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The Bible Explained, part 02/40: Quest for Truth
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Whispering Voice
Nov 12, 2012, 6:53:43 AM11/12/12
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The Bible Explained, part 02/40: Quest for Truth
Recently published book available for sale.
Details follow:
-----<front cover text>
THE BIBLE EXPLAINED
A Guide to the Holy Bible
for Parents and Teenagers
-----<back cover text>
Where did you come from?
What is your purpose?
What happens when you die?
These questions--and more--are answered in 'The
Bible Explained', which is based on the teachings
of the Holy Bible. The Holy Bible is a collection
of ancient books which claim to be the word of the
one and only God. This one and only God claims to
be the sole creator, owner, and sustainer of all
things; he further claims to hold the one and only
key to eternal life. Are these claims true? Get
the facts and then decide for yourself.
This document is meant to be understood by everyone,
and is therefore written in plain, simple language,
avoiding complex religious jargon.
Understand the Bible like never before.
-----<table of contents>
Introduction
Quest for Truth
The Holy Bible
Origin and Destiny
The Big Picture: Good and Evil
The Story of Man
The Purpose of the Earth
The Standard and the Test
Work: The Key to Success and Life
Pyramid Society
Failure of Man
Male and Female
Family Relationships
Marriage and Family
Sexual Immorality
The Value of Life
Multiplication and Overpopulation
Racism
Creation and Evolution
Government
Politics
Justice
Words, Speech, and Censorship
Church Matters
Monotheism, Jews, and Christians
Temptation
The Nature of Evil
Life and Death of Satan
Reincarnation
The Rapture
The End Times
The Near Future
Preparing for the Future
Groups and Labels
Understanding Judgement
Preparing for Death
Conclusion
Appendix A: Questions and Answers
Appendix B: The Ten Commandments
Appendix C: Marriage
-----<availability>
The above book is available for purchase at:
http://www.amazon.com
Search for:
TITLE: "The Bible Explained"
AUTHOR: "Arrant Knave"
ISBN-10: "1468197061"
ISBN-13: "9781468197068"
Or try this direct link:
http://www.amazon.com/The-Bible-Explained-Parents-Teenagers/dp/1468197061
-----<excerpt from book>
Quest for Truth
Generally speaking, we prefer lies over truth,
since truth is rigid, whereas lies are flexible and
therefore pliable to our desires. If you discover
the truth, and it clashes with your current view of
the world, will you accept it or reject it? Do you
possess the courage and strength to change your
worldview in light of the truth?
Assertions and Assumptions: We learn by asking
questions and seeking answers to those questions;
however, we have to know what questions to ask.
When someone declares a fact to you, ask him this
question: 'How do you know that?' If you continue
asking this question, you will eventually realize
that the person's knowledge is based on
assumptions. The person has assumed the existence
of truth and a source of truth. The Bible-believer
assumes the Bible is true and that God is the
source of truth. The non-believer assumes another
source of truth -- usually humans who are
considered experts in a particular field of
knowledge, such as scientists.
Truth Requires Omniscience: In order to declare
something to be true, you must, by necessity, know
all things; you cannot declare something to be true
if you possess only partial knowledge, since that
which is unknown to you may prove your declaration
false. If you are not omniscient, you don't have
truth; you have opinions.
Absolute or Relative: Is truth absolute or
relative? If truth is absolute, then truth is also
immortal and omnipresent, since the absolute cannot
change from time to time or from place to place. In
other words, that which is true must be true at all
times (immortal) and in all places (omnipresent).
The Nature of Truth: Is truth local or universal?
If truth is universal, then it exists everywhere.
In other words, truth is omnipresent. Does truth
change over time? If truth does not change over
time, then it is immortal -- it has always existed
and will always exist. In order for truth to exist,
it must know all things: truth cannot be partial;
it must be complete: therefore, truth possesses all
knowledge. If truth possesses all knowledge, then
it can do all things: that is, truth is omnipotent.
If truth can do all things, can it lie? Can it deny
itself? No, truth cannot contradict itself, since
truth is one and truth is everywhere. Does this
mean that truth cannot do all things? Truth can do
all things, but chooses not to do certain things.
Does this mean that truth is alive and possesses
freewill? According to the Bible, truth is a living
being: "Jesus said to him, 'I am the way, the
truth, and the life.'" [John 14:6] In summary,
truth is one, immortal, omnipresent, omniscient,
non-contradictory, alive, and possesses freewill.
