Acacia Ridge Baptist Church
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Jesus said "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life." (John chapter 8 verse 12 in the Bible).

The Apostle Paul wrote "... for at one time you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light (for the fruit of light is found in all that is good and right and true), and try to discern what is pleasing to the Lord. Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them. For it is shameful even to speak of the things that they do in secret. But when anything is exposed by the light, it becomes visible" (Ephesians chapter 5 verses 7 through 13)
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There are aspects of Christian belief that make it very different from other belief systems, including modern atheistic humanism.  These differences are positive and we believe make better sense of our world than other belief systems.
Light
Darkness
Outcomes/Comment
The world was planned and designed by an intelligent being, God who desires each one of us to come to know him.
The reason why the world and universe is here isn't really known, and although it obviously exists, the reason why is unknown, and there isn't any meaning to it.
Christians know why they are here and have a reason for our existence.  From the poorest of the poor to the richest of the rich, our reason for being is to come to know and enjoy God and once we do know him, to help others know and enjoy him, now and forever.
God as creator has the right to be ultimate boss over everything he made, but he is kind and not a tyrant.
We are the ultimate masters of the world, and choose our own way.
Christians know that God is in charge and nothing is out of his control.  God allows things, and not everything he allows is pleasant but we  can pray to him and he helps us through every situation.  It doesn't mean that everything is easy.
There are things that are absolutely right and absolutely wrong, if our maker says that they are right or wrong.  He has the final say.
Things that are wrong to some people can be right to other people.  Right and wrong is a matter of personal/group opinion.
Christians believe in right and wrong because God makes the rules.  However, unfortunately we don't always obey.  Wrongdoing hurts us.  Like anyone, we suffer when we disobey God's rules which are designed to show us his character, but also to protect us.
The things that we see in the world are evidence of the creator who made them.  Science does not support the idea of macro-evolution where simple life forms have evolved into more complex ones, and such evolutionary processes have never been proven in a laboratory
​The things that we see in the world are a product of natural forces over a long period.  Complex life forms have evolved from simple life forms over a long period of time.
Christians believe that an intelligent being, God, made everything and this makes sense with the beauty and structure in the world.  We believe that the story that everything made itself doesn't match what we see, is unrepeatable in laboratory science, and is a false belief system, actually a religious belief system based on a false faith in unproven evolution.
All life is precious but human life is especially precious because it reflects the character of its creator, being made in the image of the creator.  We are self-aware relational beings who have a sense of right and wrong.
There is no absolute right and wrong and if it is convenient for us to end a human life, however young or old, we can.
Christians value human life because God does.  We can't make excuses for ending human lives whether it be abortion of unborn children or euthanasia of older people.  We believe that abortion of millions of children is one of the evil genocides of our day, but God can forgive that too.
All people fall short of God's very high standards and therefore stand guilty before God because his standard is perfection, but God has made a way for all people to come into fellowship with him, and to live eternally with him after death.
People aren't guilty of doing wrong because we make the rules ourselves or in community with others and there is no right and wrong except what we decide, and we don't need a way to God because when we're dead, that's the end.
Christians are aware that they have done wrong, and still do wrong, falling short of God's standards.  We can't look to our own goodness, and we can't weigh our good deeds against our bad deeds because we are guilty of wrongdoing and deserve punishment, but when our consciences accuse us, we can agree and then turn to God for forgiveness, asking God's spirit in us to change us to be like him.
  Jesus is the son of God who was born from his mother Mary but there was no human being who was his father.  God was his father via a special miracle.  He was the only human being who never did anything wrong.
Jesus was a figure in history but he was just a man like all great historical teachers.
  Jesus was truly human, and yet divine.  His birth as a child was God coming to earth in human form, and his ultimate purpose was to save people from the outcomes of their wrongdoing, and while here, he taught and did many things that are recorded for us in the gospels in the Bible.
Jesus is the saviour who sacrificed himself to pay the punishment for all wrongdoing by people, opening the way for them to receive forgiveness and new life, and eternal hope in heaven.
We don't need a saviour because we don't need saving.  Jesus died, and so did every other historical person.
Most people recognise some wrongdoing in their lives, but many then turn and deny God who defines things as right and wrong, leaving them only with the opinions of people or groups of people as the definitions of right and wrong.  Everyone stands guilty before God, and will suffer the justice of eternal separation from God unless they appeal to Jesus to be saved from their guilt.  Jesus didn't do wrong, and eyewitnesses testified that he rose from the dead.
We are never beyond the reach of God's forgiveness.  God himself can help us to turn away from wrongdoing and towards him no matter how wicked and guilty we are.
We don't need God's forgiveness because we are not guilty.  There is nobody to tell us in an absolute sense what is right and wrong, so any sense of guilt is misguided.
Anyone can turn away from wrongdoing towards God and find forgiveness.  There is hope even for the Hitlers and Stalins of the world if such people turn away from their wrongdoing, recognising their guilt and turning to God to be saved.
Although Jesus was killed on a cross thousands of years ago, he rose back to life again and was seen by hundreds of people who witnessed him, and the Bible was written by some of those people to carry his message.
Jesus didn't come back to life because that doesn't happen, and the Bible is just a bunch of made-up stories.
Witnesses attested to these things, and many of those eyewitnesses ended up being killed for their beliefs.  You don't die for something that you know is made-up.  It doesn't make sense to believe that these eyewitnesses made these things up.
The Bible has a far greater number of historical manuscripts in existence from a wide area, and is the most well-attested historical document in existence.
The Bible is recognised as a well-attested historic document but the matters it discusses involve the miraculous which can't be proven to have happened, so the whole thing has to be strongly doubted.
The Bible is present in archaeological finds, and has been proven to have been copied faithfully.  Manuscripts we have were written shorter times after the events recorded than most other manuscripts.
The love of God demonstrated through the account of Biblical scripture for humanity is the greatest love story ever told, rich in self-sacrifice, grace, and mercy.  We know we are loved by God and draw our value from the love that God has for us.
There is no God, everything happened naturally by itself.  Love is a feeling and we're lucky if we experience it.
God's love for people is shown everywhere, in nature, in sunshine, but revealed in the Bible it is so much richer, demonstrating the love that God has for people through the actions of God and of his visit to the world in Jesus.
God can be known.
You can't know someone who doesn't exist.  The universe isn't personal.
God can be known, and he is with us in our joys and in our sorrows.  He isn't far away but we can call on him at any time.
Use of sexuality as the maker intended (see Ephesians chapter 5 verses 1 to 20, and 1 Corinthians 6 verses 9 and 10 in the Bible)
Sexual immorality
Sexual activity is a choice, and the choice to follow God's leading in this is both guidance from God and protection from harm
As a Christian, living righteously and consistently with the way God intended.
Saying that you're Christian and yet living your life in actual rebellion against God, being a hypocrite who says one thing and does another.
God desires people who become Christian to follow him truly.  People can say many things but the ultimate test of a person's life is the fruit of their life.  Where words are one thing and the fruit is another, the fruit is the reality.  Having said that, it isn't what Christians do that makes them Christian (that comes through faith in God), rather it is because they have become Christian that they do good things.  The good is not the cause of Christianity, rather Christianity is the cause of the good.
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