“How can you claim there’s only one true religion?’ You may be asked this question as you’re at the photocopier at work or at the bar buying a round. Here’s the second part in the apologetics series that will give you some ideas of how to respond when you only have five minutes.
1. People often liken religions to blind men encountering an elephant. The first blind man feels the stomach of the elephant and concludes it is a wall. The second feels the trunk and concludes it is a snake. The rest conclude it is a spear, tree, fan and rope, depending upon where they touch. The story purports to prove that all religions reflect the truth, but none grasps the whole truth. If people tell this story, ask them: ‘How do you know it’s an elephant?’ In other words, the story assumes the teller is as enlightened, objective observer.
2. People may say: ‘If you were born in Iran, you’d be a Muslim not a Christian.’ But the same goes for the pluralist. ‘If you’d been born in Iran, you wouldn’t be a pluralist.’ In other words, your belief that all religions are equal (or misguided) is as culturally and social conditioned as my belief in Jesus (more so since going to church is now a minority activity in our society).
3. Jesus claimed he was the only way to God (John 14:6). If all religious roads lead to God then Jesus was a liar and Christianity is false. In which case, not all religions lead to God.
4. People sometimes ask if you fully investigated all religions before deciding to follow Christ. Two responses: (1) You don’t need comprehensive knowledge before you can be confident something is true. You don’t read every newspaper and interview multiple eye-witnesses before believing a sports result. (2) I didn’t decide Christianity was the best religion; Jesus laid claim to my life.
5. Ask people to define religion. Jesus is not another religious figure, but the end or opposite of all religion. Religion is about an upwards movement of humanity towards God. Jesus represents of downward movement of God towards humanity.
6. Because Jesus is God’s initiative towards humanity, the message of Jesus is a message of grace. It is not dependant on human achievement, but upon God’s gracious and completed work. So Jesus alone gives assurance of salvation.
This material is adapted from a Porterbrook Learning module.
Apologetic Sound Bites: ‘How can you claim there’s only one true religion?’
Posted by Chris on December 23, 2011
http://chriskidd.co.uk/2011/12/23/apologetic-sound-bites-how-can-you-claim-theres-only-one-true-religion/
Passing To Yourself for a Layup
Posted by Chris on December 20, 2011
http://chriskidd.co.uk/2011/12/20/passing-to-yourself-for-a-layup/
The Evolution of the iPod in a Decade
The picture says it all …
Posted by Chris on December 19, 2011
http://chriskidd.co.uk/2011/12/19/the-evolution-of-the-ipod-in-a-decade/
Funny stories from around the world
Some more funny and random headlines from around the world:
- Jail for ‘stupidest bank robber’: A man who tried to hold up a bank in northwest Germany that had been shut for years and robbed a passer-by is jailed.
- Swiss ski resorts hit by drought: The traditional start of Switzerland’s ski season is marred by a shortage of snow, following the driest autumn on record in the country.
- US bottle message reaches Azores: An 11-year-old US boy was stunned to get a reply to his message in a bottle from Portugal’s Azores Islands – via the more reliable means of email.
- Pena Nieto in ‘name-book gaffe’: Mexican presidential contender Enrique Pena Nieto of the PRI falters when asked to name three books that have influenced him.
- Hiring of Tom Cruise fans denied: Organisers of Hollywood star Tom Cruise’s recent visit to India deny reports they hired 200 fans to welcome the star at Mumbai airport.
- Indonesia’s singing cop is sacked: An Indonesian policeman who became an internet sensation when he was filmed singing and dancing in uniform is sacked after failing to go to work.
- ‘Rubbish Island’ is ‘overwhelmed’: The government of the Maldives temporarily bans the depositing of rubbish from its hotels onto an island used almost entirely as a garbage dump.
- Polydactyl cat rescues US shelter: An unusual cat boasting 26 toes helps fundraisers secure the future of a Wisconsin animal shelter in need of a new home.
- Sheep flock seal makes recovery: A young seal pup which was discovered among a field of sheep after the recent storms which battered Scotland is being nursed back to health.
