What does it take to begin a relationship with God?
With people around us we may have an idea how we can start a relationship with them, but what about God?
Do we have to wait until something serious happens in our life? Many do that, but is that the right way? Do they not miss a lot because they too late became in a relationship with their God?
Is it necessary to enjoy yourself a lot or to get in trance to come closer to that god or the God?
Or should we spend more time to ourselves or to taking part in religious activities? Or is it necessary to devote yourself to unselfish religious deeds?
Do we first have to become a better person, whatever that might entail, so that God will accept us?
The bible used by Abraham Lincoln for his oath of office during his first inauguration in 1861, turned to the page signed by the clerk of the Supreme Court, William Thomas Carroll, attesting that the book was used for Lincoln’s oath of office, and impressed with the seal of the Supreme Court. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
We can ask a thousand questions and look for many answers. We might go looking in lots of books and places to find answers. Though we should know we do not have to go far. God has made it very clear in the Bible how we can know Him. In God His Word, the Bible, is explained what happened to mankind, how the relationship was broken and how the relationship was and can be restored.
Does that God hide or is it our pride which makes that we do not want to see and know Him?
Should we have to ask Him first a proof of His identity? do we not need some certification or a security that we do have to do with God? Do we need His sign and his reassurance first before we can come to Him? Should we not know first of all that we are speaking with the right person?
Is it in response to a power displayed, that we should start looking for a relationship with God?
In the following articles you might find why it is necessary to build a relationship with God and how you can personally begin such a relationship with God, right now…
Yesterday we looked at those who have questions about God and how the Christadelphians try to give them an answer and offer a platform where questions can be asked.
When you look at the world of those who claim that they worship the True God, we may find Jews, Christians and Muslims. Though by the Christians and Mohammedans questions may arise. Next to Christianity we can see Christendom where there are people who call themselves Christian, and often consider themselves part of Christianity, though do not really follow the teachings of Christ (the Kristos) Jesus, whose original name is Jeshua from Nazareth, from the tribe of king David. Those so called Christians do believe in a tri-une god, like before the time of Jesus there have been also many others who believed in some three-une or three-headed gods, but of which the Bible say that they are false gods and that there is Only OneTrue God, the God of Israel, Who is One (and as such not two, three, eight or more).
Of those trinitarians there are who do not seem to know about other three-headed gods, and others who claim that their tri-union god is different because he would be having all the same qualities in each personality. Though than then they do seem to miss that the god they claim to be omnipotent, omnipresent, and as omniscient all knowing, at certain points said he did not know it, though they claim he would never lie. If god knows everything (what God does) and Jesus would be God than Jesus would know when he would come back, he would know when the end-times are, he would know who would be saved, he would know who would be seated next to him, he would know he is a spirit, though he clearly stated he is no spirit and does not know all those matters, because it is only known to the Spirit God, Who has no beginning, can not be tempted, can not be done any thing by man, can not die, though Jesus was tempted many times, was killed by man (or faked his death), was three days in hell (not exactly a place for God to be), was taken out of the dead (God never be able to be death would not exactly be under the dead, is it not?), would have been taken in to the heaven to come to sit next to God (though when Jesus is God then he would sit on his own throne never next to himself but at the place of himself).
Dattatreya or Dattā, deity by people from India and Nepal, having Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva in him
Those Christians who think their tri-union god or tri-une godhead is different than the other three-headed gods, like several tri-une Hindu gods (a.o. Brahma, Trisiras and Dattatreya);
Triglav – a Slav three-headed warrior god
or European Slav and Celtic gods like Ambisagrus or Jupiter Optimus Maximus, Nantosuelta, goddess of nature, the earth, fire, and fertility in Gaul, Triglav the three-headed warrior god, or Thor, should think twice and compare the attributes contributed to those gods and theirs, which seem to be very similar.
In several pagan religions we do find a trinity with a god father or god mother, a god son or a god word and a god spirit or god light or god thought or soul.
The Bible also speaks of such trinitarian gods like Nimrod. The Word of the One True God calls him
“a mighty hunter in opposition to Jehovah”
We can see that in 4th C.C.E., at the Council of Nicea of Constantine Christendom simply picked up the idea of tri-une gods to win over the pagans. They suddenly made YHWH Jehovah, Jesus and the Holy Spirit 3 persons in one godhead.
