Originally posted by IBD Vice President Matt Coombe on mjcoombe.com

I recently received this email and thought it would profit more than the sender. Here is the email in its entirety:

“I have a very intriguing question and no one has ever given a satisfactory answer. Will you please? Are you born by own will? Not certainly. I am a Muslim because I have been born among Muslims and those who have been born among Christians, Jews, and Hindus etc. become what ever teachings and knowledge they get from their parents, teachers or society.

It is a common belief among Muslims, Jews, Christians and Hindus that only members of their sect will be rewarded by God and people of other religions will go to hell. When a person does not have any control on birth and adopts religion where he has been born by God, why God will punish or reward on the basis of religion?

Kindly guide me. Thanks.”

This is a great question. In a world where post modern thought has pervaded every level, this question is an excellent example of the conflict between post modernism and traditional theism. According to post modernists, all truth is relative and subjective. One culture has their truth and another has an equally valid truth that is true for them. This question approaches the same subject: If each person adopts the “truth” of their culture, why does God condemn one and not another? Wasn’t it God who caused them to be born there?

We are, after all, not born of our own will. Can we control the environment we’re born into? Are we supposed to somehow see beyond the culture we were raised in; The culture that compels us to act, live and think in certain ways? How can a Muslim, Hindu or Christian be condemned by God when they are only acting in accordance with their own environment? It all seems so unfair.

For example, some environmentalists hate the loss of even a single tree, yet is the Beaver condemned by God for destroying a stand of trees to make its home? Does the Raven stand in judgment for feeding on the robins’ young? Should the Lion feel guilt because he has feasted on a fawn? Of course not, in these examples each animal is acting in accordance with their nature. The beaver in his beaver nature, raven in raven and lion in lion. Are humans any different?

Let’s suppose that you knew absolutely nothing about me. If you looked at my house, saw my clothes and peered in the windows of my car,  you could discover alot about me just from the outside; Police do it all the time. You could see the DVD’s I own and determine what type of movies I like. You could see my small and fairly modest library and probably draw some firm conclusions about what I believe. And each new thing you learned would reveal a little more about me; At the same time, the culture I come from would also be revealed, since I am, after all, a product of it.

That said, the question remains: Is man defined by his environment and merely a product of it, or do humans, unlike animals, posses the ability to make decisions despite their culture? I believe it is the latter. The culture I was born into had a definite Christian slant. The Christian religion was always nearby to influence my decisions, thoughts and actions. Does this mean that the only possible choice for me was a Christian one? Of course not. Differing from the raven or lion who act on instinct, in accordance with their nature, I can choose to shun my own culture and turn against it. It happens all the time.

However, if the premise of the question is true, then being born into a culture that follows one particular religion will always lead to the children following that same religion. As a result, those who follow the religion of their culture can not be condemned; They had no real ability to choose anything else. God placed them there and thus their fate was determined.

Nonsense! Take the acorn for example. Depending on the environment, an acorn has two options: It will either rot away or grow into an oak tree. Certainly the tree may be a different size or shape than the ones around it, but there is no doubt, no wavering, an acorn that grows will always produce an oak tree. If for whatever reason the acorn does not produce an oak, it is not considered normal. That is how an acorn works.

Is a human an acorn? If he is left to grow in the same environment, will he produce the same results every time? If the premise of the question is true, namely that each person born into a religion, then they have no option other than to embrace that religion. This leads to at least two conclusions:

1. Man is like an acorn . Despite any intervening situations, he will become what his environment demands.
2. If the first premise is true, then there can be no counter examples. A counter example would be a person who is born into a religion and, for whatever reason, did not embrace that religion.

In the case of the email’s author, consider Muhammad. Was he merely a product of his environment? Did he blindly follow the religion of his father and those before him? What about Jesus? Was he not mocked and beaten because the religious leaders of his day thought he was acting contradictory to the religion of his father? And these are just two examples. There are many counter examples to the premise.  A human need not always become merely the product of his environment.

Even in my own experience, I can think of people born into atheist homes who became Christians, Christians that became atheists, Muslims who became Christian and Christians who became Mormon. Humans are inherently religious. Humans also have a tendency to fall in line with their own culture, becoming indoctrinated at the earliest of ages. Many have never known any other culture. That said, at any time, any man can make any decision; This is called Free Will.