- Apple papers are sold for $1.6m: Apple’s original partnership agreements, signed by its three founders, sell for $1,594,500 (£1.03m) at auction.
- Green plastic sheep fool drivers: Six green plastic sheep on a West Sussex roundabout are put behind bright yellow safety barriers to stop motorists thinking they are real.
- Chile tie campaign to beat heat: Chile urges men to leave their ties at home this summer to beat the heat and reduce the amount spent on air conditioning.
- Indian is world’s shortest woman: Jyoti Amge, an Indian student measuring just 62.8cm, a little over two feet, is confirmed as the world’s shortest woman by Guinness World Records.
- Beach Boys to get back together: US band The Beach Boys announce plans to reunite to mark their 50th anniversary, which will include a new album and world tour.
Posted by Chris on December 18, 2011
http://chriskidd.co.uk/2011/12/18/funny-stories-from-around-the-world-48/
Facebook Threatens Lawsuit Against Mark Zuckerberg
Check out this funny story from The Huffington Post:
First the Winklevoss twins sued Mark Zuckerberg. Now, it looks like Facebook is poised to do the same.
Facebook is threatening to sue Mark Zuckerberg, an Israeli entrepreneur who recently changed his name from Rotem Guez to “Mark Zuckerberg,” according to Zuckerberg’s site MarkZuckerbergOfficial.com.
“No it is not a joke,” Zuckerberg wrote in an email to The Huffington Post. “I am now legally Mark Zuckerberg, and it’s for the next 7 years 
“
The twisted tale of Zuckerberg vs. Zuckerberg started after Zuckerberg, formerly Guez, launched a Like Store that sold Facebook “likes” to companies, a transaction that violates of the social networking site’s policies.
First, Zuckerberg, formerly Guez, sued Facebook over its failure to return his “hacked” profile. Next, a lawyer from Perkins Coie representing Facebook wrote a letter to Zuckerberg, then Guez, in September, warning him to “immediately stop your activities.” The lawyer asked Zuckerberg to confirm before Sept. 5, 2011 that he had “stopped and will not in the future access Facebook’s site, services, platform, or network for any reason whatsoever,” among other stipulations.
In early December, Guez claimed he officially changed his name to Mark Zuckerberg and has posted pictures of his ID card and passport to prove it. He also recorded a video that he says documents his visit to the Ministry of Home Affairs to change his name.
In an email to The Huffington Post, Zuckerberg offered the following explanation for his name change:
Facebook decided to sue me after i myself, filed a law suit against them, in Israel. i wanted that once they sue me, they’ll face suing “Mark Zuckerberg”. Facebook accused me of selling ficticious “Likes”, which is not true, our “Likes” come from real users who want to receive our content, and instead of paying us with money, they pay us with “Likes”. The idea was, if only “Mark Zuckerberg” is allowed to sell likes, then for that matter, i’m “Mark Zuckerberg”.
A week after Guez became Zuckerberg, Facebook’s lawyer followed up with another letter“demanding that you stop violating Facebook’s terms.”
“If you ignore this letter and continue your current improper conduct, Facebook will take whatever measures it believes are necessary to enforce its rights, maintain the quality of its site, and protect its users’ privacy and information,” the Perkins Coie lawyer warned.
Facebook did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
In violation of the lawyer’s mandate, Zuckerberg is still on Facebook. He has created a Facebook page titled ”I’m Mark Zuckerberg” and has shared images of himself, his personal documents, and newspaper clippings.
Zuckerberg said in an email that he thinks highly of Zuckerberg, the founder of Facebook.
i think Mark Zuckerberg is a genious. i think he cares more about controlling the world and controlling our databases, than making money. Facebook and M.Z. have to understand that Facebook is not just any ordinary site it, along with Google, is the main avenue of the internet. They have to take on Google’s example, not to erase content they don’t aprove of. Google catorgorizes such content where it thinks it belongs, it doesn’t disable accounts and erase content.
Will Facebook sue Mark Zuckerberg?
Posted by Chris on December 17, 2011
http://chriskidd.co.uk/2011/12/17/facebook-threatens-lawsuit-against-mark-zuckerberg/
Iranian pastor to remain in prison
Iranian pastor, Youcef Nadarkhani will remain in prison:
In late September of this year, he was given four chances to recant his faith in court and refused each time. His case then was referred to the ayatollah. The American Center for Law and Justice reported one of his court exchanges.
