``Be strong and courageous.
Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged,
for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.''
(Jos. 1:9)
Find out yourself about the Truth by studying the Best from the original sources! Get a more radical faith by learning from the early Church! Become cautious and open-eyed by studying the arguments against Christianity! Learn tolerance, understanding and discernment by reading about Islam, Buddhism, New Age! Find out that the spiritual competition boils with water only!
If you call out for insight
and cry aloud for understanding,
and if you look for it as for silver
and search for it as for hidden treasure,
then you will understand the fear of the Lord
and find the knowledge of God.
For the Lord gives wisdom,
and from His mouth come knowledge and understanding.
(Proverbs 2:3-6)
``You will seek me and find me when you seek with all your
heart.''
(Jer. 29:13)
``Let not the wise man boast of his wisdom or the strong man boast
of his strength or the rich man boast of his riches, but let him who
boasts boast about this: that he understands and knows me, that I am
the Lord, who exercises kindness, justice and righteousness on earth,
for in these I delight,'' declares the Lord.
(Jer. 9:23-24)
Does God exist? (by Frans Faase, a computer scientist)
``Those who know God, do not need a proof. Those who reject God, do
not want a proof.''
Who is God? (by Robin Olav Vogsland, an engineer)
Wondering About God? (by Willow Creek, a church)
Internet Links to God (by Arnold Neumaier, a mathematician)
The Kingdom of Heaven: Parables for Scientists (by Deborah and Loren Haarsma, two physicists)
Alpha and Omega - Gods' Story: From Creation to Eternity (web version of a movie by Jeremiah Films)
How God Manages (by Jesse Brogan, a management scientist)
``There is nobody who manages on their own, the way that God manages.
There is no one who could, in a three year effort in a hostile
environment, produce an effect which continues after 20 centuries.
If you follow after second raters, and learn from them, you will also
become a second rater. If you follow after the Master, and learn from
Him - well that's a different story.''
Bible Stories for Kids (to be read with a smiley :-;)
``All scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching,
rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of
God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.''
(2 Tim. 3:16-17)
``But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this
all-surpassing power is from God and not from us.''
(2 Cor. 4:7)
Bible Gateway (comprehensive index of online bibles)
Latin-English Parallel New Testament
Lutherbibel (German)
Virtual Christianity (bibles in other languages)
3:16 Bible Texts Illuminated (a book by Donald Knuth, a computer scientist)
The Liturgy of the Hours (prayers, psalms and meditation for every hour of every day)
What Jesus said and did
``I hold it on faith that the words of our Lord as recorded in the
sacred scriptures hold no lie or distortion. ... What this work does
is to extract the witness of Jesus from the scriptures, removing
editorial comment and personal interpretations from the written
record.''
Who was the Historical Jesus?
``There are as many answers to this question as there are people who are
willing to answer it. ... This page is dedicated to giving you the
information and resources to decide [for yourself] who the real Jesus
was.'' (But remember that historians have a bias, too!)
The Jefferson Bible (a subset of the Gospel cleaned from what its author finds unacceptable)
The Gospel According to Jesus (another subset of the Gospel cleaned from what its author finds unacceptable)
The Gospel of Q, a reconstructed pre-Christian Gospel
A reconstruction of the Sayings Source Q
World Without Q, the home page for Q sceptics
The Synoptic Problem (on the literary relationship between the first three gospels of the New Testament)
Atheists for Jesus (Jesus without Christianity)
Let the bible speak (startling quotations from the bible that the muslim Abdul Rahman Dimashkiah finds being satanic, and not revealed by God)
Non-Canonical Documents to Aid Scholars in Biblical Interpretation
Index to Interpreting Ancient Manuscripts
Ancient Hebrew elements in the New Testament
The Early Church Fathers
``a 38-volume collection of writings from the first 800 years of the
Church''
Guide to Early Church Documents (the church in the first few centuries)
Catholic Answers Tracts By Topic (most tracts contain many quotes from the early Church Fathers)
Early Church On-Line Encyclopedia (ECOLE) of early Church history to the Reformation
Pitts Theology Library, Emory University
with nearly half a million theological books
How Christians Interpret the Bible
Flying Vehicles and Advanced Technology in the Bible
A minority view
``As for man, his days are like grass, he flourishes like a flower
of the field; the wind blows over it and it is gone, and its place
remembers it no more.''
