Good News Tucson Magazine February 2010

February 2010

www.GoodNewsTucson.com

GoodNewsTucsonmagazineA Good News Media LLC Publication

What is Happening To Pastors?Modern Day Inquisition

I Carry A Gun Because a

CopIs Too Heavy!

A Black Revolutionary Era Patriot

2 GOOD NEWS TUCSON • www.GoodNewsTucson.com

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Good News Tucson Magazine

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DISTRIBUTION & LOCATIONS:Good News Tucson Magazine (GNT) is distributed in printed format to over 100 locations throughout Tucson, Marana, Oro Valley, Catalina, and surrounding areas. The easiest way to find GNT is to visit any Fry’s, Albertson’s grocery store, 7-Eleven and CVS throughout the area. For a complete list of our locations by zip code visit http://www.goodnewstucson.c o m / d i s t r i b u t i o n . h t m l .

Good News Tucson is a free, monthly Christian publication of Good News Media, LLC. Your comments are welcome - write to: GNT at 5151 E Broadway, Suite 1600 Tucson, Arizona 85711. We reserve the right to reject and/or edit any material submitted for publication, for any reason. Submitting commentary, letters or email automatically authorizes your permission to print your comments in future issues without your express permission. The views expressed by writers in Good News Tucson are not necessarily the views of the staff, management or ownership of GNT/Good News Media LLC, or its advertisers. Advertisements and event listings are not considered an endorsement of Good News Tucson. No portion of this publication may be reproduced in whole, or in part, without prior permission. © 2010 GoodNewsTucson.

What are Domains?

GoodNewsTucsonEach month Good News Tucson Magazine will highlight specific

topics and issues confronting Tucson. You will notice that the articles will focus on twelve key areas or Domains. Some of the articles will be sponsored by individuals or groups that have an interest in that specific Domain. What is a Domain? Every community usually is divided into three sectors; the Public Sector, the Private Sector and the Social Sector. The Public Sector is owned by the state and exists to provide services in the public interest like police and fire services, education, clean water, waste management, etc. The Private Sector includes companies, corporations, small businesses and private banks which are not controlled by the state and which are privately owned and profit motivated. And the Social Sector includes voluntary, religious and not-for-profit activities which may include the arts, charities, education, politics, religion, research or some other endeavor. Although not an agency of the state, it may have to meet state requirements to secure or maintain its charitable status. Healthy communities have a good balance between these three sectors.

Throughout the city, there are Christians employed in each of those sectors working in various capacities. To help 4 Tucson and Good News Tucson better understand the problems and the potential solutions to city problems, we have taken those three sectors and broken them down into twelve smaller groups called Domains.

We have identified and will use the following 12 Domains in Tucson: Health Care, Education, Business, Criminal Justice, Government, Sports, Environment, Social Services, Media & Arts, Church, Philanthropy and Prayer.

continued next page

4 GOOD NEWS TUCSON • www.GoodNewsTucson.com4 GOOD NEWS TUCSON • www.GoodNewsTucson.com

Each Domain exists to support the families in Tucson. For example, the Business Domain exists to provide jobs to support families. They produce and sell products that other businesses and families need. The same can be said for each Domain. Families are the foundation for building a strong and vibrant community.

Each month Good News Tucson Magazine will have articles from community leaders out on the frontlines in each of those Domains. If you have an idea for an article let us know. We are also looking for citizens and groups that want to sponsor specific Domain articles. To help Good News Tucson continue to grow, consider sponsoring a Domain article. We look forward to bringing you fresh and relevant information from a Biblical perspective each month.

You may contact us with your ideas [email protected]

Great nations rise and fall. The average age of the world's greatest civilizations has been 200 years.

A quote most often attributed to Sir Alex Fraser Tyler, a Scottish jurist and historian says, “A democracy cannot exist as a permanent form of government. It can only exist until the voters discover that they can vote themselves largesse from the public treasury. From that moment on, the majority always votes for the candidates promising the most benefits from the public treasury with the result that a democracy always collapses over loose fiscal policy, always followed by a dictatorship.”

Where do you think America is in the cycle?

Is America Following the Cycle?

