Expert: Mr. McClellan - 9/4/2009

Question
QUESTION: Mr. McClellan,

         Hello sir. I was probing through some of the previously asked questions & answers on your profile page and came across a question on beliefs from a young woman. Very good question posed by her. You included some suggested readings to help her in her understanding of the bible along with her continued reading , research, and study of the bible. Would so kindly suggest some readings for me that could help me better understand the Word of God? If you remember me, you will know it is greatly apreciated. Thank you in advance.

ANSWER: Hello Zacchai,
If you'll give me a few days, I'll get back to you on this. OK?
Mr. McClellan

OK Zacchai,
Here are a few good references and some reading materials.
http://www.religioustolerance.org/ This site has a huge amount of stuff on, I suppose, every so called religion there is (almost).
You can get Walter Martin's book "Kingdom of the Cults" free online in pdf. You'll just have to do a search, I don't remember the web address.
Read "Wars of the Jews" by josephus. You can get it and other things at the e-sword site for free. "Christianity: a clear case of history" by Ed Wharton is good.
KEEP IN MIND that you should not believe something just because the writer had "Phd" or some other letters after his name. If you will just think about it carefully enough, you'll figure out how to know the truth for certain, no guessing and none of this "you just have to have faith" (prejudice) stuff. That's the stuff false teachers want you to believe. There is one absolutely sure way to know what the truth really is though you are going to have to start thinking outside of the box to do it. Everybody can't be right and everybody be in disagreement at the same time. That dog just won't hunt, as the saying goes.
Well, if you get tired of all the junk out there (and you have to go through it just to be sure you're not missing something important), let me know. Believe me, I know how confusing it all is and it will continue to cause you a lot of frustration until you learn how to recognize what's true and what isn't true. Actually, it's really very simple but almost no one ever figures out how to do it. And, if I just tell them right out they're not likely to appreciate it nearly as much as if they find it on their own, at least mostly.
Dig, dig, dig. The truth really is there, right in front of you and it always has been but you have to want to uncover it at any cost.

Hope this encourages you some.
Sincerely,
Mr. McClellan


---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Mr. McClellan,

         Thank you for the web site. I have this simple thought or question if you will. Gambling.... How is that a sin. I was flipping through the channels and came across a preacher condemning gambling. So I wondered if it is a sin as I so often here religious people say it is. Now, I can understand if a person is neglecting their responsibility concerning their family or any other financial commitments they may have. But I don't see how it is wrong or a sin. Does it have some witchcraft voodoo astrological roots I am unaware of that factors some funny reasoning of chance rather than reality, as far as sin is understood? What does the bible have to say about this? Thank you again in advance

Answer
Hello Zaccahai,
Gambling, per se, is not a sin unless, as you recognized, it keeps you from fulfilling other responsibilities such as feeding your family or someone else for example. We take hundreds of gambles every day from the time we get out of bed to the time we go to sleep at night. Most of these, however, are necessary gambles. You must always keep in mind, when deciding if a thing is right or wrong, what your motive is or what someone else's motive is or was. People who just catagorically describe some act to be a sin, no matter what the reason might be, are called legalists and are just like the Jewish leaders that Jesus condemned for their hypocrisy. Two major faults those people had were holding double standards and trying to strictly abide by the literal letter of the law. Both are wrong. In doing such things, they were guilty of requiring more of people than God does and in requiring things of people that they did not require of themselves. In the judgement, according to the Bible, no one will receive greater punishment than such people as these.

I hope this helps.
Mr. McClellan