Questions About Christianity

Webster's Dictionary defines a religion as "the service and adoration of God or a god as expressed in forms of worship. A system of faith and worship. The profession or practice of religious beliefs. Devotion and fidelity. An awareness or conviction of the existence of a Supreme Being, arousing reverence, love, gratitude, etc."

From this definition, Christianity, in its biblical sense, is not a religion, but first of all, "the power of God unto salvation." First and foremost, Christianity is an intervening act of God in the life of a person, or group of persons, revealing itself in changed lives, demonstrated healing, revelation, answered prayer, historical events. Faith, worship, belief systems, etc. are derived from works of God in the lives of people, not vice versa.

Neither in reality is Christianity even "western," if we define the West as the Americas and Europe. Today, two-thirds of the world's Christians live outside of western nations, a growing number of them in African and Asian countries. While western missionaries may have introduced Christianity to many of these places years ago, Christianity expands rapidly today, far out of proportion to the presence or financial support of western missionaries. Good examples of this are found in such countries as China, South Korea, and Indonesia where there are few western missionaries today. Many such countries are now sending out their own Christian missionaries, often to western nations that are forgetting their Christian roots. Indeed, more than half of today's Christian missionaries come from outside of western nations, and the number is growing every year.

Historically speaking, Christianity did not even originate in the West. Rather, it originated in what we now know as the land of Israel.

No. Jesus dealt with this very question when he said, "An hour is coming when neither in this mountain, nor in Jerusalem, shall you worship the Father...But an hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and truth; for such people the Father seeks to be His worshippers. God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth." (John 4:21-23). In short, there is no earthly city that is essential to living the life of the Christian.

No. The heart of Christianity is not a philosophy but a relationship with the Creator God. To consider Christianity a philosophy or system of teachings is to misunderstand its nature. To adopt Christian teachings without a relationship with God is to have a body without life.

No. Records indicate that the Christian faith has been active in India, especially in the south, at least since the 4th century and probably earlier. The Syrian Orthodox Church in Kerala, India, traces its roots to the Apostle Thomas, who brought the gospel to the coast of Kerala in 52AD. There are records that indicate the church has been active since the 4th century in south India. At that time, the western nations did not yet exist, but were tribal regions under the control of the Roman Empire. In the 4th century, the influence of the Christian faith had yet to make itself felt in most of western Europe. Western missionaries did not appear in India until the 16th century, almost 1,200 years later.

No. In reality, the British government leaders opposed the coming of British missionaries to India because they felt that Christianity was against their ambition to power and greedy gain. They feared that the words of Jesus would create attitudes among India's people that eventually would lead to their independence. They even refused to grant passage to William Carey, British missionary to India, and other missionaries, on British boats. In the end, British missionaries were supported by private donations, not government funds. As they worked in India, British missionaries often found themselves opposed by their government, both in Britain and the British colonial government in India. But the truth is that not all missionaries came from Great Britain. Actually, a high percentage of missionaries to India came from all over Europe and the Americas with no plans to subject India to their governments.

Not genuine Christianity, they didn't. What genuine records are there of Christian missionaries that systematically burned Hindu temples, killed Hindu priests, raped Indian women, or forced Hindu peoples or others, to adopt the Christian faith at pain of death? As we will see later, forced conversions cannot be a part of genuine Christianity.

Not everyone who speaks in the name of Jesus is a fit representative of Him, even if he wears priestly robes. Jesus foresaw such things and spoke harsh words against proud religious imposters: "Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' shall enter the kingdom of heaven but only he who does the will of my Father in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?' Then I will tell them plainly, 'I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers'" (Matthew 7:21-23). He also warned some religious leaders that "even so you outwardly appear righteous to men, but inwardly you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness." There is a distinct difference between Christianity and Christendom. Christendom is the religious trappings-theology, buildings, clergy, organization, etc.-without the spirit of humility that God requires.

Let's be honest. There are more missionaries than we like who conceive Christian faith in terms of their own culture. When they have gone into places like India, they have not always been sensitive to the people. They have tended to see themselves as superior, thereby insulting the people to whom they go. When they do this, such missionaries have insulted Jesus Christ, who humbly accepted all regardless of their ethnic and cultural background.

On the other hand, if the people who criticize missionaries are truly honest, they cannot put all missionaries in the same basket. These critics should not create unjust stereotypes. They should readily admit the countless missionaries who have determined to live humbly among the people as Jesus Himself, and defend the people against abuse from outsiders, including their own people. The critics should also keep in mind that not everyone within India's culture, or any culture, is always happy with their lives.

