A Depressing Belief System? -Ray Comfort

 "What a depressing belief system you subscribe to. Humankind is intrinsically evil? I don't buy it. Are we capable of evil? Sure. But we're also capable of good. For instance, while taking a walk one time, I saw a hummingbird on the road. I picked it up to get it out of danger, and I warmed it up (it was a cold day) in my hand. Eventually, it recovered from whatever shock it was in and it flew off. If I was intrinsically evil, then I would have smashed it, or I would have simply left it lying on the street. Your assertions make absolutely no sense."The reason you think that you aren't intrinsically evil is because you have your own standard of "goodness." God's standard is absolute perfection in thought, word, and deed. It means to love the One who gave you life with all of your heart, mind, soul, and strength. Do you love God like that? It also means to love your neighbor as much as you love yourself. "Neighbor," according to the Bible, is all of humanity. Have you done that? I certainly haven't. Let's see if you have. Have you ever lied to or stolen something from your neighbor (any other person)? If you have, you are a lying thief, irrespective of the "color" of the lie or the value of the item you stole. Human nature trivializes lying and theft. God, however, doesn't. Because they are so counter to His perfectly holy nature, they are extremely serious in His sight. Have you used His name in vain (blasphemy)? Jesus said, "Whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart." Have you ever done that? Let's presume that you have red blood in your veins, and that you, like the rest of us, have violated God's Law. So, now the scenario changes. Now you are not a good person with a few moral weaknesses. Rather, in God's sight, you are a desperately wicked criminal with a multitude of crimes against God Himself. (Try to estimate how many times you have committed adultery in your heart, by lusting after a woman, or how many lies you have told throughout your lifetime.) So, how will you justify yourself on Judgment Day, when every secret sin comes out as evidence of your guilt, including your thought-life and the deeds you have done in darkness? Your sins are heinous in the sight of a holy God. The Bible says that they stir His just wrath (see John 3:36). What will you say? What would you think of a man who said, "Judge, I raped and murdered that woman, but I picked up a sick bird and didn't kill it. You should therefore let me go"? In doing so, he somehow thinks he balances the scales of justice. He offers kindness to a sick bird as payment for raping and murdering a woman. What sort of twisted individual would he be to say that? No, there's nothing we can do to justify ourselves. We can only throw ourselves on the mercy of the Judge . . . and God is rich in mercy to all who call upon Him. He made a way for your "case" to be dismissed. Two thousand years ago, a legal transaction took place between God and mankind. We broke God's Law (the Ten Commandments) and He became a person in Jesus of Nazareth and paid our penalty in His life's blood. Now, because of the suffering death and resurrection of the Son of God, our case can be dismissed. God can forgive our sins and commute our death sentence. God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. What you and I have to do in response to that is repent (turn from all sin) and trust in the Savior. In English bowls, there is something called the "bias." This makes the ball curve one way when it is bowled. Until we are regenerated by the Holy Spirit, we will have a bias towards sin. However, the moment we repent and trust the Savior, we receive a new heart that wants to please God. How incredible!<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" />

God Killed Everybody

 "God sent a flood to kill everybody except for Noah and his family because the world was full of evil. God knows everything. The world is still full of evil after the flood and God, by definition, must have known that would be the case: but He killed everybody anyway, including children, babies, and pregnant women. How can you justify this?"The difference between the godly and ungodly is that the godly (those who have been regenerated by the Holy Spirit) will always justify God. The ungodly will try to justify man.So let's demonstrate the truth of the above statement. I am convinced from Scripture and from experience that man-kind (there's an oxymoron) is intrinsically evil. For evidence, just watch the TV news tonight. He is born with a sinful nature and goes astray from the moment he takes his first step (no parent has to restrain a child from being virtuous, but rather the opposite). Children instinctively know how to be selfish, to lie, to be rebellious, etc. We have to teach them to share, to speak the truth, and to be obedient. God, however, is perfect. He is without sin. He is absolute purity of holiness. He cannot have an evil thought or make an evil decision. The Bible tells us that all of His judgments are righteous and true altogether. Let me now presume that you will attempt to justify man, by saying that he is basically good, and that God is the One who is evil. (I did notice that you said "the world is full of evil," rather than man is full of evil--which would include yourself.) You therefore choose not to worship and serve a God that you consider to be a tyrant. That's your choice, but know for certain that you will one day meet your "tyrant" Maker, stand before His absolute holiness, and be judged for the sins you have committed. If you refuse the incredible mercy that He offers in Christ, then you will be justly damned in Hell for eternity. God, however, will not condemn you. Your sins will do that, in the same way that it's not the judge who sends the wicked criminal to prison. His crimes send him there.