psychoanalysis, was an atheist who didn’t publicly believe in an afterlife. But privately, he struggled with it all of his life. He feared dying because he was afraid that there was an afterlife. He once said he thought about this everyday of his life.
-The French atheist philosopher, Voltaire, publicly did not believe in an afterlife. But on his deathbed, he was terrified as he called out, “I must die, abandoned by God and man. I shall go to hell. O Christ, O Jesus Christ”
-The famous atheist philosopher, Bertrand Russell, on his deathbed, asked his friend, a Christian layman, to pray with him.
-The famous atheist philosopher, Jean-Paul Sartre, died in 1980. His good friend, Pierre Victor, said that in the last month of his life, Sartre said that “I do not feel that I am a product of chance, a speck of dust in the universe, but someone who was expected, prepared, prefigured. In short, a being whom only a Creator could put here.”

 
The fearful thing about death is that we just don’t know what, if anything, exists beyond death. Even people who has experienced near-death-experiences have a 25% fearful, negative experience. This makes sense because we humans seem to have a built-in fearful sense of death.  

–Albert Camus, the famous atheist French philosopher, author and journalist publicly did not believe in an afterlife. He considered life to be absurd because it was void of meaning because there was no God to give it meaning. But he could never shake the fact that life had no meaning. One day he went to a church and struck up a friendship with a guest pastor. Camus now seemed to realize that meaning and purpose in life had to be bestowed by God. Thru this minister, Camus accepted Christ as his Savior. Four months later, he would die in a car crash. He was one of the most famous Frenchman alive but most of his followers would never know that he turned from the meaningless of atheism to a life of purpose found in Jesus Christ. Camus could not live with his belief that life was empty, meaningless and absurd. He recognized that he had a deep longing for meaning and that led him to Christ.

     According to atheism, life has no ultimate meaning. You live, you die and that’s it. You’re usually not remembered for more than a couple of generations. All your hard work seems for naught. If you’re famous, you might get a paragraph in a history book. Camus called this the “absurdity of life”. You’re just an insignificant person on one of a trillion planets circling trillions of stars in one of a trillion galaxies. You may add meaning to your life but in the end, you’ll die and be forgotten. Such is the atheistic view of life.     

     But this doesn’t match up with reality. People have an innate desire to make life better. We want to make a difference in this world. We want our life to account for something. We want to be significant. We want to love and to be loved. This is where Christianity matches up with reality. We do all of these good, godly things because it is in our nature. It’s in our nature because we’re made in God’s image and God is all of these good things.
– our life does have meaning and purpose (1^st Corinthians 10:31 & 2^nd Thessalonians 1:12)
– we are to testify to others about God (2^nd Corinthians 9:9 & Hebrews 6:10)
– eternity in heaven is promised to the faithful ( 1^st John 5:11-13 & 2^nd Timothy 4:8)

     Christians don’t need to fear death because we know that there’s a new perfect life after death. Hebrews 2:15 says that Jesus will “…free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death.”
Dr. David Nelson, a 19^th century physician, sat at the bedside of many of his patients as they lay dying. Those without Christian faith would try to keep a brave face but he could see the terror in their eyes. And it was quite chilling. He saw many people die cowardly deaths.
Dr. Nelson, who was not a Christian at this time, saw the tranquility in the faces of Christians as they lay dying.  He wrote, ”I beheld more celestial triumph than I had ever witnessed anywhere else. In their voice, there was a sweetness, and in their eye was a glory that I never would have believed if I had not been there to see it.” Dr. Nelson eventually came to believe in Jesus Christ because he saw the reality of Jesus in the lives of these dying Christians.

     This is why Jesus gave us these words, ”I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in Me will live, even though they die; and whoever lives by believing in Me will never die…” (John 11:25-26). The Christian doesn’t have to fear death. It’s just a passageway to a wonderful life that will never end. Do you fear death? If you do, why not let Jesus take that fear away? Invite Him into your heart. Let heaven, not the fear of death, become your new focus of life.

