If I command you to not kill your roommate, I may annoy you, but this in no way invalidates what I am shouting. In the same way, Christians, who are imperfect human beings, do things that are annoying or even repulsive.

But technically, shouting the truth does not invalidate the truth. Which means your approach can stink, but what you have to say can be perfectly legitimate.

Likewise, Christians may be annoying with their dogmatic assertions supplemented with Biblical quotations, but there may be truth in what they are suggesting.

I think what really bothers Carmen Cerra is that, besides that Christianity is complete nonsense, Christians are attempting to say he is wrong for not being one of them. I see a lack of understanding on both sides.

Christians often forget to realize while they are fighting the dark spiritual forces and principalities in the heavenly realms, they must simultaneously realize there are real people with real problems that need to be addressed. Arguments rarely show that you care.

The only problem with what Carmen Cerra said on Monday, Oct. 20 was that he has shown that he doesn’t understand Christianity at all. If a reporter quotes you out of context, that reporter misrepresents you. When you take a verse of the Bible out of context, you misrepresent God.

My purpose is to promote the truth and the proper understanding of Christianity. I must be perfectly clear God is who He is and He does not need to make excuses for Himself. He is righteous, holy, just and simultaneously merciful, kind and forgiving.

He has qualities that we cannot understand. God is three persons and yet remains one God. I know this one is a little difficult to imagine. These are only some of the things to be remembered when you talk about God. You can use a lot of analogies to approximate Him, but God is like nothing you have ever seen.

Christianity is all about letting humans get right with God. Humans, in order to become right with God, must deny their own ways in exchange for the ways of God. This is what is called “dying to self.”

Right now you are assessing the truth of my statements. Just for a moment, imagine Christianity is true and I was sufficiently eloquent and convincing. You then would say to yourself, “Yes perhaps this fellow is right.”

Amazingly enough, I am not the one who has convinced you of its validity, but it is the God the Holy Spirit who has done something through our interaction. Therefore pure argumentation is not the way to reach unbelievers, but the Holy Spirit is the answer. The Holy Spirit can only be stopped by you.

If you are bothered by the Crusades and all the other atrocities people have done in the name of Jesus and God, take heart because Jesus even warned of such false prophets. If you read the Bible in order not to believe, guess what, you will not buy Christianity and most likely will be repulsed by it.

As an unbeliever, you reel at the thought of submission to God who would take away your control. This same idea is comforting to Christians because the weight of the world is no longer on their shoulders, but in the care of the Almighty.

If you are sincerely seeking inner peace and a desire to know God, then it is possible for the Holy Spirit to help you believe there is a God who actually cares for you. Since I am not God, I cannot explain everything to your satisfaction.

Remember since the world is an imperfect place, you will see Christians doing things they shouldn’t. That is why Christians need forgiveness, too, and do not claim they are more righteous than anyone. On the contrary, it is the Christian who most often realizes his or her own shortcomings.

Carmen Cerra was wrong. Christianity is a religion suited exactly for all of humanity. It is simple, but it takes complete self-denial to follow in the footsteps of Christ and truly live your life for the benefit of others.

And as far as bulls are concerned, that is an easy one. The reason you have not seen Christians sacrificing bulls (barring the occasional hamburger falling into the grill) is that Jesus has sacrificed Himself on our behalf. This act stands as the final payment for sin.

Remember God is just and demands sin be accounted for. This requirement could not be satisfied by any human, so God lovingly did it for us.

I know some of you saying this even more stupid than Carmen’s version of Christianity. However, if I were making this up, I wouldn’t make it sound so incredible.

A closing inquiry: How do you know there is not life after death? Is it because you have asked the dead and they have not responded?

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Todd Petersen

Senior

Mechanical Engineering