Truth is Exclusive: Truth must be exclusive. That
is, there can be only one truth. For example, in
mathematics, two plus two is equal to four. Four is
the one and only truthful answer; however, there
are many false answers. If God is truth and truth
is exclusive, there can be only one God. (The
analytical reader may have made the following
observation: Mathematics is an arbitrary notation
devised by imperfect men to represent things in a
decaying (changing) universe, so why is it valid as
truth (absolute)?)
Source of Truth: Since the God of the Bible claims
to be one, immortal, omniscient, omnipresent, and
incapable of lying, we will use his word as our
source of truth. If you dismiss the Bible as
untrue, then you must choose another source of
truth -- perhaps a scientist, a religious figure, a
judicial committee, a political party, majority
opinion, etc. In our time, many uphold Charles
Darwin -- author of 'On the Origin of Species' and
father of the Theory of Evolution -- as their
source of truth. If you are a Darwinist, you ought
to ask yourself some probing questions: Was Darwin
omniscient? How did he gain access to absolute
truth? Was he not an ordinary man like the rest of
us? Was he infallible? If he was omniscient, why
did he die? If he knew all things, surely he would
have known the secret of life eternal -- and chosen
it for himself. If you put your faith in Darwin,
you will share his destiny.
Origin and Destiny: You cannot know your purpose
and destiny without first knowing your origin.
Where did you come from? What is your purpose? What
happens when you die? In order to answer these
questions, we must first assume an origin of the
universe and man. According to the Holy Bible,
there is an immortal spirit being who created all
things. This being is commonly referred to as 'God'
-- the father of all creation. God claims to be the
author of the Bible, in which he claims to be the
one and only immortal being and the sole creator,
owner, and sustainer of all things. The Bible
presents answers to the questions of origin,
purpose, destiny -- and more.
-----<availability>
The above book is available for purchase at:
http://www.amazon.com
Search for:
TITLE: "The Bible Explained"
AUTHOR: "Arrant Knave"
ISBN-10: "1468197061"
ISBN-13: "9781468197068"
Or try this direct link:
http://www.amazon.com/The-Bible-Explained-Parents-Teenagers/dp/1468197061
-----<copyright notice>
The above excerpt from 'The Bible Explained' is copyright
2010 by Arrant Knave. All rights reserved. No part of this
document may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system
or transmitted in any form or by any means without the
prior written permission of the publisher, except by a
reviewer who may quote brief passages in a review to be
printed in a newspaper, magazine, or journal.
All scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are
taken from the New King James Version (R). Copyright (C)
1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights
reserved.
-----<end of book promotion>
Recently published book available for sale.
Details follow:
-----<front cover text>
THE BIBLE EXPLAINED
A Guide to the Holy Bible
for Parents and Teenagers
-----<back cover text>
Where did you come from?
What is your purpose?
What happens when you die?
These questions--and more--are answered in 'The
Bible Explained', which is based on the teachings
of the Holy Bible. The Holy Bible is a collection
of ancient books which claim to be the word of the
one and only God. This one and only God claims to
be the sole creator, owner, and sustainer of all
things; he further claims to hold the one and only
key to eternal life. Are these claims true? Get
the facts and then decide for yourself.
This document is meant to be understood by everyone,
and is therefore written in plain, simple language,
avoiding complex religious jargon.
Understand the Bible like never before.
-----<table of contents>
Introduction
Quest for Truth
The Holy Bible
Origin and Destiny
The Big Picture: Good and Evil
The Story of Man
The Purpose of the Earth
The Standard and the Test
Work: The Key to Success and Life
Pyramid Society
Failure of Man
Male and Female
Family Relationships
Marriage and Family
Sexual Immorality
The Value of Life
Multiplication and Overpopulation
Racism
Creation and Evolution
Government
Politics
Justice
Words, Speech, and Censorship
Church Matters
Monotheism, Jews, and Christians
Temptation
The Nature of Evil
Life and Death of Satan
Reincarnation
The Rapture
The End Times
The Near Future
Preparing for the Future
Groups and Labels
Understanding Judgement
Preparing for Death
Conclusion
Appendix A: Questions and Answers
Appendix B: The Ten Commandments
Appendix C: Marriage
-----<availability>
The above book is available for purchase at:
http://www.amazon.com
Search for:
TITLE: "The Bible Explained"
AUTHOR: "Arrant Knave"
ISBN-10: "1468197061"
ISBN-13: "9781468197068"
Or try this direct link:
http://www.amazon.com/The-Bible-Explained-Parents-Teenagers/dp/1468197061
-----<excerpt from book>
Quest for Truth
Generally speaking, we prefer lies over truth,
since truth is rigid, whereas lies are flexible and
therefore pliable to our desires. If you discover
the truth, and it clashes with your current view of
the world, will you accept it or reject it? Do you
possess the courage and strength to change your
worldview in light of the truth?