Tri-une Hindu god who is considered the creator god, but also by other groups has four faces. He is also known as Svayambhu (self-born), Vāgīśa (Lord of Speech), and the creator of the four Vedas, one from each of his mouths
Question is if tri-une gods like the creator god Brahma or the Indian Mandhata represent the same Creator God Jehovah, but just under an other name?
Maybe similarities between Kama and Cupid, Vishwakarma and Vulcan and Indra and Zeus may lead many to hastily conclude that Hindu mythology is similar to Greek mythology. It is said that the Greeks believed in polytheism, the belief in many gods, but many Hindus say they believe in one god and as such should belong to monotheism. For them like for trinitarian Christians their god is one god who appears in different forms. For Hindu religious people their one god shows the world the different aspects of the supreme Brahman, the supreme existence or absolute reality, avatars or incarnation of this deity on earth, like certain Christians take Jesus as the incarnation of their god or of their supreme being. In the earliest Vedic literature, all supernatural beings are called Asuras, mythological lord beings. in the Vedicreligion of India and in later Hinduism, one of many gods, often roughly divided into sky, air, and earth divinities on the basis of their identification with the forces of nature. In the pantheistic systems that emerged by the Late Vedic period, the devas became subordinate to the one supreme being.
We can see that those who want to defend the Trinity search for their answers in a lot of philosophical human tangle of thought, like in the article “The Trinity Logically Defended” where they go into numerology (a thought of man) instead of using God’s Word to show their way of thinking would be right. The writer Renassault, at Reasoned ruminations, claims the other tri-une gods may not exist whilst his tri-une god exist, though he does not evince it at all, nor does he give any proof the other deities would not exist. For him moreover, the philosopher who popularized Nominalism to the present day, the medieval French scholasticphilosopher, theologian and preeminent logicianPeter Abelard, considered the past and future to be just as non-existent universals as numbers, so do we have to accept that the past nor the future exist? And what has this to do with the reality of a tri-une god or with the existence of the Real One God who created the being and the elements man uses to divide time?
The writer of the above mentioned article The Trinity Logically Defended says he is not arguing that what he says proves there must have been a God who created everything/something at all. But he writes
I’m only pointing out that the answer is the same logically consistent answer as how the Trinity can be true and non-contradictory. If the cause that originated the universe was eternal, why did it create the universe in this way? Randomly and arbitrarily you say? But if there were an infinite number of possible random variations, like Zeno’s Paradox, how was one even “picked”? {The Trinity Logically Defended}
For him the answer of it all lies in or deals with the Trinity. He also does not seem to believe man would ever be able to follow God’s commandments. With that thinking he implies God demanded from the start something He knew man would never be able to keep, which makes of this God a very cruel God.
For that writer the God
Father is the source of the Trinity and the Son and Spirit both have their source in the Father, yet without a point in time being created. The three person all have the same Will—that of the Father, they cannot contradict each other, or operate independently, they only do the Father’s will. {The Trinity Logically Defended}
In many other faiths where they worship a three headed god they also claim their gods being from the same source and having the equal powers, having the same will. He claims his tri-union god cannot contradict each other though we see Jesus claiming God is greater than him, which would be a contradiction if Jesus is that same God. At one point Jesus also prays to God and says that he wants that the Will of God shall be done and not his (Jesus) will. In case Jesus is God it shall always God’s or his will.
In several defences of those who believe in a tri-une god, we never come to see a real logical explanation or a real clear Biblical explanation of that three-headed construction. Having another will than that of God would make the god those trinitarians adhere not having a god of the same will, like the other trinitarian gods in polytheism.
A monotheist religion should only be called this way when it really has one (mono) god as the main figure to be worshipped. Jews, Christians and Muslims claim to be part of the monotheist religions.
It is not bad to have a look at what those religions teach about their God. At the end of 2016 two websites got to see the light of this world. One tries to look at the God of the Muslim world in comparison to the God of the Christian world. That new site, dares to pose many questions and wants people to look at possible answers many communities offer for the questions which are on many believers and non-believers lips. Questiontime-Vragenuurtje is there for you to ask your questions and to go in dialogue. A Lastige Vragensteller or a Troublesome Inquirer takes the floor and shall bring quotes for the Quran as well as the Christian Bible to put answers from Scriptures in the spotlight.
Immanuel started at his site to explain that having the name Immanuel does not mean that person is God. After having looked at “Called Immanuel does not mean to be Jesus being God” he opened with a series on how to read the Holy Scriptures, this with the idea that to come to know the Real True God and to find out who Jesus really is, he thinks it is “Best to read and study the Bible“ and explains how we can do this the best way, not forgetting that making time for God is an essential part of our daily life.
