To those who may not be Christians who happen on this Webpage

While there are a good many fine, positive and "uplifting" articles and reports given on this Webpage, it is true that there are articles that are critical of some of our brothers and sisters in the Christian Church. Many people worry about the impression that these critical stands will make on you who are do not share our faith and values. We worry about that, too.

Not that we strive to known as "the nice guys in the white hats" in your eyes, but we want to be honest and faithful to our religion. You see we want to be real, genuine Christians. That does not mean we will always act or speak "nicely" or inoffensively, especially to our brothers and sisters in the Christian family. But it does mean that when we do misbehave and break the Laws of God, we will admit it to Him and whomever we wrongly offend. As Christians we trust that God will forgive us. We also hope that you will understand that we are dealing with matters of important religious convictions.

Many religions have as one their tenets "tolerance for others' religions." Christianity teaches love for all men and forbids us from persecuting and killing those of other religions, but not from defending ourselves and others. We are to "do good to all men, but especially to the household of faith." (Galatians 6:10)

Conservative, old-fashioned Christians who desire to be truly faithful to the teachings of our Founder, Jesus of Nazareth, the Christ promised in the Old Testament of the Bible are charged by the Founder to be "strict constructionists" of the Old and New Testament. These books say what God wants them to say and mean what He wants them to mean. We do not think we have the right or responsibility to change, interpret, modify or ignore these holy teachings. Interpretations have led to some sad divisions among Christians when their simplicity and clarity is ignored for whatever reasons; for example, to not be offensive to non-Christians.

Part of our love for non-Christians is our desire for them to know, accept and trust the teachings of Jesus as the Truth. That will mean that you will escape the eternal punishment our Founder says await those who trust anything other than Him to rescue them. But there is no limit to those whom He desires to rescue. He performed His work of sacrifice on behalf of all those who could not make worthy enough sacrifices to make up for breaking God's Holy Laws. And He invites you to know and trust Him.

But in order for you or anyone else to trust Jesus to bring you into a joyful eternal place with God, you must also realize, as we have, that all other gods and religious practices "must go." This is often very hard for inquirers to understand, but God says He is the only real God. All others are imagined by men or products of the Evil Spirit, who hates the One Father, Son and Holy Spirit God. There just is no inoffensive way to get the truth across. Missionaries often spend years teaching of the love of Jesus before people can let go of long held beliefs and traditions. But they do and are happy they did, since they now have the certainty of joy in the next life.

Other religions basically teach that the individual gains joy in eternity by doing certain religious activities, pilgrimages, diets, sacrifices or prayers demanded by their gods or god. Jesus teaches that in order to "do it yourself," you must do it perfectly. You must be absolutely perfect. Righteous. Without any blots, stains or omissions on the record of your life. This is impossible for people who are by nature unable to be holy. Good, yes, but "perfect." Not possible. So Christians abandon all hope in any kind of deeds or works that they do to please God.

God tells us He sent His Son, Jesus, from the spirit world to earth to become a real human being, but without the human weakness. He obeyed God's Laws perfectly. And He suffered the punishment that God threatens against all law breakers, you included. God then erased the record of all your wrong to replace it with Jesus' own perfect record. Why? He calls it "grace." Undeserved love toward His hopeless and imperfect creatures. "God made Him who did not know sin to be sin in our place, that we, in Him, might be made as righteous as God is." 2 Corinthians 5:23

The One Father, Son and Holy Spirit God has this kind of love for you and your family. He begs that you leave your traditional gods and follow Him. He does not want to condemn anyone. He wants to rescue all people. But He will only do it on His terms. He is God, after all.