So, although a man is born into a culture and is indoctrinated thoroughly, it is the duty of all men to seek the truth. The ability to reason and to know is one of the greatest gifts given to man. So although God does place each man into a culture, He also gives every man the ability to examine, reason and to think for himself. Man is free to embrace or to reject his environment and culture.

In my case, if the culture a man is born into denies the God of Biblical Christianity, then that environment and culture should be rejected. Of course, some cultures make this is much harder to do than others. As a man who has studied the pertinent historical and biblical accounts, and spent years seeking the truth, I believe I’ve found it.

It is my prayer, then, that all people seek the truth and make it their goal, for then they will understand the words of Christ who said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life, no man comes to the father but through me.”

In the last installment of his Nature of Reality series, IBD Vice President Matt Coombe looks to summarize and build upon the last 4 weeks of study. Here he looks at truth vs reality and comes to common sense conclusions many of us know instinctively but could never vocalize. More than that, he looks what is and what isn’t certain about reality and how that impacts what we can know.

Roll up your sleeves. IBD Vice President Matt Coombe presents the long-awaited “Truth” segment of the Nature of Reality Series. He looks at what truth is, how much can we know and what parts we can be certain of. Facts and truths are compared; How can you tell the difference? Is there a difference? It’s a little shorter than the others but no less interesting and informative.

In the third installment of his “Reality” series, IBD Vice President Matt Coombe looks at two major assumptions of reality. Each in turn yet in relation: Empiricism and differing personal realities.

First, empiricism, the idea that only what we can detect with our physical senses is real, is placed in its proper context. Next, the concept that realities can differ on a personal level is shown as a false claim. These two claim are more related than you think.

Listen to find out:

Everyone believes they live in the real world. We see, feel, taste and smell real things everyday. Therefore, for most of us, this is our reality.

However, most people never confront the nature of their reality. In their eyes, either something is real or it isn’t. Why ask what is real when the answer is apparent and obvious? Although such esoteric questions may occasionally cross their minds, these deep and meaningful questions are more often merely tossed aside. Who has time to investigate the meaning of life and the nature of existence?

Matthew J Coombe, Vice president of the Institute of Biblical Defense proudly announces the beginning of his latest lecture / discussion series entitled, “The Nature of Reality”. Is this series, Matthew will start with the basics and cover, precisely and succinctly, the philosophical foundations of reality: What is truth? What is real? Can we trust what we see, hear, taste and touch?

If you’re in the Seattle area, we invite you to attend the series each Sunday evening at the Grange Hall on Clear Creek road in Silverdale. The first lecture begins at 6pm on February 28th, 2010. If you’re not in the area, the audio version will be available shortly thereafter.

We look forward

Originally posted by IDB Vice President, Matthew J Coombe on mjcoombe.com

Do you think of  yourself as a thankful person? When you give thanks for a delicious meal, are you really thankful? Trying giving the same thanks after fasting for 3 days; You will come to realize that your amount of thankfulness has changed.

How many Christians out there have never fasted? How many even know how to fast?  Try imagining them in an extended fast. I would be shocked if more then 1% of all believers (in North America) have ever experienced any of these. Now, most Christians know what fasting is.  The problem is most don’t understand its function, purpose or its power.

On the other hand, there are those Christians who do know about fasting and its importance, yet do not recall the one rule Jesus had about fasting: keep it a secret. How do I know people are breaking this rule? They tell me they’re fasting.

Lastly, there is the rare group of people that know how to fast, partake in it, but even then do only small 12 hr or 24 hr fasts. Don’t get me wrong, when you have never fasted before 24 hours is quite daunting, but if one has become comfortable and accustomed with such a fast they should challenge themselves to something longer and more difficult.

If you want to know more about fasting, go to my audio page and listen to my sermon on it. If you truly want to be thankful during this holiday season, spend some time fasting!

Originally posted by IBD Vice-president Matt Coombe on mjcoombe.com

I usually don’t like to talk about myself; I especially don’t like to talk about my accolades via a blog … but here goes.

We need to have the capacity to be servants! It is a great notion and fun to think about when Jesus said things like, “Let the first be last and the last first,” and other similar charges, but how often do we act on notions like this? I often get down on myself for selfishness and wish I was a greater servant. But today as I was driving to Starbucks to get some studying done a truck stalled out and became stuck in the road. Without thinking I pulled over got out in the rain and started pushing the truck. I pushed him to the near gas station and then without a word got back into my jeep and continued on my way. Helping the man was nothing of a huge effort and is really not what is crucial to such a story.