GOOD NEWS TUCSON • www.GoodNewsTucson.com 5GOOD NEWS TUCSON • www.GoodNewsTucson.com 5

the heart of Dr. Joe Aldrich who was the President of Multnomah Bible College in Portland, Oregon. The question he often asked was, “What would it take to see a move of God initiated and sustained in a city?” Aldrich wrote, “While no two revivals are alike, they do share some common elements… As I have observed God working in dozens of Prayer Summits, (certain) phases normally have been present… The flow of God’s grace begins with a fresh revelation of His holiness. Holiness produces humility. Humility is the precursor to unity. When unity is present, the city-wide church can be a community (koinonia). Where there is community, there is impact.”

The desired end result of a Pastor’s Prayer Summit is greater love for the Savior, greater love for the other spiritual leaders in the city, greater love for all the saints,

and greater love for those not yet in God’s family.Because of the impact of that first Pastor’s Prayer Summit, a second one has been scheduled for March 8-11. You can see all the details at www.tucsonprayersummit.com. The Prayer Summit is supported by many pastors from several denominations and 4 Tucson.

To keep from becoming a statistic, encourage your pastor to participate. Perhaps when you are thanking him for the sermon he preaches next Sunday, you could also ask if he will be attending this year’s Pastor’s Prayer Summit. You could write him a note of appreciation and include the Prayer Summit web address, suggesting he take a look at it. You could go together with a few of your church friends and pay his registration fee (which is just $180.00 for the entire four day summit). Or you could give him a twenty dollar bill and mention you would be honored to pay the first twenty dollars of his registration.

Encourage the spiritual leaders you know to get away together with other pastors to listen to God’s voice, to renew and refresh their vision for their ministry and their church. Attending the Prayer Summit will be one of the best choices any pastor will make this year.

WE ARE BETTER TOGETHER!

By: Dennis Fuqua Executive Director of International Renewal Ministries

(www.prayersummits.net)

Here are some startling statistics on pastors accumulated over 18 years from Francis A. Schaeffer

Institute of Church Leadership Development, George Barna, Focus on the Family and Fuller Seminary:

Fifteen hundred pastors leave the ministry each • month due to moral failure, spiritual burnout, or contention in their churches. Fifty percent of pastors' marriages will end in • divorce. Eighty percent of pastors feel unqualified and • discouraged in their role as pastor. Fifty percent of pastors are so discouraged that they • would leave the ministry if they could, but they have no other way of making a living. Eighty percent of seminary and Bible school • graduates who enter the ministry will leave the ministry within the first five years. Seventy percent of pastors constantly fight • depression. Almost forty percent polled said they have had an • extra-marital affair since beginning their ministry. Seventy percent said the only time they spend • studying the Word is when they are preparing their sermons

Whoa! What’s happening to pastors?

Tucson’s second annual Pastor’s Prayer Summit is one opportunity for pastors, across denominational, racial, and generational lines, to get away for four days with no scripts, no agendas, no formal teaching times – just pure spiritual renewal and a focus on Jesus.

Last March, 21 pastors from Tucson got away for four days to simply laugh together, pray together, confess together, cry together, repent together, and sing together. We learned about each other and we learned from each other. We bore one another’s burdens and we rejoiced with a deep sense of awe in how God wanted each of us to work together to see His purpose accomplished in our city.

About 20 years ago, Prayer Summits were born in

What is Happening ToPastors?


A popular indictment of the Church today is that religion is a hindrance to scientific discovery. The

370 year old evidence cited by those opposed to anything that references a Creator is that of Galileo Galilei. Galileo is considered the father of modern astronomy, modern physics and modern science. Theoretical Physicist, Stephen Hawking says, "Galileo, perhaps more than any other single person, was responsible for the birth of modern science.” Galileo is most remembered for his improvements to the telescope and his astronomical observations. He is also remembered for his conflict with the Catholic Church when he began advocating that the sun was stationary and at the center of the universe. This was opposed to the teachings of the day that the earth was the center of the universe.

Although he was cleared of any offense at that time, the Catholic Church condemned heliocentrism, the theory that the sun was at the center of the universe, as "false and contrary to Scripture" in February 1616 and Galileo was warned to abandon his support for it—which he promised to do. When he later defended his views in his most famous work, Dialogue Concerning the Two Chief World Systems, published in 1632, he was tried by the Inquisition, found "vehemently suspect of heresy," forced to recant, and spent the rest of his life under house arrest.

A contemporary of Galileo was Johannes Kepler. In a student disputation as a seminary student in a Protestant university, Kepler defended heliocentrism from both a theoretical and theological perspective. He maintained that the sun was the principal source of power in the universe.

