Thoughts on "Atheist Statement #1"

      As I explained a few weeks back these statements shared by an atheist friend gave me the desire to find answers or a different way of looking at the statements. I started a few weeks back to explain the whole plan and purpose of life which gives answers to many of the statements so I  won't go into detail if anything can be covered by those, but I want to add a few points to each statement anyway. The first statement follows:

     "You did not put Jesus on the cross and no one asked Jesus to die for  us." Much of this very statement is explained in my blog on the pre-existence or pre-mortal life.  I would, however, like to share the thoughts that came to me as I pondered this statement. Hopefully I can do so in an orderly manner.

     The first thought that came to me was "No, you did not put Jesus on the cross because you were not alive at the time that happened." And then other thoughts along those lines poured in. Did you go around with the Huns destroying lives? Did you bring slaves to America? Did you vote Hitler into power?  Did you kill Kennedy? These are bad things in history we cannot claim being a part of because we weren't there! 

     Another point, that is historically proven, is that in the times of Jesus, the Romans did crucify people!  That was their way of executing people! There were hundreds of people crucified in those days and Jesus happened to be one of them we know by name due to records kept!!

     The second part of this statement was, again, answered  in previous blogs, but let me present it in a different way. Let's say you are in a big meeting of an organization you belong to and they have an especially difficult assignment that needs to be taken care of. Would you volunteer? Even if you knew how very hard it would be? Why would you? Would you recognize the benefit and good it would add to your organization? Let's add a bit more to this. How about the teacher who puts in extra hours to help her students? A doctor who works extra hours trying to save lives? A lawyer who digs deeper to get to the real truth?  Firemen who run into burning buildings to help others? Soldiers and policemen who repeatedly put their lives on the line? Or the neighbor who shovels the snow off his neighbor's sidewalks when he has plenty of his own to do and then some? No one asked them to do these things! They volunteered because they choose to be good caring people who know that the more they do to help, without being asked, the better the lives of many people will be!

     Do you only do good things because someone asks you to? If we only do good things because somone asks us to, that does not make us very good people. In fact, in many instances nothing would ever get done if we just wait for someone to ask us to do it. And because we are here on this earth we have the ability to make choices, good or bad. And there are so many people that make choices to help others in many ways including taking punishment for others even to the point of giving their lives for others AND they usually are not asked to. They choose to do so just as Jesus Christ voluntarily chose to be hung on the cross giving us the chance to become better people. 

     And so my final statement is "No, you did not put Jesus on the cross and no one asked Jesus to die for us, He volunteered to do it because He wants to give each of us every chance to get our lives right!" And may I just add that I am very grateful for all the good people who volunteer in so many ways, without being asked, to make our lives safer, cleaner, nicer, and just better all the way around. And I am extra specially grateful that Jesus Christ is the leader among those volunteers!!!