Bridge of Reason

  Is God Omniscient? ‘ O LORD, you have searched me and know me! You k n ow when I s it down and when I rise up; You discern my thoughts from afar. You search out my path and my ly i ng down and are acquainted with all my ways. Even before a word is on my tongue, behold, O LORD, you know it altogether.’ Psalm 139:1-4 ‘ For I am God, and there is no other; I am God and there is none like me, declaring the end from the beginning and from ancient times things not yet done…’ Isaiah 469,10 ‘ I the LORD search the heart and test the mind, to give to every man according to his ways, according to the fruit of his deeds.’ Jer.17:10 ‘ No creature is hidden from his sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give account.’ Heb.4:13 An omniscient God is a God who knows everything. From the Latin omnis meaning ‘all’ and scientia meaning knowledge. He knows the thoughts of the hearts of human beings, a word before it is spoken, an action before it is taken...

Is God Omnipotent? ‘The word of the LORD came to Jeremiah ; ‘Behold, I am the LORD, the God of all flesh. Is anything too hard for me?’ Jer.32:27 An omnipotent God is a God who is infinitely powerful, for whom nothing is too hard. It is often thought this means there is nothing God cannot do. That sometimes prompts the question, ’Can God make a rock so big he can’t lift it?’ Here we come across something God can’t do; God cannot do something that is self-contradictory. He can’t make something that limits his own power.   He can only do things that are logically possible. Jesus taught his disciples, ‘Truly, I say to you, only with difficulty will a rich person enter the kingdom of heaven. Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God When the disciples heard this, they were greatly astonished, saying, ‘Who then can be saved?’ But Jesus looked at them and said, ‘With man this is impossib...

  I came across this post from Carlos Rigdon on a facebook group that discusses the Bible with Jehovah's Witnesses.  With his permission I am reposting it here as I believe he has something interesting to say on the matter.  I have made a few minor amendments to the original because, as a charity, Reachout Trust has to be slightly more circumspect in our postings! "Jehovah’s Witnesses love to claim that those who criticize the governing body are like Korah, Dathan, and Abiram, rebels who spoke against Moses and were destroyed by God. They love to compare their leaders with Moses. But that comparison collapses the moment you actually open your Bible. Moses had undeniable evidence of divine appointment, when God sent Moses, He didn’t expect people to blindly trust a human committee. He gave clear, supernatural proof of His backing. Exodus 4:1–9 - God gave Moses visible signs: a staff that became a serpent, a hand that turned leprous and healed, water that turned to blood. E...

The cry of the Reformation is sola gratia, sola fida, solus Christus, sola scriptura, soli Deo Gloria . We are saved by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone, according to Scripture alone, to the glory of God alone. That fourth sola, sola scriptura , is under attack as much as it has ever been. The doctrine of sola scriptura , Latin for 'Scripture alone,' is the theological principle that the Bible is the sole infallible rule of faith and practice for the Christian. It does not argue that Scripture is the only authority, but rather the ultimate and supreme authority, against which all other sources—such as tradition, reason, or prophetic claims—must be judged. This principle did not emerge in a vacuum, but arose in the sixteenth century as a direct challenge to the late medieval Roman Catholic Church, which held that authority rested in a combination of Scripture and ecclesiastical tradition, interpreted by the Magisterium. The Reformers, led by figures like Ma...

  In their latest update #4, the Jehovah’s Witnesses' Governing Body has announced that toasting and ‘ clinking glasses’  is now allowed at the individual Jehovah’s Witness’s ‘ bible trained conscience’ .  This, Governing Body member Stephen Lett tells us, is due to ‘ prayerful consideration’  by the Governing Body.  This doesn’t sound unreasonable; who could possibly object to toasting, it’s such an innocuous custom?  The answer to that is the Governing Body itself, until now. Ever since 1952, and possibly earlier, the Watchtower has roundly condemned this practice due to its ‘ pagan roots’  in ‘ false religion’ .  The 15 May 1952 Watchtower (page 319), has this to say on the matter Jehovah God and Christ Jesus are not honored by having pagan customs of toasting switched to them, or to human s In 1968, in an answer to  Questions from Readers,  the 1 Jan Watchtower states If a Christian is going to make a request f...

In an article in the  July 2014 Ensign magazine , t he current Mormon president, Russell M Nelson, a Mormon apostle at that time , addresses the issue of the gathering of Israel and the second coming. The theme is a subject for another time but I want to pick up on one almighty untruth right there towards the end of the piece. Claiming that the Book of Mormon is  “the instrument to bring about the gathering,”  and that it clarifies the connection of the Mormon Church with the biblical house of Israel, Nelson goes on to assert: “ The Book of Mormon contains the fulness of the gospel. Without the Book of Mormon, we would know little about the Atonement of Jesus Christ.” A footnote to this astonishing claim states: “ The word atonement in any of its forms appears in only one verse of the King James Version of the New Testament (see Romans 5:11). It appears in 24 verses of the Book of Mormon.” ‘ In any of its forms?’ Of course, as a Christian, I instinctively react ...