Just Thinking Things Out

I had two disheartening telephone conversations last night and feel the need to write about them and think them through in print...

The first was with my dad.  Although he went forward one day in church to accept Jesus' salvation (years ago), he has never felt the need to be a regular church-goer (so lacks practical support and teaching, we live more than an hour apart) and loves to explore different and unconventional ideas and religious philosophies (including his own ideas).  Combine that with the wealth of information (and pseudo-information!) that's available online, and you might imagine how varied our conversations can be when it comes to faith.

He told me he came across a disturbing list of how the story of Jesus is similar to the Egyptian myth of Horus, and now he's confused that the New Testament writers had maybe made up the stories of Jesus.  It really concerned him, and he didn't know what to make of it.

About that claim--first, Satan, our enemy, is infamous for being a liar. If there is anything good from God, Satan will try to counterfeit it to lead people astray. And I'm not surprised He would do it with Jesus Himself too. After all, look at all the people in the world who have false claims to be Jesus or God themselves, like Ahnsahnghong.

But if that's the only explanation I can give, then I'm like those at the World Mission Society Church of God who I complain about.  That explanation, while it may be true, doesn't prove anything in particular.  I have to be willing to look up facts and real answers, even if I'm afraid of what I'll find.  I can't ask my sister or anyone else to do something that I'm unwilling to do myself.

So I looked it up, and I'm happy to give you a link to good information in case you have a similar question.
http://www.kingdavid8.com/_full_article.php?id=fe54916c-64bc-11e1-8f66-6067e33f8f11
(I like his example of the list of similarities between Abraham Lincoln and JFK.)
Scroll down to the "Jesus vs. Horus" link, and it will break down the claim point by point with some research.  I feel better about the controversy after researching it, but I still worry about my dad's potential to fall for unorthodox and false teaching.

The second conversation was with my sister.  She excitedly told me all about her getting more involved in her church.  (I was going to write about what she's doing, and then realized it might be too much information....)  The good thing is that she's open to sharing these things with me (our relationship has improved that way), the bad thing is seeing just how deeply involved with her church she is, and not being able to speak my heart to her about all this for fear of pushing her away too far.

The more committed and connected she is to her church "family," the harder it will be for her to disconnect when she finally sees the truth.  (Yes, I pray "when" not "if" she sees the truth!)  That's a discouraging thought.  But I hope and pray that she is like the lost sheep in Jesus' parable (Luke 15:3-7); and that God will not stop pursuing her until she comes back.