“Repent means to return. What should I return to? To the blasphemy that I had before my faith in Christ?” Nadarkhani asked.
“To the religion of your ancestors, Islam,” the judge reportedly replied.
“I cannot,” the pastor responded.
Posted by Chris on December 16, 2011
http://chriskidd.co.uk/2011/12/16/iranian-pastor-to-remain-in-prison/
Education and schools work update
Headlines from the world of education and schools work:
- Examiners suspended over claims they tipped off teachers about questions: Two examiners have been suspended after claims that teachers were given secret advice on how to improve their pupils’ exam results.
- Schoolchildren could be given lessons in being transgender: Primary schoolchildren to be taught what it is like to be transgender as part of plans to introduce “equality” lessons in to the classroom.
- Grammar schools get go-ahead to expand: Grammar schools will be able to expand and take on extra pupils after ministers abandoned plans to let hostile local parents object.
- Government to extend number of children to get £488 pupil premium: Schools will be able to claim money for any child who has been registered for free school meals in the past six years. Half a million more poor children will benefit from government help targeted at deprived youngsters.
- Child poverty targets will not be met, says Alan Milburn: Alan Milburn, who advises the coalition on child poverty, is to make the case for “increased investment” in early years funding, saying that there would be “big economic returns” for the country, with the poorest families having the most to gain.
- Schools facing head teacher shortage in pay row: Schools are facing a looming leadership crisis as primaries and secondaries across England fail to recruit head teachers, according to a new report.
- One in five children is obese by the end of primary school, NHS figures show: Ministers face call for action as figures reveal 19% of year-six pupils are obese – part of a steady rise since 2006-07
- Students turn to prostitution to fund college: Growing numbers of university and A-level students are turning to prostitution or working as escorts to fund their education, the National Union of Students said.
- One eighth of primary schools fall short of government literacy and numeracy targets: One in eight primary schools have failed to reach a minimum government target for getting 60 per cent of their pupils to read, write and add up properly by the age of 11.
- Education minister Nick Gibb claims celebrity culture and obsession with wealth is harming children: British children are growing up in an “destructive” society obsessed with the celebrity way of life and need to be taught to live within their means, an education minister has warned.
- Examiners make thousands a year providing ‘inside information’ on GCSEs and A-Levels.:
- Examiners are making thousands of pounds a year by working for private companies giving teachers and pupils “inside information” about how to get top GCSE and A-level results.
- Children must learn their times tables by age of nine: Children face being required to master times tables and division by the age of nine under Coalition plans to radically toughen up the National Curriculum.
Posted by Chris on December 16, 2011
http://chriskidd.co.uk/2011/12/16/education-and-schools-work-update-47/
Pew Survey of Evangelical Christian Leaders from Cape Town 2010
I was privileged to be at Cape Town 2010. During the Congress the Pew Forum conducted a survey of the 4,000 delegates from nearly 200 countries. This was the most wide ranging gathering of Christian leaders in the modern world, the results have now been released.
There were some amazing statistics that came out:
- 4% of respondents do not believe that Christianity is the one true faith.
- 2% believe that the Bible is NOT the word of God.
- 3% believe that life evolved via a process with which God was not involved.
- 7% believe that God will grant health and wealth to those who have enough faith.
- 3% believe that it is not essential to follow the teachings of Christ in order to be a good Evangelical Christian.
- 4% say that believing in reincarnation is compatible with being a follower of Christ.
- 5% say that it is okay to believe that Jesus is NOT the only way to salvation.
This surprised me, given we had to be recommended by a national organising group, and then had to fill in a long questionnaire before we were approved to attend. Why would you want to go if ?
Posted by Chris on December 12, 2011
http://chriskidd.co.uk/2011/12/12/pew-survey-of-evangelical-christian-leaders-from-cape-town-2010/
About Chris …
Follower of Jesus, married to the wonderful Hannah, dad to the amazing Daniel and a bump!
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