In his book published in 1596, Mysterium Cosmographicum (The Cosmographic Mystery), Kepler argued that he had revealed God’s geometrical plan for the universe. Much of Kepler’s enthusiasm for the Copernican system stemmed from his theological convictions about the connection between the physical and the spiritual: the universe itself was an image of God, with the sun corresponding to the Father, the stellar sphere to the Son, and the intervening space between to the Holy Spirit. His first manuscript of Mysterium contained an extensive chapter reconciling heliocentrism with biblical passages that seemed to support geocentrism, the theory that the earth was the center of the universe.

What is not taught in schools today is that most of the great scientists who fathered many of the modern sciences were theologians first. They were motivated by the religious conviction that God had created the world according to an intelligible plan that is accessible through

the natural light of reason. Their studies of the scriptures led them to study mathematics, philosophy, astronomy, physics, chemistry, biology, hydrology, meteorology, cosmology, anthropology and geology to better understand God and His creation. The Bible is not a science book, yet it is scientifically accurate. We are not aware of any scientific evidence that contradicts the Bible.

Modern science often cherry picks pages of history and ignorantly proclaims that religious belief hinders scientific discovery. Many advocate that belief in a Creator God is foolishness. In his 2006 bestselling non-fiction book, The God Delusion, British biologist Richard Dawkins writes, “I am against religion because it teaches us to be satisfied with not understanding the world.”

What’s alarming is that often those who oppose the Christian religion on scientific grounds propagate the religion of Global Warming with fanatical zeal. Oh, I almost forgot—the First Commandment of this religion is Thou Shalt Not Call It A Religion. Their bible is the report from Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and their primary evangelist is Al Gore.

One of the nasty secrets of the “church of global warming” according to Stephen Dubner and Steven Levitt, authors of Freakonomics, is that climatologists, like everyone else, respond to incentives in a way that shapes their conclusions. "The economic reality of research funding, rather than a disinterested and uncoordinated scientific consensus, leads the [climate] models to approximately match one another." In other words, the herd-of-independent-minds phenomenon happens to scientists too and isn't the sole province of politicians and news anchors. Levitt and Dubner point out that belching, flatulent cows are adding more greenhouse gases to the atmosphere than all SUVs combined. They note that sea levels will probably not rise much more than 18 inches by 2100, "less than the twice-daily tidal variation in most coastal locations." They observe that "not only is carbon plainly not poisonous, but changes in carbon-dioxide levels don't necessarily mirror human activity."

What happens to heretics in the church of global warming, those who dare to speak out that the scientific evidence does not support the popular belief in global warming? The scientific and academic establishment, with the complicity of the media and other gatekeepers, suppress all legitimate debate. In the movie, Expelled, No Intelligence Allowed, Ben Stein interviews many professors who dare to question Darwinian Evolution on scientific grounds. They are demonized and tried for heresy, forced to recant and sentenced to spend the rest of their lives expelled from scientific discovery in the

Modern Day Inquisition


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academic world. Sound familiar?

The Bible has stood the challenges of critics over several thousand years and where it speaks on science, there has been no dispute. The IPPC report, on the other hand, has many detractors who find themselves in a war with the self-appointed defenders of the faith in evolution and global warming.

In his book, Darwinism: The Refutation of a Myth, Soren Lovtrup says, "I believe that one day the Darwinian myth will be ranked the greatest deceit in the history of science."

The debate over Global Warming, Darwinian Evolution, Creation and Intelligent Design is a worldview battle that goes much deeper than a scientific theory. The modern day Inquisitors want to destroy any foundation for a standard of ethics or morality.

“Professing to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like corruptible man – and birds and four-footed animals and creeping things. Therefore God also gave them up to uncleanness, in the lusts of their hearts, to dishonor their bodies among themselves, who exchanged the truth of God for the lie, and worshipped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen.” Romans 1:22-25 (NKJ)

So in this great debate, who are the seekers of truth and who are the defenders of political orthodoxy? Political orthodoxy is always about power, not truth. If truth is the goal of scientific discovery then all sources should be considered in the discovery process and should only be excluded from further consideration when proven to be in scientific error.

Let the quest for truth begin!

Geocentric picture of the Universe


I Carry a Gun Because a Cop is Too Heavy!

These are interesting times in which we live! 1776 would also have been an interesting time to live. Think

about what it might have been like to live when these words were penned and unanimously agreed upon by the Second Continental Congress:

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness. That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed.”