What is worth note is when I saw the man in trouble there was no deliberation or thought in my head. I saw a need and met it. True servitude is both thoughtful and mindless. If any of my readers know me, they will be shocked that I am claiming in any sense that it is good to be mindless, but allow me to continue. Thoughtful servitude makes sense. We should be intentional in how we serve and help others and even in some situations plan on how to help and serve. When I say mindless, I mean we should act in all situations as a servant. Our servitude should not come down to deliberation. We should see a need and then meet that need.

Of course this does come with caution. For example, if your friend asks for money and you give it to him and he spends that money getting booze so he can get drunk. If he asks you for money again, you should not mindlessly hand the money over, but rather realize the greater act of servitude would be to not pay for him to sin against God. Therefore, servitude is both thoughtful and mindless. If these are separated servitude becomes less powerful.

I challenge you be a servant today, use your mind to be intentional in your actions, but be mindless in your deliberation to help! Take care, and God bless!

For those of you who enjoy the “Christian World View”, this is one you won’t want to miss. Here Matt Coombe and Dr. Fernandes discuss information I’ve been waiting to hear for quite a while. Bert Ehrman is in view here and the dynamic apologetic duo offer a solid apologetic response to his near atheistic hyper-skepticism. The scriptures of God are defended against those who would bring their accuracy into doubt and the historicity of the Jesus of the Bible is given a solid base in fact. Listen, enjoy, learn.

And now for the long awaited return of Matt Coombe, the vice president of the institute of Biblical Defense, to the teaching podium. In the short talk, Mr. Coombe confronts the “faith” vs “evidence” schools of thought in the Christian community. Does your belief in God, Jesus and the Bible stand on faith, facts, reason or some combination of these.

Listen as Matt gives us his opinion and the biblical reasons for his personal stand.

Originally posted on mjcoombe.com

by Matthew Coombe Vice President of the Institute of Biblical Defense

For the longest time I had considered myself in a way that was not biblical. It wasn’t an overt or intentional evil, but rather pride mistaken for strength. If you’ve ever seen the movie About a Boy, you know that protagonist is playboy with Peter pan syndrome who is not only incorrigible but believes himself to be a pillar of strength and independence. When questioned about the futility of trusting in himself he claims, “Some men are Islands, I am a bloody island!” But throughout the course of the movie he comes to realize his need for others, and eventually learns to love and trust.

I remember the first time I watched this movie, I was completely enthralled with the main character, he was me. The way he thought, the things he said, it was completely me. While the character learned relatively quickly his faults and became more dependent on others, my dependence came about after a much greater amount of time.

The two scripture verses I first memorized were both centered on dependence. One on God, and one on other believers. Nahum 1:7 “The LORD is good, a stronghold in the day of trouble, and He knows those who take refuge in him. “ If a single thesis can be gleaned from the entirety of the Old Testament it is God claiming, “I alone am worthy of worship.” Of all the things that worship entails it must occupy some dependence. Worship means “worthship” when you worshiping something you are claiming its ultimate worth. But words alone are not that significant, true worship is entailed by actions. And in order to react to God’s single thesis and worship Him, we must be dependent on Him. True worship cannot exist if one is claiming independence for they have not understood God’s single thesis—independence is self-worship.

The other verse was Proverbs 27:17, “As Iron sharpens Iron so one man sharpens the countenance of his friends.” This proverb contends the reader to surround himself with trusted people who can lift him when he falls, be some light when it is dark. It is a call for dependence on others.

Is independence then without effect? Absolutely not! It does however need to be focused! The independence the LORD blessed/cursed me with has become one of my greatest strengths, but only when it is directed at him. Even in scripture we see the interesting dichotomy of people who are both very dependent and independent. For example Paul, he is so focused on the will of God that he says things like, “I will try to find a way in the will of God to come and see you.” He is always talking about his concern for the church and specific people, but he was likewise able to do much of his ministry alone. He had found and continued on in the perfect balance.

Through years of breaking me, I have started to understand this balance. I now start my days with a prayer, “Lord I declare my absolute dependence on you.” This is good. But I need to learn to be dependent on God’s people too. I challenge you, examine yourself, of what do you trust and are dependent on? What is that source’s worthship?