Thinking about God, Jesus and The Big Questions

The movie "The Matrix" (1999) is probably the best-known secular fictional illustration of the concept of a universe within a universe.  In the movie, people think they are living life, yet in reality their bodies are actually in a state of suspended animation while their brains are engaged in a virtual reality simulation of the real world.  Naturally, this simulation (the Matrix) appears so real that you cannot possibly realize that this is not in fact the real world.  It is only when the main character, Neo, is told the truth (still within the Matrix) that this is not the real world and that there is a more real one out there, that movie viewers realize what is going on.  In fact it is not until he is physically removed from the Matrix that Neo has proof and finally believes what is happening. Like the Matrix, our world of Earth and outer space is a universe within a Universe .  There is a bigger reality out there: God's realm.  Our universe, includin...

Christians believe that this earth (and outer space) are created by God.  In addition to this universe we have managed to detect using physical measurements, there is another Universe, which contains basically everything else that isn't here, such as angels and Heaven.  Our universe is nested within the other Universe. We are a universe within a Universe.  This is not a surprise to Christians, but some atheists find it hard to believe. The difference between the universes: Our universe is enemy-occupied territory (Satan has considerable, but still limited, power on Earth).  Our universe is ephemeral and will not last forever (a really long time, but not forever).  In contrast, the outer Universe is permanent and out there somewhere in it there is a big battle between various heavenly beings over each of our souls (yes, a battle is being fought over us, strange as it may seem).   Some secular themed examples of the concept: This concept of a univ...

I am now on my second time around reading the Bible from beginning to end.  I was wondering if I would discover new things that I didn't notice the first time.  This was indeed the case! This time around, the first thing I noticed was that Adam and Eve appeared to be in different states before and after the fall, and I spent some time thinking about this. Before the fall, Adam and Eve were in a more innocent state than we know today: Adam and his wife were both naked, and they felt no shame. Genesis 2:25 However, Adam and Eve were capable of understanding directions and of choosing to obey or disobey.  In fact, the serpent was able to tempt Eve into eating the fruit of the tree.  Eve knew that this was against God's command: The woman said to the serpent, "We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, but God did say, 'You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.'" Genesis 3: 2...

A major sticking point for Christians is doubt.  Many Christians ask themselves "How do I know I have truly accepted the salvation offered through Jesus?"  Note: Some people even doubt whether the offer of salvation extends to them (it does; through Jesus' sacrifice, God offers salvation freely to everyone, just as they are - a separate post covers that issue ).  This post deals with the self-doubt of whether someone has truly accepted salvation through Jesus.  Usually, this doubt stems from one of two things: 1. An expectation of what their life should be like after having Jesus in their life, which doesn't match up with what they are currently experiencing, and/or 2.  an expectation that they should have a special feeling or experience at the moment that they believed in Jesus. These expectations are just that - expectations, and you should not doubt whether you have accepted Jesus as your redeemer, just because your l...