Our Founding Fathers uncannily understood the weaknesses of governments to protect its citizens and they seemed to know that those who govern unchecked often become tyrants who enslave people for their own benefit. Our Founding Fathers wanted to make absolutely sure that the citizens of our American nation would have the power to protect themselves from tyranny and from those who would rob them of life, liberty or the pursuit of happiness.

Let’s listen to some of the Founders’ wisdom about the importance of an armed citizenry:

“Firearms stand next in importance to the Constitution itself. They are the American people’s liberty teeth and keystone under independence.”George Washington.

“The Constitution preserves the advantage of being armed which Americans possess over the people of almost every other nation...(where) the governments are afraid to trust the people with arms.”James Madison, The Federalist #46.

“No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms.”Thomas Jefferson, Proposed Virginia Constitution (1776), Jefferson Papers 344 (J. Boyd, ed. 1950).

“The great object is, that every man be armed...Everyone who is able may have a gun...”Patrick Henry, 3 Elliott Debates 386.

“The Constitution shall never be construed to prevent the people of the United States who are peaceable citizens from keeping their own arms.”Samuel Adams, during Massachusetts’ U.S. Constitution Ratification Convention (1788).

“Before a standing army can rule, the people must be disarmed; as they are in almost every kingdom in Europe. The supreme power in America can not enforce unjust laws by the sword, because the whole body of the people are armed, and constitute a force superior to any band of regular troops that can be, on any pretense, raised in the United States.”Noah Webster, An Examination Into the Leading Principals of the Federal Constitution (1787).

These days, if you want to sound like a real radical, just go around quoting our Founding Fathers. Our nation has moved so far away from the understanding of what it takes to remain free.

Unwilling to take personal responsibility to ensure their liberty, Americans in 2010 seem willing to surrender their firearms and trust the government to take care of them. Take a look at the article, Is America Following the Cycle? on page 4. To prevent bondage requires continued vigilance.

Patrick Henry said in 1788 during Virginia’s ratification convention:“Guard with jealous attention the public liberty. Suspect every one who approaches that jewel. Unfortunately, nothing will preserve it but downright force. Whenever you give up that force, you are ruined.”

Contrast Patrick Henry’s statement with these statements:“Our task of creating a socialist America can only succeed when those who would resist us have been totally disarmed.”Sara Brady, Chairman, Handgun Control, to Sen.Howard Metzanbaum, The National Educator, January 1994, p. 3.


“The most effective means of fighting crime in the United States is to outlaw the possession of any type of firearm by the civilian population.”Attorney General, Janet Reno, 1991 speech to B’nai B’rith in Fort Lauderdale (St. Louis Post-Dispatch, August 25, 1996, p. 3B).

“We have staked the whole future of the American civilization, not upon the power of the government (but) upon the capacity of each and all of us to govern ourselves, to control ourselves, to sustain ourselves according to the Ten Commandments of God.”James Madison.

“Men by their constitutions are naturally divided into two parties: 1) Those who fear and distrust the people 2) Those who identify themselves with the people, have confidence in them, cherish and consider them as the most honest and safe depository of the public interest.”Thomas Jefferson.

Firearms are not just to protect you from over reaching politicians, but they also serve to protect you and your family from those who would rather take what you have than to work for it themselves. The Second Amendment was no accident: A well regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed.

Here are some thoughts from more radicals: “Arms in the hands of individual citizens may be used at individual discretion...in private self-defense.”John Adams, A Defense of the Constitutions (1787-88).

“Arms discourage and keep the invader and plunderer in awe, and preserve order in the world as well as property. Horrid mischief would ensue were the law-abiding deprived of the use of them.”Thomas Paine, Thoughts on Defensive War (1775).

The fact is that home invasions or holdups or carjackings often take fewer than three minutes. Police just can’t respond quickly enough in most cases. We encourage anyone with a firearm to learn how to use it safely. Take a safety class. In Arizona, you can carry a firearm openly or take a concealed carry class and get a permit to carry a firearm in your purse or pocket.

Are there really Americans who want to take away the freedom of its citizens to own and use a firearm? Yes, there are!!!

“We’re going to have to take this one step at a time, and the first step is necessarily— given the political realities— going to be very modest. Our ultimate goal—total control of all guns—is going to take time. The first problem is to slow down the increasing number of handguns being produced and sold in this country. The second problem is to get handguns registered, and the final problem is

to make possession of all handguns, and all handgun ammunition totally illegal.”Nelson T. (Pete) Shields, III, founding Chair of Handgun Control, Inc.