For example, our evangelists in India constantly run into Indian people who are seeking "peace of mind.†Our evangelists see this search in all classes and castes, not just one group of people. These people are concerned about what to do about their sins. No matter how hard they look, these seekers do not find satisfactory answers in what they have always known and heard. To such people, Jesus has said, “My peace I give unto you.†Often, these people accept Jesus' invitation to follow him and find that Jesus Christ is not just a western religious idea, but a real Person who indeed gives peace to all who seek it from Him. Jesus Christ changes the course of their lives for the better, and they would never think of going back.

Think of what Indian society would be like if all the Indian people, whatever their background, had peace of mind. Certainly, under such conditions, Indian culture and society would be changed, but not destroyed.

The truth is that evangelical Christians brought into being many of the hallmarks of modern India. These came from missionaries and others who saw their duty first to God rather than the British government or the East India Company. Their contributions include their influence upon:

• India's modern educational system, open to all.
• India's modern health system, available to all.
• Freedom of the press.
• India's democratic institutions.
• India's economic infrastructure--railroads, canals, etc.
• Laws protecting people at every level of society.
• Political independence.
• India's first newspapers began with missionaries.
• India's first botanical society was started by missionaries.
• India' banking system was introduced by missionaries.

At the heart of all these innovations were biblically based principles practically applied to the life of a nation. For a fuller treatment on this subject, see India: The Grand Experiment, by Vishal Mangalwadi (Nivedit Good Books Distributors Pvt. Ltd.).

If Indian people are becoming Christians today, it is because they are finding in Jesus Christ an attractive and fulfilling love and purpose that transcend cultural and national boundaries. The love of Christ resonates in India and wherever it goes because all people everywhere are made in the image of God. They long for their loving Creator who made the heavens and earth before India and the West came into being.

Therefore, the use of force and material allurements to turn people into Christians defeats the heart of Christian faith and is soundly rejected by genuine Christian believers.At its heart, genuine Christianity is not merely an institution trying to recruit more members. More correctly, it is a spiritual relationship. It is trust in God through the life and work of Jesus Christ. Jesus said that the greatest commandment is to “love the Lord your God with your whole heart, soul, mind and strength…†Genuine love cannot be forced. It is an inward act, a free choice.Sometimes, outsiders to Christianity see a person get baptized and mistakenly think that baptism is the ritual that makes him a Christian. They assume that by forcing people into baptism, they force them to become Christians against their wills.But relationship and trust in God are the only motivations acceptable to God to becoming a Christian. Baptism has meaning only when it reflects a genuine commitment of the heart to Jesus Christ. Christians are not interested in recruiting people and increasing numbers but in winning hearts to Christ. Think of a wedding vow…A wedding vow has deep meaning only when it reflects genuine commitment of love by two people, otherwise it mocks love. Likewise, baptism has powerful and positive effect on the baptized person only when he has genuinely committed his life to Christ from the heart.Trying to lure people into Christian faith with money or other things defeats the whole purpose of Christian faith. We believe a person should be drawn to Christ only for who He is and what He has done to reconcile us to God and redeem us from sin and its penalty. Baptism comes later.

No. These things are simply meant to be a service to the people. In the process, some of the people will become Christian, but that is purely their choice. Many others-perhaps most--will retain whatever beliefs they had before, and continue to have these services available to them. How can that be "force?" Christians are following the example of Jesus in this. Not all the people that Jesus helped were thankful to him, but that did not keep him from helping them anyway. That is the Christian standard.

Very simply, the power of Jesus Christ and the gospel. We have found in our own experience that 80% of the people who have become Christians do so because they, or some family member, or a friend, have received prayer for some incurable ailment, or addiction, or demonic oppression, and then received immediate healing. An example: A five-year-old child in central India who was deaf and crippled from birth received complete healing after prayer in the name of Jesus Christ. His family and village knew him to be deaf and crippled, so the sudden change was noticed by everyone. Later, members of his family and others in the village committed themselves to Jesus Christ because they saw His power. The remaining 20% commit themselves to Jesus Christ for a variety of reasons, but they aren't coerced. In every case, however, they all recognize in Jesus Christ a uniqueness that attracts them and makes them willing to change direction in their lives. In Christianity, genuine conversion can never take place through coercion. Large numbers of believers are not so important as genuineness of belief and trust in a person, Jesus Christ. Without that trust, there is nothing.