Looking forward to eternity,
Dave Maynard
https://bsssb-llc.com

     Bad news about the state of the world abounds. You could really become depressed just by reading the headlines. This applies to Christian news also. News like:
-American Christianity is on the brink of extinction.
-the church is losing our young people
-crime is increasing
-marriages are dissolving at a record rate
-Christians are Hate-Filler Hypocrites
-the Christian divorce rate is the same as the general populace rate
And the list goes on and on. Some of these statistics are even made by Christian authors.

But are they true? Remember that statistics can say almost anything the author wants them to say. It all depends on how the questions are asked and how the results are interpreted.
Mark Twain’s comment is pretty accurate. He said, “There are lies, there are damn lies and then there are statistics”.

Here’s a great example of an interpretation error:
You’ve often heard that the US divorce rate is about 50%. But how did they get this figure? They took the number of divorces in one year and divided it by the number of marriages in that year. Then they tell people that if you get married, you have a 50% of getting a divorce sometime in your marriage. Sounds good, right? Wrong!
This figure does not take into account people that have had multiple marriages and divorces. Think of the late actress Elizabeth Taylor, who had 8 marriages and 7 divorces. In the mid-1990’s, three researchers went out into then general public and did a survey. One of the questions they asked married couples was “Have you ever been divorced?” Only 25% of them had been divorced. But among those whom had been, there were usually multiple divorces. Since the mid-1990’s, the divorce rate has been going up but its still well below the 50% rate. Their survey, called “Sex in America”, was a shock to many Americans who had always heard differently.

     I can heartily recommend two books to you that are written by a university sociologist who is also an evangelical Christian. These books are “Christians are Hate-Filled Hypocrites…and Other Lies You’ve Been Told” and “Upside – Surprising Good News about the State of Our World”.
Dr. Bradley Wright is an associate professor of Sociology at the University of Connecticut where he researches American Christianity.
Rather than use smaller survey results, he uses the General Social Survey. Its been done every year or two since 1972. He also uses the American Religious Indentification Survey, the Pew Religious Landscape Survey, the Gallup Poll plus some other ones. You can buy these two books at Amazon and the eBooks at CBD.com (Christian Book Distributors).
Dr. Wright’s answers are backed up by a plethora of statistics, charts and graphs. You will be surprised at what his results are.

For example;
-Christians are often accused of saying that we love the poor but not doing anything about it. Is this true? Among evangelical Christians who attend church weekly, 54% gave money or food to homeless people or charities that minister to the poor compared to only 34% of those who never attend church. That’s a difference of almost 70%.
Christians believe that the Christian faith should, over time, change how people live their lives. Survey results show this to be true.

Dr. Wright has blogs at:
brewright.blogspot.com and
pathos.com/blogs/blackwhiteandgray/about-the-authors/lead-authors/Bradley-wright/

     These books and blogs are also good for Christian apologists in defending certain aspects of our faith.

For His Kingdom,
Dave Maynard

-what is the purpose of your life?
-why are you here on this earth?
-when your life is over, what would you want people to say about you at your funeral?

     Many times we get caught up in the little things of life and we don’t spend enough time thinking about the big things, like;

-what has God made me for?
-what gifts has He given me?
-how am I using them?

     Do you get so caught up in the minutia of life that you fail to see the direction you’re headed in or the destination you’re headed for?

-what is your “one big thing”?
-what do you spend most of your non-working time doing?
-are you spending more time on your hobbies than your purpose in life?

     Hobbies are a good and necessary break from your “have-to’s” in life, but they can crowd out what God created us for. They can become as addictive as a drug can be.

     When I had cancer 6 years ago, God told me that He was going to heal me. At 65 years of age, I thought that He still must have things for me to do. I earnestly sought what those things were. I eventually wrote them down in “A Life Made to Count” entry that I put on my website at https://bsssb-llc.com/a-life-made-to-count/.