You may want to join the National Rifle Association, America’s strongest gun advocate organization, to help ensure that people who want to rob you of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness are not successful in disarming the citizenry of the United States of America

“They that give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety.”Benjamin Franklin, Historical Review of Pennsylvania (1759).

Whether you choose to own a firearm or not, we must all understand that the Second Amendment is absolutely essential in maintaining the unique freedom we enjoy in America.

It is imperative that every American understand what our first President understood. “When firearms go, all goes. We need them every hour.”George Washington

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Wentworth Cheswell(1746-1817)

This article was taken from WallBuilders.com. They “present America’s forgotten history and heroes, with

an emphasis on our moral, religious, and constitutional heritage.”

Wentworth Cheswell (sometimes Chiswell or Cheswill) is one of those overlooked but critically important patriots from America’s rich history. He was the grandson of black slave Richard Cheswell (who gained his freedom and in 1717 and became the first black to own property in the colony of New Hampshire); and he was the son of Hopestill Cheswell, a notable homebuilder who built the homes of several patriot leaders, including John Paul Jones and the Rev. Samuel Langdon. Wentworth was named after the famous Wentworth family, from whom came several state governors, including Benning Wentworth – the governor at the time of Wentworth’s birth.

In 1763, Wentworth began attending an academy in Byfield, Massachusetts (30 miles from his home), where for four years he received an extensive education, studying Latin, Greek, swimming, horsemanship, reading, writing, and arithmetic.

In 1767, he returned home and became a school teacher, also marrying Mary Davis (they eventually had 13 children – 4 sons and 9 daughters). At the age of 21, he had already become an established and educated property owner and a stalwart in his local church, even holding a church pew.

The following year, Wentworth was elected town constable – the first of many offices he held throughout his life. Two years later in 1770, he was elected town selectman (the selectmen were considered the “town fathers” of a community). Other town offices in which he served included seven years as Auditor, six years as Assessor, two years as Coroner, seven years as town Moderator (presiding over town meetings), and twelve years as Justice of the Peace, overseeing trials, settling disputes, and executing deeds, wills, and legal documents. For half a century – including every year from 1768 until 1817 – Wentworth held some position in local government.

In addition to his civic service, Wentworth was also a patriot leader. In fact, the town selected him as the messenger for the Committee of Safety – the central nervous system of the American Revolution that carried intelligence and messages back and forth between strategic operational centers. Serving in that position, Wentworth undertook the same task as Paul Revere, making an all-night ride to warn citizens of imminent British invasion.In April 1776, he signed a document in which he pledged, “at the risk of . . . life and fortune,” to take up arms to resist the British, and in September 1777, he enlisted in a company of Light Horse Volunteers commanded by Colonel John Langdon (Langdon later became one of the 55 Founding Fathers who drafted the U. S. Constitution, then a framer of the Bill of Rights, and later the New Hampshire governor). Langdon’s company made a 250-mile march to Saratoga, New York, to join with the Continental Army under General Horatio Gates to defeat British General Burgoyne at the Battle of Saratoga

– the first major American victory in the Revolution.

After returning from Saratoga, in the spring of 1778, Wentworth was elected to the convention to draft the state’s first constitution, but some unknown event prevented his attendance.

Wentworth also served as Newmarket’s unofficial historian, copying town records from 1727 (including the records of various church meetings) and chronicling old stories of the town as well as its current events. Additionally, having investigated

and made extensive notes on numerous artifacts and relics he discovered in the region around Newmarket, he is considered the state’s first archeologist. Therefore, when the Rev. Jeremy Belknap published his famous three-volume History of New Hampshire (1784-1792), he relied on (and openly acknowledged) much information he gleaned from Wentworth.

In 1801, Wentworth helped start the town library to preserve and disseminate useful knowledge and virtue. His commitment to providing helpful information is not surprising, for not only had he become a school teacher in 1767 but in 1776 he was elected as one of five men to regulate and oversee the schools of Newmarket.

In 1817, in his 71st year of age, Wentworth succumbed to typhus fever and was buried on the family farm, where

A Black Revolutionary Era Patriot

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other members of his family were later buried. In fact, when his daughter Martha died (his last surviving heir), her will provided that any members or descendants of the family could forever forward be buried on the farm. Unfortunately, that family graveyard long lay in disrepair, but in recent years friends and family have managed to restore it.

