The Influence   

 

 

 God hath his influence into the very essence of all things.         
                     --Hooker

What I have come to learn about God, the bible and religion
and all which pertain to . . .

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This page was created 01/01/2012

THIS SITE HAS BEEN UPDATED 
on January 7, 2016

Do you believe in God?

Do you believe in The Bible?

 

Did you ever find yourself wondering about God or The Bible?

Don't censor  this site based on the above statement!

This site is not about bashing God or The Bible and will not bash God or The Bible!

Even if you are a firm believer in God and The Bible with NO DOUBTS, I still encourage you to pursue this site.

I was raised Catholic and had many questions in my childhood concerning God, The Bible and religion. I would from time to time present these questions to my priest of our Church and all I ever got were quotes from scriptures. NEVER did I get a direct answer. I don't think they knew the answers to my questions.

 

That is why I created this site.

 

I make no claim to be an expert pertaining to the knowledge and information of God, The Bible or religion and all that which relates to God, The Bible and religion. I am simply presenting all the information I have gathered concerning God, The Bible and religion and all that which relates to God, The Bible and religion.

I was born and raised a Catholic. Ever since childhood I had many questions and doubts about God and The Bible. Later I was aware of different religions and then had doubts and questions about Catholic beliefs.

That is the reason I began to study about God, The Bible and religions and the reason why I designed this site.

I know a lot of people have at least SOME of the questions I have had and as I can also imagine a lot of people have some of these questions running around in their heads but are like I was; are scared to even question such things as we fear God. Fear that we might be damned for thinking or questioning such thoughts.

I'd be lying if I said I never have doubts about faith. I cannot claim to fully understand God and it's uncomfortable. I don't want uncertainty, but where there is uncertainty, doubt is normal.

Doubt is hard enough to live with. But do you know what makes it even harder? Being told your doubt displays a lack of faith, and that it's sinful.

First, do not pretend that your doubt is not real; every believer at some time in his or her walk of faith has had doubts. Too many think that it is a sign of weakness, or shallow faith, to admit that they have doubts and will instead try to hide them as they struggle.

Even Jesus doubted God - ". . . Lord, why have you forsaken me?"

- Matthew 27:46 

Merriam-Webster defines 'doubt' as,

1: uncertainty of belief or opinion that often interferes with decision-making;

2: a state of affairs giving rise to uncertainty, hesitation, or suspense;

3: a lack of confidence.

There is a big difference between doubt and unbelief. Doubt is not the opposite of faith. Unbelief is the opposite of faith and doubt is not unbelief. R.C. Sproul clearly points out the difference between doubt and unbelief when he writes, "An all-important difference exists, therefore, between the open-minded uncertainty of doubt and the closed-minded certainty of unbelief" . Doubt is still open to God's guidance and teaching, unbelief has made up its mind against God.


Didn't Jesus say we should have the faith of a child? 

- Matthew 18:3

Have you ever been around kids? Kids do have a simple faith, but they also question everything. My kids ask intense questions like "Why does God let people die? Why do I feel scared? Why was this person mean to me?"

Doubt is a problem, even for the righteous.


Zacharias was "righteous in the sight of God, walking blamelessly in all the commandments and requirements of the Lord"

- Luke 1:6

Being righteous in the sight of the Lord means that his godliness was not an outward show, like the "righteousness" of the Pharisees, but a matter of the heart. The man walked with God and he had done so for many years. The fact that such a godly man doubted shows us that none are exempt from the problem.


Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you:

- Matthew 7:7



This site is not to make anybody doubt that God exists, nor to make them believe in any one such religion, faith, nor make anyone change their beliefs. It is simply information I have researched and put together on this site that I found quite informative and intriguing.

I for one believe each religion has a grain of truth in it, I also believe the bible is incomplete.

I am on a personal quest to understand what our ancient ancestors were trying to tell us via their various mysteries i.e. monuments and sacred writings.  I have also read a lot of books with many different theories and explanations of these messages. 

 The clues are in plain sight, and the wonderful effort was made to help record messages, by the ancient ones, so they could be read by future generations for thousands of years. Our companions in life, the animals and plants, rivers and streams, can also tell the story as well as words or structures.