Immanuel Verbondskind shall look at the teaching of the different Christian denominations and compare them to the teachings of the Jewish rabbi Jeshua, better know today as Jesus Christ. Jesus and his disciples their knowledge of the Hebrew Scriptures plays an important role in how shall be looked at the distortions which may have come into Christendom. Immanuel shall take those basic Judaic Scriptures and examine what the chosen pupils of Jesus made out of it and what they wrote down in the Messianic Scriptures, better known by many Christians as the New Testament. He shall not be averse to look at Jewish traditions and other Jewish literature or theological works, comparing it with Christian theological works and Christian traditions to find out how they fit in the way of thinking of the MessiahJeshua, the ChristJesus.
Both new blogs should be a good asset to come to know the divine Creator and to come to know how Jehovah God relates to Jesus and Jesus to the world.
A representation of the relation among complexity classes, which are subsets of each other. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
On this site only English articles are presented, but for most of them a translation in Dutch shall be provided and shared between the triptych concerning the “Looking and Finding God”.
This is a map of the new field of sociology and complexity science (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
In “Argumenten tegen Bijbelse scheppingsverhaal ontzenuwd” (Arguments against biblical creation story refuted) we look at the creation and how certain people their ideas are contradicted and how we should better look at other Biblical texts (taking the whole 66 books their sayings into account) before we jump to conclusions. None of the texts may be separated from the other.
Romans 15:4 (RNKJV)
4 For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope.
1 Corinthians 10:11 (RNKJV)
Now all these things happened unto them for ensamples: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come.
2 Timothy 3:16 (RNKJV)
All scripture is given by inspiration of יהוה, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:
2 Timothy 3:17 (RNKJV)
That the man of יהוה may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works.
When you want to go on a search for truth and for God you may doubt if you would have enough time and if you could arrange it with your school-, home- or professional work. In “Werken, studeren en zoeken samen mogelijk” (Work, study and search together possible) we show our readers that it is possible to have your worldly duties not suffering under your spiritual duties. Going on a quest to find the truth, looking for the reasons of our being, has not to intervene with our normal daily duties. You can do both together, searching for God and searching for a normal life. It even helps to look for God in getting a more successful life.
Pentagram with one point up (de Guaita) Includes form of the “Pentagrammaton” (i.e. an incorrect attempt to derive a version of the Hebrew name of Jesus by adding the letter shin ש in the middle of the Tetragrammaton divine name yod-he-waw-he יהוה ). (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
On this site and our counterparts (in English and Dutch) we love to show that though there may be many ways to get somewhere, there is a road pattern presented to us, to easily find the right and shortest way to follow to go through a small gate and to make the right connection. > “Wegpatroon volgen om verbindingen aan te gaan” (Road pattern to follow to get links)
We do have to be conscious that there are roadblocks. In this world there are many things which stand in the way to come to a good relationship with the OneUnseenWho is behind everything. Materialism is the killer which has here eyes on each of us. In “Materie en tijdelijkheid” (Matter and temporal) we look at those things which surround us and attract a lot of people. The majority in this world is convinced that richness of wealthymaterialistic things shall bring them unfinished luck, joy and good friendship with others. In their conceitedness they lounge away from real luck, deceived by commercialism and media who lure us in all sorts, but the wrong adventures.
We all have to face the restricted lifespan of everything. “Het levende, het verderfelijke en het gestorvene” (The living, the pernicious and that what died) looks at all those things which surround us and which would like to gather, but should know about them, that we can not take them with us in our grave to another life.
We must know that there shall come a time when there shall be looked at the people who behaved themselves well, the good ones and the bad ones of this earth. “Goeden, slechten en het zichtbare en onzichtbare” (Good, bad and the visible and invisible) brings a sort of warning that we should take in mind what will be important in later days.
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Nederlandstaligen zulen voor een groot deel de Engelse teksten, die op deze en de Weebly site worden gebracht, ook in meerdere hoofdstukken verdeeld vinden onder de drie onderdelen van de triptiek.
Hierbocen wordt even een overzicht verschaft van wat de aanvang van “Op zoek naar God” in het Nederlands te bieden heeft.
In het volgende hoofdstuk kijken wij naar de begin inhoud van het tweede luik van de triptiek om God te zoeken en te vinden.