The legacy of Wentworth Cheswell is a lasting one: a patriot, teacher, and church leader; an historian, archeologist, and educator; a judge and official elected to numerous offices (he is considered the first black American elected to office in America). He is truly one of our forgotten patriots but he is a laudable example for all Americans – a hero worth remembering and honoring during Black History Month. Sources:William C. Nell, The Colored Patriots of the American Revolution, With Sketches of Several Distinguished Colored Persons: To Which is Added a Brief Survey of the Conditions and Prospects of Colored Americans (Boston: Robert F. Wallcut, 1855), pp. 120-121.

Sidney and Emma Nogrady Kaplan, The Black Presence in the Era of the American Revolution, Revised Edition (Amherst: The University of Massachusetts Press, 1989), pp. 200-202.

Thomas Truxtun Moebs, Black Soldiers-Black Sailors-Black Ink: Research Guide on African-Americans in U.S. Military History, 1526-1900 (Chesapeake Bay: Moebs Publishing Company, 1994), pp. 226, 259, 280.


The most common responses to the Jesus question are:

"He was a good man. I admire Him a lot, but Jesus was not God.”

"He was a great teacher, but Jesus did not rise from the dead.""Jesus never did any of the miracles recorded in the Bible.""The real Jesus was nothing like the Jesus described in the Bible. The church changed the Bible at one of the church councils.""There is no evidence that Jesus ever existed. Jesus is a myth like Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny."

As Christians, we need to be prepared to help people with any one of these responses.

“But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect, keeping a clear conscience, so that those who speak maliciously against your good behavior in Christ may be ashamed of their slander.” 1 Peter 3:15 (NIV)

These responses are often made by those who have reasonable questions about Christianity. These repeated statements deserve to be examined by the facts that can help people learn who really don’t know. Let’s deal with each statement one by one.

1) "He was a good man. I admire Him a lot, but Jesus was not God."One example where Jesus claimed to be God is in John 10:30-33: “I and the Father are one." Again the Jews picked up stones to stone him, but Jesus said to them, "I have shown you many great miracles from the Father. For which of these do you stone me?" "We are not stoning you for any of these," replied the Jews, “but for blasphemy, because you, a mere man, claim to be God." Jesus claimed to be God so you have to accept that fact or reject Him as a liar. If He was a liar he was not a good man. If he wasn’t lying – He is God as He claimed.

2) "He was a great teacher, but Jesus did not rise from the dead."The resurrection of Jesus is unique. No other religion in the world claims anything similar to it. The resurrection of Jesus has more historical evidence confirming it than any other miracle in ancient history. After His resurrection,

Jesus appeared to over five hundred of His followers on multiple occasions. Jesus talked and ate with them. They not only saw Jesus: “With great power the apostles continued to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and much grace was upon them all.” Acts 4:33 (NIV)

3) "Jesus never did the miracles recorded in the Bible." It is significant that Jesus' enemies never denied that He performed miracles. Rather, they claimed that He did His miracles through evil means. If Jesus' contemporaries affirmed that Jesus was a miracle worker, then the evidence for His miracles must have been overwhelming! “Do not believe me unless I do what my Father does. But if I do it, even though you do not believe me, believe the miracles, that you may know and understand that the Father is in me, and I in the Father." John 10:37-38 (NIV)

4) "The real Jesus was nothing like the Jesus described in the Bible. The church changed the Bible at one of the church councils." This question cannot stand up against the overwhelming historical evidence that most of the many scripts that were written and exist today predate the first church council in A.D. 325. There are more than 14,000 Old Testament manuscripts, some date back as far as 400 B.C., and there are over 5,300 manuscripts of the New Testament, with nearly 800 of them written before 1000 A.D. There are no variations or alterations between manuscripts. It might be possible to manipulate them over time if there were only a few manuscripts, but is would be nearly impossible to go all over the world, find all the known manuscripts and change them. Through archeology we are still discovering new Biblical manuscripts today. They also are the same. The evidence is overwhelming that the Bible taught today is historically accurate as is the description of Jesus.

5) "There is no evidence that Jesus ever existed. Jesus is a myth like Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny." It is popular to say that the only ancient references referring to Jesus are found in the Bible. The truth is that many ancient historians refer to Jesus. For example, the Roman historian Tacitus referred to Jesus at least three times in his writings. Suetonius, who was on the staff of Emperor Hadrian in the early second century, wrote about Jesus. The Jewish historian Josephus, as well as the Jewish Talmud, mentioned Jesus.