(Psalm 103:15-16)
``Who among men knows the thoughts of a man except the man's spirit
within him?''
(1 Cor. 2:11)
NLP is in my opinion a theory of human communication patterns that has the potential to develop into an exact science. However, this is not a specific Christian reference, some people misuse NLP (just as other psychological techniques, and indeed all science) for very questionable applications, and many NLP practitioners are closely related to New Age.
``The joy of the Lord is our strength.''
(Neh. 8:10)
Christian Classics Ethereal Library (Classic Christian books in electronic format)
Resources for Spiritual Seekers (a list of books recommended by the Willow Creek Association)
soc.religion.christian FAQs (a list of links to topical FAQs) and their short FAQ (but still 141K long) give a vivid overview of the range of views on controversial questions under the roof termed Christianity
Christian Resources (by Steven Schimmrich, a geologist)
My collection of Challenging Essays on the Web
My collection of Home Pages by Christians (some of these contain very good thoughts!)
My collection of Other Christian Resource Lists, and Christian Links in German Language
``Whoever is not against us is for us.''
(Mark 9:40)
Creation `Science' (the creationist perspective)
International Fellowship of Christians and Jews
Torah and Tanach (or Tanakh) (the Jewish bible)
Masorti: Torah & News (conservative Jewish)
What Do the Scriptures Say About the Messiah? (by the Congregation Yeshuat Yisrael)
Jews for Jesus ``... in the late 1960s there was a move of the Holy Spirit whereby thousands of cause-oriented Jewish young people came to believe in Jesus. When they became Christians they refused to reject their Jewish heritage; rather, in Christ they discovered the meaning of their own Jewishness.''
Jewish FAQ (From Section 17: ``Is belief in Jesus-as-God compatible with any Jewish movements? No, the belief in Jesus-as-God is idolatry for Jews.'')
Jewish Arguments Refuting Christian Ministries
Who's Who in the History of Mysticism
The Varieties of Religious Experience (by William James)
``He who is not with me is against me, and he who does not gather
with me scatters.''
(Matth. 12:30)
``If God is for us, who will be against us?''
(Romans 8:31)
``Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way as
you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use,
it will be measured to you.''
(Matth. 7:1-2)
``When the wheat sprouted and formed ears, then the weeds also
appeared. The servants asked [the owner], do you want us to go and
pull them up? No, he answered, because while you are pulling the weeds,
you may root up the wheat with them. Let both grow together until the
harvest.''
(from Matth. 13, 26-30)
``What may be known about God is plain [to all men], because God
has made it plain to them. For since the creation of the world God's
invisible qualities - his eternal power and divine nature - have been
clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men
are without excuse.''
(Rom. 1:19-20)
World Religion Resources, a commented list
The Ancient Wisdom Home Page (extensive quotations from a huge number of diverse ancient sources)
Publications of Peace and Of Great Souls
Source texts from many centuries of religious thought in many cultures,
including our own
Pannir's Spiritual Links
``... all religions, under whatever name they may be called, either
Hindu, Buddhist, Islam, or Christian, have the same God, and he who
derides any one of these derides his own God.''
A Course in Spiritual Discernment
``Have lost faith in religious institutions or doctrines, but deeply
remain God-loving and inwardly feels Truth can still be found in the
Church or Temple within you?''
Dark Powers: The Pathology of Belief and Persuasion
``The man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come
from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot
understand them, because they are spiritually discerned.''
(1 Cor. 2;14)
Atheism pro and con (links by Jeff Lowder, an agnostic)
Really interesting!
How to Create a Universe
Instructions for an Apprentice God
Atheism Quotations
``How to trap an atheist: Serve him a fine meal, then ask him if he
believes there is a cook.''
The Contemporary Debate on the Resurrection (by Jeff Lowder, an agnostic)
``Both sides in the contemporary debate over the resurrection assume
that the "material" interpretation of the resurrection is the only
possible interpretation of the resurrection. Moreover, most
participants avoid the issue of background probability, and make
arguments about miracles that presuppose their world view. Finally,
there are serious flaws in the arguments advanced by both sides. And
even if those flaws were corrected, the arguments would still not
constitute a strong apologetic for the resurrection. On the basis of
the available evidence (and the arguments I've seen), I conclude that
a rational person may accept or reject the resurrection.''