Assertions and Assumptions: We learn by asking
questions and seeking answers to those questions;
however, we have to know what questions to ask.
When someone declares a fact to you, ask him this
question: 'How do you know that?' If you continue
asking this question, you will eventually realize
that the person's knowledge is based on
assumptions. The person has assumed the existence
of truth and a source of truth. The Bible-believer
assumes the Bible is true and that God is the
source of truth. The non-believer assumes another
source of truth -- usually humans who are
considered experts in a particular field of
knowledge, such as scientists.
Truth Requires Omniscience: In order to declare
something to be true, you must, by necessity, know
all things; you cannot declare something to be true
if you possess only partial knowledge, since that
which is unknown to you may prove your declaration
false. If you are not omniscient, you don't have
truth; you have opinions.
Absolute or Relative: Is truth absolute or
relative? If truth is absolute, then truth is also
immortal and omnipresent, since the absolute cannot
change from time to time or from place to place. In
other words, that which is true must be true at all
times (immortal) and in all places (omnipresent).
The Nature of Truth: Is truth local or universal?
If truth is universal, then it exists everywhere.
In other words, truth is omnipresent. Does truth
change over time? If truth does not change over
time, then it is immortal -- it has always existed
and will always exist. In order for truth to exist,
it must know all things: truth cannot be partial;
it must be complete: therefore, truth possesses all
knowledge. If truth possesses all knowledge, then
it can do all things: that is, truth is omnipotent.
If truth can do all things, can it lie? Can it deny
itself? No, truth cannot contradict itself, since
truth is one and truth is everywhere. Does this
mean that truth cannot do all things? Truth can do
all things, but chooses not to do certain things.
Does this mean that truth is alive and possesses
freewill? According to the Bible, truth is a living
being: "Jesus said to him, 'I am the way, the
truth, and the life.'" [John 14:6] In summary,
truth is one, immortal, omnipresent, omniscient,
non-contradictory, alive, and possesses freewill.
Truth is Exclusive: Truth must be exclusive. That
is, there can be only one truth. For example, in
mathematics, two plus two is equal to four. Four is
the one and only truthful answer; however, there
are many false answers. If God is truth and truth
is exclusive, there can be only one God. (The
analytical reader may have made the following
observation: Mathematics is an arbitrary notation
devised by imperfect men to represent things in a
decaying (changing) universe, so why is it valid as
truth (absolute)?)
Source of Truth: Since the God of the Bible claims
to be one, immortal, omniscient, omnipresent, and
incapable of lying, we will use his word as our
source of truth. If you dismiss the Bible as
untrue, then you must choose another source of
truth -- perhaps a scientist, a religious figure, a
judicial committee, a political party, majority
opinion, etc. In our time, many uphold Charles
Darwin -- author of 'On the Origin of Species' and
father of the Theory of Evolution -- as their
source of truth. If you are a Darwinist, you ought
to ask yourself some probing questions: Was Darwin
omniscient? How did he gain access to absolute
truth? Was he not an ordinary man like the rest of
us? Was he infallible? If he was omniscient, why
did he die? If he knew all things, surely he would
have known the secret of life eternal -- and chosen
it for himself. If you put your faith in Darwin,
you will share his destiny.
Origin and Destiny: You cannot know your purpose
and destiny without first knowing your origin.
Where did you come from? What is your purpose? What
happens when you die? In order to answer these
questions, we must first assume an origin of the
universe and man. According to the Holy Bible,
there is an immortal spirit being who created all
things. This being is commonly referred to as 'God'
-- the father of all creation. God claims to be the
author of the Bible, in which he claims to be the
one and only immortal being and the sole creator,
owner, and sustainer of all things. The Bible
presents answers to the questions of origin,
purpose, destiny -- and more.
-----<availability>
The above book is available for purchase at:
http://www.amazon.com
Search for:
TITLE: "The Bible Explained"
AUTHOR: "Arrant Knave"
ISBN-10: "1468197061"
ISBN-13: "9781468197068"
Or try this direct link:
http://www.amazon.com/The-Bible-Explained-Parents-Teenagers/dp/1468197061
-----<copyright notice>
The above excerpt from 'The Bible Explained' is copyright
2010 by Arrant Knave. All rights reserved. No part of this
document may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system
or transmitted in any form or by any means without the
prior written permission of the publisher, except by a
reviewer who may quote brief passages in a review to be
printed in a newspaper, magazine, or journal.
All scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are
taken from the New King James Version (R). Copyright (C)
1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights
reserved.
-----<end of book promotion>
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