No. Indian Christians are some of the most generous givers to Christian churches and causes. Though they don't make as much money as western Christians, many times they are more willing to make surprising sacrifices because of their gratitude for what Jesus Christ has done in their lives. They do not have to be coerced to give, but they give gladly out of love for their Father in heaven and what He has done for them.

There is no secret, really. Christianity is "the power of God unto salvation." This is not just a religious statement, but a factual reality. Conversion is chiefly a work of God in the spirit and outer life of a person. The spirit of the person is awakened by God Himself to a reality within himself, the world around him, and to God that he never saw before. It changes his whole life. Nothing is the same again. Things happen that never happened before. Such experiences can never be coerced, any more than one can force a rose to grow and bloom.

The life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ as we read it in the Christian scriptures, the Bible.

The Bible actually is a collection of 66 separate books, written by nearly 40 different authors over a period of 1,400 years, from approximately 1,300 BC to 100 AD. The continuity and consistency of so many works written by so many people over such a long period is unique. No other scriptures in the world can claim such a remarkable history. Right from the beginning, these writers prophesied that God would send a Savior and King who would save people from their sins and establish an everlasting kingdom of righteousness. The prophecies were very specific--hundreds of them. The only person who has fulfilled all of them is Jesus Christ.

To understand Jesus' role correctly, we must understand how he saw himself. Jesus said, "I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life. No one comes unto the Father (God) but through me" (John 14:6). This is an extraordinary claim. He is not claiming simply to be a teacher or a prophet, but the only way to God--in his own person. He is claiming that our search for God has ended because we will find God in him. He stakes all of his words on this claim.

Certainly, the claim is fantastic. Each person has to decide in his own heart whether Jesus' claim was true or false. If Jesus was right, then he is more than a great prophet and teacher, he was God in human flesh. If Jesus was wrong, then he could not have been a great prophet and teacher, but a very deluded man who belongs in a mental hospital--or worse--and we should not listen to him at all. He leaves us no middle ground.

If the same objective, scientific approach used on all other ancient documents is used on the Bible, then the Bible proves to be amazingly reliable history. The state of the New Testament manuscripts is very good. There are more than 500 of them that go back earlier than 500 AD. That is far better than for any other ancient book we accept as reliable. These manuscripts are remarkably consistent with each other.

If Jesus' divinity is a myth created generations later, at least two or three generations (to at least 150 AD) would have had to pass between the original eyewitnesses and the creators of the myth, otherwise the myth would have been refuted by the eyewitnesses of the real Jesus. But no competent scholar denies the first century origin of the entire New Testament, including the letters of Paul, which clearly state Jesus' divinity.

So Jesus' divinity was Christian doctrine as early as the first century. Also, the style of the gospels is not the style of myth, but of history with dozens of details about actual life, with no sign of second-century language. Also, the specific reason Jesus was crucified was because he claimed divinity, a claim that Jews regarded as blasphemy, punishable by death. If Jesus' claim to divinity were a myth, who invented it and why? The disciples were persecuted because they claimed Jesus' divinity. Why would they insist on a myth of Jesus' divinity knowing they might be crucified, beheaded or stoned? Besides, first-century Jews and Christians were already opposed to the myths of the Romans and Greeks. They didn't want to create another one.

This is impossible for one important reason: Jesus was a Jew. The contradictions between Jesus' Jewishness and that of the mystics are too great to ever include Jesus among the gurus and mystics. The Jews, including Jesus' disciples, would have rejected him as a teacher for a number of reasons. For one thing, Jews teach a public religion and public observance of public law and scripture, while gurus teach private, inner experience that cannot be expressed in words. Gurus believe in a pantheistic, immanent God, but Jews see God as distinct from the world, creating it from nothing; worshipping anything in the world is idolatry. For Jews, God is a person; for gurus, personhood is an illusion. For Jews, salvation comes from a God who works in history and time; for gurus and mystics, time and history are ultimately unreal and illusory, and salvation is emancipation from time. Jews believe God makes himself known and knowable in deeds, words, and scripture; gurus and mystics see God as unknowable except in mystical experience. For Jews, God is an active initiator, one who searches for us when our search for him fails. For mystics, God is passive, timeless, doing nothing to seek us out. The Jewish God is moral, righteous, holy. He commands us to hate evil and love good. A pantheistic God of the gurus has no will, no law, no preferences. He is amoral, "beyond good and evil." The God of the gurus does not judge or punish sin in hell, because there is ultimately no sin. This is just the opposite of Jewish thinking. Jesus gained a following among the Jews of his time because he clearly said that he came to fulfill the law and the prophets, not destroy them. He wanted to fulfill the old religion not found a new one. Jesus never traveled from Palestine. Stories of his travels are myths invented centuries later. Besides, the Jews were very exclusive about their ideas, not open to the ideas of outsiders. They prefer objective truth, not the philosophical relativism of gurus.