Believe in Him or not, the evidence is overwhelming - Jesus is the real deal.

This article sponsored by www.everystudent.com

What do you think about Jesus?


“Just as Mom meets our needs, she will meet yours and always goes the extra mile,” says Precious.

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Amy Harris – Sophomore at Tanque Verde High School

I’ve always been referred to as the “good little Christian” girl. My friends know I go to church and when I’m asked about it, I view it as an opportunity to share with them. They also know of my strong Christian background and that my dad is a pastor. I go to small public high school and not very many of my classmates go to church regularly. In fact, some of my friends have never even been to a church. When I think about

all my friends and classmates who have yet to know the love of Jesus Christ, it saddens me.

I’ve never been an out-going person, never the first to say, “Hello” or “How are you?” to a stranger, but I always try to be kind. I try to invite friends to church events or youth group, but the answer is most often “I'm too busy” or “maybe some other time.” Being a Christian was never promised to be easy, but I’ve learned to just take problems as they come.

It’s hard to be accountable for standards that would be okay with anyone else but wrong for a Christian. Because none of my friends at school go to church, I’m constantly reminded that I need to be an example of a Christian. I may be the only Christian they know. I don’t swear and a lot of my friends notice and have started not swearing around me. I don’t wear inappropriate clothing or act in ways that would be unfitting for a teenage girl. I don’t use God’s name in vain and have started to stop my friends from saying God’s name as profanity. These may be insignificant acts in the grand scheme of things, but it has allowed some people to get to see who I am as a Christian. Although Christians in the public school system may be few, I have learned that small acts of kindness and a good example can go a long way in helping them see Jesus.

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Just a few weeks ago, during a 4 Tucson presentation to a group of Christian leaders, I made the statement that while reading the Bible I came across the verse above. I told them, “I believe we can find 144,000 Christians in our metro Tucson region that will be unafraid to identify themselves as Christians and will be willing to get involved in making a difference in our city.”

One of those leaders skeptically said, “I don’t believe there are 144,000 Christians in all of Tucson, much less that would get involved.”

Maybe he’s right. I don’t believe it!!!

Let me introduce you to 4 Tucson.

We see 4 Tucson serving as a catalyst to engage the Christian Community in the needs and dreams of Tucson to bring about spiritual renewal and prosperity locally and globally.

All my life I have taught that the Bible has an answer to every problem that faces mankind. The problem is that the Bible is not indexed. You can’t just look in the index to find the page that gives you the answer to your particular problem. It often takes knowing enough of God’s word to understand God’s principles and precepts and how to properly apply them to your situation.

4 Tucson is a 501(c)3 that is trying to mobilize the Christian community to solve problems in our city that no one seems to be able to fix. We believe the Bible offers positive solutions that can be implemented to the benefit of all citizens in Tucson.

Our mission is to serve as partner with every sector and

I am one of144,000 4 TucsonThen I looked, and behold, a Lamb standing on Mount Zion, and with Him one hundred and forty-four thousand, having His Father’s name written on their foreheads.

Revelation 14:1

domain of society based on common love, common goals and the common good to make Tucson one of the most livable cities in the world, allowing each partner to determine the part they should play.

Christians have a lot of interests, many talents and varied spiritual gifts. Some Christians will be highly motivated to work on one issue and have no interest in another. The Bible teaches that God has placed His people with all the necessary gifts and abilities to solve all the problems our city faces. The key is getting together to develop workable solutions and implement them through churches.

4 Tucson is also going to raise money for city-wide issue advocacy, strategic church planting, a media campaign to promote Christianity, and to purchase unwanted church buildings for future church plants.

Now back to my skeptical friend. Can we find 144,000 Christians in Tucson? Would you be willing to get involved with other Christians to develop lasting solutions for our city? Would you be willing to invest just $100 in 2010 to become one of 144,000 Christians in Tucson that want to make a positive difference in our world? This is only $8.33 a month, if you’d like to make monthly contributions.

If you would like to be “One of a 144,000 Christians 4 Tucson,” go to our website at www.4Tucson.com sign up and be counted. Together with Christ, nothing is impossible!

Mark Harris, Founder and President of 4 Tucson

T U C S O N

144,000

Documents

Good News Tucson Magazine February 2010