Bible Contradictions (lots of essay by different people; for example Mistakes of Jesus (by William Floyd)
Walk Away from Fundamentalism
''I myself was once a fundamentalist Christian and understand
first-hand the psychological damage that can result from the
close-mindedness, black-and-white thinking, controlling behavior,
and anti-intellectual bent that characterizes fundamentalism.
We are not an anti-Christian or anti- religion organization.
Our goal is to offer support and resources to those who are trying
to leave an oppressive affiliation (albeit intellectual,
psychological, or physical) with fundamentalism.''
EX-TIAN Stories of some former Christians turned atheist
Losing Faith In Faith: From Preacher To Atheist (a book by Dan Barker), and my comments on it
An Introduction to Atheism (considerate)
The Atheist Manifesto (aggressive)
Religion, Philosophy, and Downright Blasphemy (by Rich Daniel)
Kristian Kooks (agressive)
"Thank God I'm an Atheist" (by Eddy)
The `Real' Historical Origin of Christianity (by David Donnini)
Satire Against Christianity (some entries make you think or smile; others let you feel how it is to be the object of bad jokes; some entries have titles that I preferred not to try...)
Kooks and Quacks of the Roman Empire: a look into the world of the gospels (by Richard Carrier)
Why I Don't Buy the Resurrection Story (by Richard Carrier)
Alt.Atheism FAQ
Why alt.atheism exists
``Some hold that the newsgroup was created by some sort of elder
creator. He saw that there was darkness upon the face of the net, so
he created a posting in alt.config suggesting that there should be a
newsgroup alt.atheism. For five days he created articles discussing
the newsgroup, then on the sixth day he created the newsgroup itself,
with the assistance of some daemons. On the seventh day he rested, and
looked at the newsgroup, and saw that it was good.
Others hold that the newsgroup came about through random chance. It
began as a mail message accidentally created by a system process, which
(over the course of hundreds of thousands of bounces and millions of
CPU cycles) evolved into a Usenet control message. Some forked copies
of the mail message created newsgroups like "alp.arbghhh" and
"prqa.dne.auvheism", but the forces of natural selection ensured that
these groups were unpopular, and soon died out. Eventually, after
many years, "alt.atheism" took over as their natural successor.''
Sahih Bukhari
``Bukhari's collection is recognized by the majority of the Muslim
world to be one of the most authentic collections of the Sunnah of
the Prophet.''
Introduction to the Articles and Pillars of Islam
Islam - General Resources and Directories
Sufi Traditions (Islam mystics)
Mevlevi Sufi Tradition and Sufi-related Resources
What the Qur'an says about the bible (by William Campbell)
Muslims, Jews and Christians (41K)
Christ in Islam (136K)
Muhammad `quoted' in the bible (42K)
Women in Islam versus Women in the Judaeo-Christian Tradition
``To label the status of women in the Muslim world today as
"Islamic" is as far from the truth as labelling the position of women
in the West today as "Judaeo-Christian". With this understanding in
mind, Muslims and non-Muslims should start a process of communication
and dialogue in order to remove all misconceptions, suspicions, and
fears.''
Themes for the Diligent, explaining Christianity to muslims
(by Nicola Yacoub Ghabril)
`` I have followed a method suited to any reasonable Muslim, and no
honourable seeker will disapprove of it. It is to furnish, whenever
possible, proofs from the Qur'an and the Traditions, as well as from
history, because these carry more weight with the Muslim.''
Christian Answers to Islam (by Jochen Katz, a mathematician)
``In the dialog with Muslims over the last few years, I have
discovered that most of them are severely misinformed about the
Christian faith, about the contents of the Bible and about the
historic development of the Christian and Jewish Holy Scriptures.
Most of these misconceptions are just pure ignorance because nobody
has ever told them otherwise. They just have never been exposed to
true Christian teaching.''
Is the Qur`an the word of God?
Jihad in the West, Muslim Conquests from the 7th to the 21st Centuries
Documenting the Persecution of Christians in the Islamic World
Are Christians Persecuted in the Middle East? (the Islamic answer is No!)