Living though is however no different for us today accept we carry the knowledge and experiences of all that has been. We see life on Earth as did they, we see the sun rise, we see the animals and plants, we see the rainbows and eclipse's, mountains and stars, but we also have all of the stories about them as well as the scientific knowledge old and new.

I strongly encourage you to use this website and its resources as a gateway to your own explorations.

Then, and only then, I encourage you to send me an Email with legitimate response. For I know I will be flooded with them, however, I will simply delete any Email that starts to throw scriptures' at me. As I said above, I was raised Catholic and had many questions in my childhood concerning God, The Bible and religion. I would from time to time present these questions to my priest of our Church and all I ever got were quotes from scriptures. NEVER did I get a direct answer. I don't think they knew the answers to my questions.

Yes, I know the scripture . . . 

But if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all generously and without reproach, and it will be given to him. But he must ask in faith without any doubting, for the one who doubts is like the surf of the sea, driven and tossed by the wind. For that man ought not to expect that he will receive anything from the Lord, being a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.

 - James 1:5-8

That was my answers to some of the questions I would ask, like, "Who made God?" How does this answer a kid's question? I did not hear the answer. I understand what the scripture is saying, yet I still don't see the answer to my question.

 

I know as a web designer, that one should not post a site until it is complete. However, this site is still under construction as it is going to take a long, long time before it will ever be complete! I work on this site every day and upload new progress once or twice a week. Please come back and visit from time to time. I hope you enjoy!

Check our What's New Page to see what has been added to this site by dates and what pages have been modified and updated.

To get the best use of this website, I suggest going to the Sitemap Page where you will find EVERYTHING which can be found within this website.

Another way to use this website is to advance through page by page as in a book by clicking the NEXT button found at the bottom of each page.

You can also find This Sites Main Topics in the left hand column of This Site.

Let's start here . . .

Is There a God?

This site is maintained for research purposes only.

I do not, by any means think that I know more than others, quite the opposite, I feel I know too little and I want to know more. 

My heart cries out to know the truth!

I support belief in an intelligent designer-the God of the Bible. 

This site was also intelligently designed. But rather than six days, it's taken me thousands of days. 

Help me design and produce more information for this site.

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PLEASE, If you come across a Bad Link, please copy and paste the Webpage in an Email to me with the Bad Link! Thank You!

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The Influence is designed and maintained by Rev. John T. Anderson
Established January 2012

 

DISCLAIMER: PLEASE READ

I make no claim to be an expert pertaining to the knowledge and information of God and religion and all that which relates to God and religion.

I make no claims, promises or guarantees about the completeness or adequacy of the information contained in or linked to this website and its associated sites. Nothing on this site constitutes legal or medical advice.

This website is an unofficial source of news and information continually updated from thousands of sources around the net.

This website is the composition of many hours of research. Information contained within this site has come from numerous sources such as websites, newspapers, books, and magazines.

In case the article on this page was quoted from another source, the following statement applies:
Fair Use policy applies since the quote is for non-profit educational and research purposes only. For more information, go to: http://www4.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.html

This site represents some of my research, thoughts and ideas regarding God, the Bible and religion(s). Do not take anything on this site as the "Gospel Truth." I encourage you to be a "good Berean" and study these things out for yourself to come to your own conclusions.

 By printing, downloading, or using  any info from this site, you agree to our full terms. Review the full terms by clicking here. Below is a summary of some of the terms. If you do not agree to the full terms, do not use the information. All information on this web site is provided as a free service. Under no conditions does it constitute professional advice. No representations are made as to the completeness, accuracy, comprehensiveness or otherwise of the information provided. This site is considered publishers of this material, not authors. Information may have errors or be outdated. Some information is from historical sources or represents opinions of the author. It is for research purposes only. The information is "AS  IS", "WITH ALL FAULTS". User assumes all risk of use, damage, or injury. You agree that we have no liability for any damages. We are not liable for any consequential, incidental, indirect, or special damages. You indemnify us for claims caused by you.

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The Influence is designed and maintained by Rev. John T. Anderson
Established January 2012