Ephesians 5:15-17 says, “Be very careful then, how you live – not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity…”
So at the end of your life, you will hear Jesus say, “Well done, good and faithful servant…”

For His Kingdom,
Dave Maynard
https://bsssb-llc.com

Warning…some of the material below is of a graphic nature.

David Berkowitz (the Son of Sam), Jeffrey Dahmer, Karla Faye Tucker, Ted Bundy, Susan Atkins (a member of the Manson family) & Charles “Tex” Watson (another member of the Manson family). These are some of the worst serial killers in recent American history. Most people would say that you have nothing in common with them. The acts they committed were horrible. They deprived people of their lives in a most gruesome way. They deprived other family and friends of a loved one. They deserved what they got.

David Berkowitz (the Son of Sam)…in 1976 and 1977, he killed 6 people and wounded seven others as he randomly shot people in New York city. He left one person a paraplegic and another one blind. He killed women with long brown hair. Women cut, bleached or tied back their hair so they wouldn’t look like his victims. He was caught in 1977 and sentenced in 1978 to 300 years in prison.

Jeffrey Dahmer…from 1978 to 1991, he killed 17 young men in Wisconsin and Ohio. He lured young men into his apartment under false premises. His crimes included rape, dismemberment, cannibalism, necrophilia and of course, murder. He kept many of their body parts in his freezer. In 1992, he was sentenced to 15 life sentences. In 1994, he was beat to death by another inmate.

Karla Faye Tucker…in 1983, she broke int a friend’s apartment with her then-boyfriend, to rob him. In the break-in, she killed her friend and his girlfriend with a pickaxe. On drugs since the age of 8, she claimed that she had an orgasm each of the 20 times she axed her friend. She was sentenced to death in 1984 and finally executed in 1998.\

     Ted Bundy…He grew up in a wonderful home with a loving family. When he was 13 years old, he discovered pornography in a dump near his home. In time, he became more and more addicted to them, especially in the more violent images. While he takes full responsibility for his actions, the pornography did provide an atmosphere for addiction and, later, living out that addiction. A former law student, alcohol use reduced his inhibitions and pornography further eroded them.  Between 1974 and 1978, he admitted to raping, bludgeoning, strangling, engaging in necrophilia and then murdering 36 women and girls across the USA, and maybe more. He was electrocuted in 1989 in Florida.

Susan Atkins…in 1969, the then 21 year old, participated in seven brutal murders in Los Angeles over two days with other Charles Manson family members. They became known as the Tate-LaBianca murders. Atkins held down a very pregnant Sharon Tate (the wife of director Roman Polanski) as she stabbed her 16 times even though Sharon begged her to spare her baby. Four other houseguests were killed also, including Abigail Folger (of Folger’s coffee). The next night, they killed grocery store owners, Leno and Rosemary LaBianca, an elderly couple. Atkins was also convicted in an earlier killing of the music teacher, Gary Hinman. She was convicted in 1969 and was sentenced in 1971 to spent the rest of her life in prison. She died of brain cancer in 2009.

Charles “Tex” Watson…another Charles Manson family member who lead the family members in the same murders as Susan Atkins. He was an “A” student in his Copeville, Texas high school, a youth group leader and an honor role student. He went to college and got into partying and alcohol. He went to visit a friend in Los Angeles and got into the hippy, drug culture. His life changed when he picked up a hitchhiker, Dennis Wilson of the Beach Boys. He eventually moved into Dennis’ mansion and began mingling with rock musicians, actors, Hollywood producers, children of stars and Charles Manson and his “family of love”. Dennis Wilson began to pull away from some of these people when reports of child sexual abuse surfaced.  Eventually, Watson moved in with the Manson family at Spahn Ranch. When Manson gave them orders to go and kill 7 people, they went. Watson shot 18 year old Steven Parent 4 times and shot Frykowski twice, killing both. They scrawled “Pig” on the front door in their victims blood before leaving. The following night, they killed the LaBianca’s. In 1971, he was convicted and given the death penalty. When California abolished the death penalty in 1972, he was sentenced to life imprisonment.