Truth, Love, and Newness of Life (Why Muslims become Christians)
Stories of New Muslims (conversions to Islam)
Der Islam (German)
Questions And Answers On Buddhism
Zen FAQs (from Zen@SunSite)
Buddhist Studies WWW Virtual Library
FAQ on Spirituality by Sri Swami Sivananda
Jesus, a hinduistic perspective (by Sri Swami Sivananda)
Hare Krishna Philosophy and Culture
VedSutra, any and all information about Hinduism, Hindu Gods and Hindu History
``Do not learn to imitate the detestable ways of the nations there. Let no-one be found among you who sacrifices his son or daughter in the fire, who practices divination or sorcery, interprets omens, engages in witchcraft, or casts spells, or who is a medium or spiritist or who consults the dead. Anyone who does these things is detestable to the Lord ...
You must be blameless before the Lord our God.''
(Deut. 18:9-13)
New Age Links (European mirror site of Spirit-WWW)
Critical Studies on Astrology from Kjetil's Skeptic Page
Zaubertricks entschlüsselt (deciphering magic tricks, in German)
New Age, a skeptic view
Jesus and Christ in the New Age Movement
Christians Overcoming the New Age
``The spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me, because the Lord has
anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up
the broken-hearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release
from darkness for the prisoners...''
(Isaiah 61:1)
Avoiding Abuses and Pitfalls Along the Path
(by Steven Hassan and Lama Surya Das)
``I also strongly recommend that periodically - at least once or
twice each year - a "vacation" be taken to step out of your
environment and "reality test."
Ask yourself: When I started doing "x" what were my
goals? What were my expectations? Where did I think I would be in
one year? Five years, Ten years? If I knew then (at the beginning of
"x") what I know now, would I still do "x"? If not, why not? What
would you do differently? If I hadn't done "x," what would I have
likely done? Also, if I had a magic wand and I could be doing now
what I really would like to do, what would that be?''
Information about Destructive Cults (by Teodor Väänänen)
Watchtower (official web site of Jehova's Witnesses)
Pioneers of Jehovah's Witnesses
Free Minds Inc. (watchers over the Jehovah's Witnesses)
Unification Church (the official site of the Moonies)
Scientology (the official site)
$cientology (a critical view with comprehensive links)
More Religion (by Gerben Vos, a computer scientist)
Religion and Spirituality (by Cosma Rohilla Shalizi and Mitchell Porter, two physicists)
``Be perfect, as your heavenly father is perfect.''
(Matth. 5:46)
``... the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly
father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his
righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.''
(Matth. 6:32-33)
The Kingdom of Heaven
``You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden.
Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they
put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house.
In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see
your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.''
(Matth. 5:14)
The Role of Modesty
``Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one
gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the price. Everyone who
competes in the game goes into strict training.They do it to get a
crown that will not last, but we do it to get a crown that will last
for ever. Therefore I do not run like a man running aimlessly; I do not
fight like a man beating the air. No, I beat my body and make it my
slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be
disqualified for the prize.''
(1 Cor. 9:24-27)
Practice Singleness of Purpose,
but don't forget that you may die before you succeed.
Choose eternal goals to avoid that.
``God is actually far from any of us; as someone has said:
In him we live and move and exist''
(Acts 17:27-28)
I was there...
``It is God's will that you should be sanctified; that you should
avoid sexual immorality...''
(1 Thess. 4:3)
Divorce and Your Faith
(The collector of these links writes - in another context -
``I need to remember to pray less for God to bless my work and more to
be part of the work God is blessing.'')
Fighting in Marriage
``I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and
you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me
in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked
after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.''
(Matth. 25:35-36)
Letters From Prison
Prison Fellowship International
Links to Prison-Related Websites
``For waging war you need guidance, and for victory many
advisors.''
(Prov. 24:6)
Biblical Direction for Life's Challenges
Depression
Death: Will of God or human technology? (Christian Guidelines for End-of Life Choices)
``Preach the Word: be prepared in season and out of season;
correct, rebuke and encourage --- with great patience and careful
instruction. For the time will come when men will not put up with
sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather
around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears
want to hear. They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn
aside to myths.''
(2 Tim. 4:2-4)
Arnold Neumaier (Arnold.Neumaier@univie.ac.at)
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