There are distinct differences between Jesus' incarnation and that of the avatars. Hindu avatars came in more than one incarnation, both human and animal, but Jesus was only one incarnation in human form. Hindu tradition asserts that when the avatars walked, they left no footprints, but Jesus left footprints, and his historicity is crucial. If Jesus did not actually live, die, and rise from the dead in human history, then Christianity is a lie and with no foundation. Another difference: Hindu avatars came to destroy evildoers. Jesus incarnation was to "seek and save what was lost" (Luke 19:10). He did not come to condemn a world steeped in sin, but to save the world. (John 3:17). The avatars pointed to a way to attain enlightenment over many lifetimes, but Jesus pointed to himself as the way to receive eternal life immediately. Finally, the avatars incarnated periodically when the need arose, died, and reabsorbed back into Brahman. But Jesus' incarnation was a unique event, "once for all." He died, rose from the dead, and maintained his individual identity before as well as after his incarnation.

Jesus shows us that God is a Person. God is Someone with Whom we may have a relationship. This is extremely important. It means God is aware of our suffering and is able to empathize with us. As a Person, God is able to know us and to love us as persons. Jesus said that God knows us so well, that he knows the number of hairs on our heads. That shows God's great concern for human beings. As a Person, God has moral authority. We may choose to accept His moral authority or reject it. We are God's friends when we do what He commands us.

Everything in the universe comes out of something--either something impersonal (energy, sound, silence or Brahman) or someone personal (God). If everything comes out of impersonality, then how does an impersonal God create human beings who have such complex personalities--with aspirations for love, meaning, purpose, beauty, morals, creativity, etc.? Only with a personal God can we explain the existence of complex human personality as well as the possibility of its fulfillment.

Indian minds have traditionally distinguished between impersonal God (Brahman) and personal God (Ishvara). Traditional Indian thinking says that the infinite must have all attributes within it--good and bad, love and cruelty, strength and weakness, etc. Personality implies definite, limited attributes, and this is not infinite. Christians say that infinite and personal are not mutually exclusive. In geometry, we talk of an infinite straight line. If a line can be infinite within the limitation of what it is, why cannot God be infinite within the limitation of Who He is? Only a personal God offers a credible basis for the value of human personality. If He is finite (as Ishvara), there is always confusion as to whether fate is behind God or God is behind fate. Only a personal God can provide a basis for true morals, because in the end morality is personal.

The Christian belief in a triune God is based essentially on God's self-revelation in history. The Jews were strict monotheists. They opposed Jesus because they understood that He claimed to be God. At first, Jesus' disciples did not fully articulate the doctrine of the Trinity. Only as Jesus revealed Himself as One with the Father and the Holy Spirit as God did they see God as three Persons.

The one God-three Persons idea seems contradictory because we are trying to state in limited human language realities about God that are beyond the ability of human language. St. Augustine was walking on a beach where he met a little boy digging a hole down into the sand. He looked up at Augustine and said, "When I am finished with this hole, I will put the whole ocean into it." Of course, that was impossible. In a similar way, our language cannot contain the realities of God any more than the little boy's hole in the sand could contain the ocean. On the other hand, there are statements we make about God that definitely are not true. The doctrine of the Trinity only sounds contradictory because of the limitations of the language, but the words, however poor, represent a reality about God we must take into account.

Yes, for two reasons. If God is personal, He must be able to engage in rational communication and interpersonal relationships that exhibit love and caring. An isolated being is really subpersonal. If God existed eternally as an isolated individual with whom to communicate, then He is not truly eternally personal. At best, He is only an unfulfilled individual who needs to create other personal beings to meet His own needs. This would mean that God needs something outside of Himself, but that would make Him less than God. It would also mean that God's love for human beings is less than perfect because we would exist only to meet His own needs.

The doctrine of the Trinity recognizes that God is self-sufficient, that He creates human beings, not just to meet His personal needs but out of genuine love. The existence of the Trinity also allows the only basis for the existence of both unity and diversity in the universe that God creates.