But there is one thing that I do have in common with these brutal murderers. They, like I, have accepted the love and forgiveness of Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior.
All I have to go on is their word and the life they have lived since they have been behind bars. While some of them have since died, most are still alive and in prison. Here’s what some of them have said and done:

David Berkowitz (the Son of Sam)…Ten years into his sentence, a fellow inmate urged him, a Jew, to read the Psalms. David resonated with the anguish and depression that King David experienced. One night, in 1987,  while he was reading Psalm 34:6, which says “This poor man cried, and the Lord heard him and saved him out of all his troubles”, the Holy Spirit descended on him and he said, “I got down on my bunk, like a little kid in the dark.” He recalls, “I said, ‘Jesus, God, I don’t know who you are, I don’t know if You have any interest in me. I don’t know if You hate me or what, but I just want you to know how sorry I am for the things that I’ve done wrong, how I hurt people, how I hurt my family’. I just cried and cried.” He said, “When I got up it felt as if a very heavy but invisible chain that had been around me for so many years was broken”. He then started going to chapel. He’s now 66 and is a Messianic Jew (a Jewish person who believes in Jesus as the Jewish Messiah). Steve Nash, a Wesleyan pastor in New Jersey, has visited Berkowitz for the last 25 years. He says other inmates call him “pastor”. He works for the Prison Chaplain, cleaning the room before worship services. He releases videos thru an independent website, talking about his testimony. He counsels young people thru letters and also counsels other inmates. He goes to his parole hearings only to apologize and take responsibility. He won’t ask anyone to advocate on his behalf at parole hearings.  But he does look forward to the rest of his life, not behind. He says that “The Lord has taken all my sins and thrown them into the depths of the sea, never to be remembered anymore, so why should I go fishing them up again. You can ask for forgiveness and do as much as you can to try to have reconciliation. Sometimes it happens, sometimes it doesn’t. But the Lord wants us going forward with thankful hearts, you know. I feel I have a thankful heart because God has had mercy on me. My situation could be a lot worse.”

Jeffrey Dahmer…Curt Booth, an Oklahoma believer, saw an interview with Dahmer. He felt lead by God to send him a bible study course. Weeks later, Dahmer had completed the course and sent the answers back, indicating that he had accepted Jesus Christ as his Savior. Curt got in touch with a Christian chaplain that lived closer to where Dahmer was incarcerated. Roy Ratcliff, a local pastor, set up weekly bible study meetings with Dahmer. He baptized Dahmer in May, 1994. Another believer, David Hartman, wrote to congratulate Dahmer on his baptism. Dahmer sent David $5 worth of stamps asking him to send 25 copies of the bible correspondence course so he could pass them out to other inmates. Dahmer said his religious education taught him that the “lie of evolution” was the root of evil since it denies the presence of an all-powerful, all-seeing God. In an interview with MSNBC reporter Stone Phillips he posed the question: “If a person doesn’t think there is a God to be accountable to, then—then what’s the point of trying to modify your behavior to keep it within acceptable ranges?” On November 28, 1994, a fellow inmate beat Dahmer to death.

Karla Faye Tucker…in 1984, a former druggie, Karen Gill of the Family Life Training Center, spoke at Karla’s prison. After hearing her incredible testimony, Karla walked forward to receive Jesus Christ as her Savior. Up until her execution in 1998, she worker with fellow prisoners leading them to Jesus and discipling them in their newfound faith. She apologized to the families of those people that she had killed.

