by Bill Seng Reason 2) Revelation I believe in Jesus by means of revelation through the Holy Spirit. Therefore, I admit that I do not believe in Jesus because of the Bible; rather, I believe in the Bible because of Jesus. This might sound somewhat scary to many Bible-believing Christians, but hear me out. Most Christians I know do not start off as Orthodox Jews who search out the Scriptures of the Old Testament and then one day stumble across the New Testament to realize that Jesus is the Messiah who was predicted from long ago. Nor does it seem that a mere reading of the New Testament will make a person believe in Jesus. If this were so, many atheists would not reject the concept of God and the church would not be losing attendees. The average person might have exposure to Scripture before believing, but it is truly the work of the Holy Spirit that causes a person to believe in Jesus and the Bible. A person cannot believe in the authority of the Bible without first acknowledging Jesus as Lord and Savior, and this belief can only be made possible through the Holy Spirit (as revealed in the Bible, Matthew 16:15-17). Now, why do I make such an abstract claim that cannot be objectively verified aside from personal testimony? Because belief in Jesus Christ starts at the relational level. This can happen as a result of being exposed to Biblical teachings, exposure to the church/believers, or divine revelation (many people in the Middle East have claimed that Jesus came to them in a vision before they even knew who he was; http://www.wnd.com/2013/02/visions-of-jesus-appearing-to-muslims/). One of the most extreme examples of personal revelation is that of Bautista Cajicuwa, or Shaman Shoefoot, of the Yanomamo tribe in the Amazon rainforest of Venezuela. As a shaman/witchdoctor, he would communicate with dark spirits and even invite them into his soul. They claimed to be gods, but frequently warned him to avoid making contact with the Enemy God. This Enemy God was worshipped by all the people in heaven and was a threat to the spirits that indwelt him. These spirits that entered him were quickly killing him and his people through violence and disease. One day, a missionary came to his village and told them about Jesus. As Jesus was described, Shoefoot recognized who this missionary was describing: The Enemy God! Shoefoot resisted for a short while, but saw the blessings that his “enemy” had to offer. Finally, he gave in and allowed the Holy Spirit to have control over his life by accepting Jesus as his Lord and Savior. This decision saved him and the people of his tribe.
http://www.theenemygod.com/ Having said all of this, spiritual growth should start with a proper understanding of Scripture. Many cults have been developed because of opportunists who played on the emotions of people who had hope in Jesus, but did not entirely submit to Scriptural authority. The true Christ is the One described in the Bible. Relying on external sources to guide us in knowing Jesus is very dangerous. The work of the Holy Spirit is to reveal truth (John 16:13-15). Without help from the Holy Spirit the Bible seems like just a lot of crazy stories cooked up by a bunch of lunatics sometime before any of us were born. But the Holy Spirit has revealed that Jesus is the Messiah and the Holy Bible tells us all about him. If you truly believe in Jesus, you will believe what the Bible says about him.
4 comments:
So you belive in Jesus because other people talked you into it.
I was talked into buying a used Kia once but that certainly didn't make me a believer in them.
Anonymous, you make me chuckle because it seems you can only "throw stones" and then run away. If you want to be taken seriously, which I freely admit you could careless about that, then offer up some good content in order to have a discussion. Ask some serious questions instead of making ridiculous statements.
Why can I say that? Because this post is about "Revelation" and Bill was pretty clear that the "revelation" came from the Holy Spirit.
Please try again. Thanks.
Ok serious question: Why are you throwing stones at other religions and other peoples Gods?
It comes off as very holier than thou and childish in a 'My God can beat up your God' way.
Anonymous, my God can beat your god up. Because your god is either not real or simply not a god at all. Your problem is not that you are an atheist, it is that you are idolatrous toward yourself.
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