Many people see sin and evil in the world and conclude there is no God or that He can't be a good God. Hindu gurus claim that God contains both good and evil within Himself. But if this is true, is not evil also divine? If there is no good God, there is no basis for saying that anything is evil other than personal opinion. According to the Bible, evil originates in the free will of human beings. God creates human beings free to love and obey or to disobey Him. The Bible says that human beings chose to disobey God. This severed our personal relationship with God. We rejected His moral authority and He became a stranger to us. We substituted our own moral authority for God's moral authority. Our moral authority falls far short of God's moral authority and goodness, and this is the basis of sin. Sin puts us at odds with God, with each other, and even with ourselves. It is the cause of all evil in the world. It is the reason we fail to do good even when we want to do it.

Freedom is always to be exercised within the boundaries of the law. Just because the Constitution guarantees our rights of freedom does not give us the right to do anything we want. The government still has the right to punish us if we break the law. Suppose a father leaves a million rupees (or dollars) to his son in his will. If he drinks and gambles it all away, could he plead innocent before a court of law because it was his father's fault for giving him the money? That would be ridiculous. No, we bear the responsibility for misusing the freedom that God gives us. That makes us sinners.

Everyone is a sinner. As Paul said, "For all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God." (Romans 3:23) It takes only one sin to make a person a sinner. "If a person keeps the whole law except at one point, he has broken all of it." (James 2:11) There is no act of goodness, no religious act we can do that is good enough to overcome the barrier of sin and restore us to a right relationship with God.

Immediate forgiveness of sins, as well as peace and rest in your heart. This brings us back into relationship with God.

Jesus says, "Come unto me, all you are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light." (Matthew 11:28-30) Jesus spoke these words to those who felt burdened by the effort and the long time it took to attain salvation. He offers rest in place of feeling "weary and burdened." We find rest by coming to him, which means believing in him, trusting him to deal with our sins. Jesus said that his yoke is "easy" and his burden is "light" because he has accomplished the work of salvation on our behalf. He has taken our burden of sin on his own shoulders. He is not a taskmaster, but one who is "gentle and humble in heart."

You can begin by reading the books of Luke and John, found in the Bible, in the New Testament.

Such an accusation would be true only if God is not a personal God. If God is personal, then the issues are very different than if He is not. With a personal God, the matter is similar to relating to a friend or relative. With all persons are issues of morality, obedience, and trust.

If God is personal, sin is not ignorance of a law, but moral rejection and disobedience toward a Person. This strains and breaks the relationship. The question becomes, how can I restore my relationship with this personal God?

How many ways are there to restore any broken relationship? The answer is, only one: to confess your guilt and ask forgiveness.

Is Christianity truly a narrow-minded religion? Consider these facts:

• Jesus beckons "all who are weary and heavy burdened to come to him."
• Jesus commends the faith of the Roman centurion, the kindness of the Samaritan, the repentance of a tax collector, and that of a sinful woman.
• Jesus associates with the rich and educated, and he also associates with social outcasts and sinners that others have rejected. His followers came from every social class, from the highest to the lowest.
• He meets everybody at their point of need, excluding nobody--the physically hungry, the spiritually hungry, the leper, the lame, the blind and deaf. He seeks after the lost, the children, those who are irreligious. But many Christians are wealthy, too, with college education and religious background.

Jesus Christ intended his gospel for the whole world. John wrote concerning the end: "I looked and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and in front of the Lamb (Christ)" (Revelation 7:9).

Certainly, the law of karma is true in this lifetime. If one sins, he certainly pays the consequences of his sins. He may experience shame, loss of trust, ill health, prison terms, a failed marriage. The Christian firmly believes, in Paul's words, that "a man reaps what he sows." (Galatians 6:7)

But sin never involves only the person who commits it. It also involves a victim--and God as well. It is God's moral order that we break. Our victim is someone else whom God has created. Sometimes we harm ourselves. What right do we have to bring harm on another person whom God creates and loves--including ourselves? As a result, our relationship with God is broken. Until something is done, that relationship will continue to be broken.

But there is good news. With a personal God, forgiveness is possible, just as it is possible for you or me to forgive another person for a wrong he has committed against us.

Forgiveness is impossible only if God is an impersonal force, only if moral law operates impersonally like the law of gravity. An impersonal law cannot forgive, but a personal God can.

Forgiveness does not come without cost. Whenever we forgive another person, we bear upon ourselves the consequences of their actions. We take on ourselves their karma. That is exactly what Jesus did. He could do that because he represented God and was sinless.