Ted Bundy… A new Florida state attorney, John Tanner, had met with Bundy about 50 times during his incarceration and lead him to the Lord. Ted Bundy’s last dinner included a communion with Tanner and his wife. Bundy was remorseful for what he did. In the last few months of his life, he was working with the police to remember all the murders and where he had buried the bodies. While remorseful, he doesn’t expect the victims families and friends to forgive him. He says that kind of forgiveness only comes from God. His only interview was with Dr. James Dobson, an evangelical Christian author and psychologist.

Susan Atkins…
In 1974, she had a vision of Jesus in her cell and became a born-again Christian. She went on to write the book “Child of Satan, Child of God” about her salvation testimony. She then devoted herself to bible studies and chapel services. She prayed with other inmates and even some guards. She started an online newsletter that spoke of God’s forgiveness, love and hope. By all accounts, she became a model prisoner, ministering to many people. Even the family members of the people she killed said so and praised her efforts behind bars. She passed away in 2009 of brain cancer.

Charles “Tex” Watson…
In 1975, Christ became real to him in prison. A lady in the visiting room, clergy from the outside and other inmates who were believers, shared Christ with him. They told of a God who had forgiven all of his sins, no matter how grievous they were. A God who loved Charles so much that He died for him and could fill him with love, peace, assurance and give his life meaning. Immediately, Charles began sharing this Good News with other prisoners. He dove into bible study. In 1978, he co-authored the book “Will You Die for Me?”.  In 1980, he began Abounding Love Ministries. In 1981, he became an ordained minister. In 1997, a website was started for him called Abiding Love. He also wrote another book, called “Manson’s Right Hand Man Speaks Out”. In 2009, he completed a B.S. degree in Business Management.
He spends his time ministering to other prisoners and contributing to his website. By all accounts, he is a model prisoner. Thru his books and website, he is ministering to thousands of people worldwide.
He feels great remorse for all the pain and suffering he has caused the families and friends of the people he killed. He hates what he did. He hates having to be the person that committed crimes that were so hideous. The LaBianca’s daughter has forgiven him and supports his ministry.

Can you accept these former killers as brothers and sisters in the Lord? As believers, we don’t have a choice. Jesus said that if we don’t forgive them, He won’t forgive us (Matthew 6:14-15).  Romans 8:1 says, “Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus…” Isaiah 59:1 says that the Lord’s arm is not too short to save anyone. No one is beyond His reach.

Remember, forgiveness is not an emotion. It’s an act of your will. We can forgive someone even if we don’t “feel” like it. I rejoice that these former killers have repented and received Jesus as their Savior. His Spirit will give new life to any one who asks Him to.

Is there someone in your life that you cannot forgive? Or that you don’t think would ever accept Christ? Maybe you shouldn’t live your life by your “feelings”? If God lays that person on your heart, forgive them and pray for them. Eventually, your feelings will follow your will to forgive them.

References:

Karla Faye Tucker:
https://poptop.hypermart.net/testkft.html
https://www.aetv.com/real-crime/chris-watts-christian-david-berkowitz-religion

Jeffrey Dahmer:
https://www.aetv.com/real-crime/chris-watts-christian-david-berkowitz-religion
https://christianchronicle.org/did-jailhouse-religion-save-jeffrey-dahmer/

David Berkowitz:
https://www.aetv.com/real-crime/chris-watts-christian-david-berkowitz-religion
World Magazine, 2/15/20, Volume 35, Number 3

Ted Bundy:
https://pureintimacy.org/fatal-addiction-ted-bundys-final-interview/
https://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/os-xpm-1989-01-27-8901270405-story.html

Susan Atkins:
https://www.ariseandshine.org/september-2009/susan-is-dead
https://www.cnn.com/2009/CRIME/09/25/california.manson.atkins/index.html

Charles “Tex” Watson:
http://www.aboundinglove.org/main/
https://allthatsinteresting.com/tex-watson
https://heavy.com/entertainment/2019/07/tex-watson-today-now/

Because of Christ,
Dave Maynard

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