Such things were said of Jesus when he lived on earth. Many people were opposed to him. Jesus invited them to look carefully at his life and reveal any wicked way in him. He made his life an "open book." Very few people are willing to do this. There were many people who would have dearly loved to discredit Jesus. In the end, not even his worst enemies could find a single thing to incriminate him or destroy his reputation. They still hated him, but in the end, they could do nothing but simply get angry, call names--and finally kill him on a cross.

First of all, Jesus didn't deserve it. The sins of others killed him unjustly.

Secondly, Jesus did not stay killed. He rose again from the dead on the third day. This is highly significant. It means that sin does not have ultimate authority and power over the life of Jesus. It means he has the right to give his authority and power to whomever he will. And so he does, to all those who put their trust in him.

Jesus' crucifixion was the consequence of sin, the "wages of sin." (Rom. 6:23). In the end, sin always destroys people. When God created us, he never meant for people to be destroyed by sin. He hates death more than we do because it is a terrible consequence of sin. And that is why he sent Jesus--to cancel the deadly effects of sin, to give us another chance. In the process, Jesus died on the cross at the hands of sinful men. Not that God upholds death and killing but because he would go to any extent to make a way for us to have a relationship with him--even coming to earth as a human being and undergoing the risk of death just like any human being. The important point again is that Jesus did not stay dead. He rose from the dead and canceled the power that death had on him. Because he could do that, he also has the authority and power to help us so that death loses its power over anyone that puts his trust in Jesus Christ.

It is a reflection of the fantastic love of God for us--even the worst of sinners. He is not willing that any should perish, but that all should come back to Him. God loves us without any conditions attached. "For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son, that whosoever believes in Him should not perish but has eternal life." (John 3:16)

First, you must acknowledge that you have sinned. "For all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God." (Romans 3:23)

Second, repent of your sin. That is, you must see your sin the same way that God sees it, without excuses or rationalizations, without comparing yourself to anyone else except God's own holiness. And don't be concerned about what others think of you. "Repent, therefore, and return, that your sins may be wiped away, in order that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord." (Acts 3:19)

Third, confess sincerely to God that you are a sinner. "If we confess our sin, He is faithful to forgive our sin, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." (I John 1:9) There is no formula or magic words by which you may do this. The important thing is that it comes from a heart of sincerity, desiring a right relationship with God. "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God." (Matthew 5:8)

When these three things have happened, God sends His Holy Spirit to come and live within your life. The Holy Spirit seals you forever as God's child in His family. Your relationship with God is restored. The Holy Spirit will help you to live in this life and secure your life for an eternity in the presence of God.

Church membership and baptism are helpful responses a person can and should make only after he/she chooses to follow Jesus Christ. Church membership provides fellowship and support with like-minded people, and baptism is an important act confirming a new relationship with Christ. However, in and of themselves, baptism and church membership do not make a person into a Christian or guarantee a person's salvation and path to heaven. That can come only with confession, repentance and reconciliation with God through Jesus Christ. Only Jesus Christ can guarantee our salvation and make us true Christians as we place our ultimate trust in Him.

No. There is nothing inherently "Christian" about popular western culture. Indeed, genuine Christians, western or otherwise, are deeply disturbed about materialism and immorality in popular western culture and regard it as anti-Christian. They are deeply saddened that those outside the West would regard their faith as inseparable from western materialism and immorality. This is not how they live, nor do they advocate such a way of life to others. There are tens of millions of Christians who live in China, who are often regarded by western Christians as good examples of Christian living at its best. Yet there is very little western influence upon their culture.

Kreeft, Peter, and Tacelli, Ronald K., Handbook of Christian Apologetics: Hundreds of Answers to Crucial Questions. Downers Grove, IL, Intervarsity Press, 1994.

Lewis, C.S., Mere Christianity. (various publishers)

Maharaj, Rabindranath, with Dave Hunt, Death of a Guru. New York: A.J. Holman Co., 1977.

McDowell, Josh, Evidence That Demands a Verdict.

Morrison, Dr. Frank, Who Moved the Stone?

Orr, Dr. Edwin, Faith That Persuades.

Sairsingh, Krister, A Hindu's Quest for the Holy. Colorado Springs, CO: International Students, Inc., 1987.

Stott, John, The Cross of Christ. Downers Grove, IL: Intervarsity Press, 1986.

Strobel, Lee, The Case for Christ: a Journalist's Personal Investigation of the Evidence for Jesus. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House, 1998.

Zacharias, Dr. Ravi, Jesus Among Other Gods.

Zacharias, Dr. Ravi, The Lotus and the Cross. Multnomah Publishers, Portland, OR, 2001.