Thursday, May 11, 2023

Searching for Truth

People today desperately want to know what is true and authentic in a world increasingly characterized by cultural confusion and a loss of trust in established institutions. 

Are the answers to life found in the writings of secular scientists who tell us that we’re simply a product of chance – an accidental mixture of elements in one stage of development, no more important in the long range scheme of things than a rock, or a sea urchin? 

 Are the answers found in the philosophical musings of Eastern mystics who explain that we’re a very small part of an all-pervasive life force that in the end draws us into itself so that we lose our individuality and become nothing? 

Are we unique individuals created by an all-powerful Creator who has a purpose for each person?  But, if so, why is there so much pain and suffering in what should be a perfect world?

What Do You Think? 

As a Christian working in the media industry in the Boston and New York City metropolitan areas for over 40 years, I’ve had many meaningful conversations with actors, producers, directors, engineers, studio owners and many others about whether or not God is real and the Bible is true.

Some told me they clearly didn’t believe in God, thought the Bible was filled with fairy tales and wondered how I could possibly think that a Supreme Being did, in fact, exist.

Others weren’t sure. They thought there might be a God, but had never heard any clear arguments supporting that belief from what they were taught in school, what they saw or heard in museums and on TV or in conversations with friends and peers.  

Still others considered themselves believers, but had honest questions that about their faith, and especially why a good God would allow so much pain and suffering to exist in the world.

Often during those conversations, I wished I had a relatively short, easy-to-read book that I could give them that would provide honest answers to honest questions. Not finding any that I liked, I decided to write one.  

Thoughtful Answers to Thoughtful Questions

Searching for Truth in Vegas, Hollywood & Bethlehem . . . The Quest to Discover if God is Real addresses many of the questions thoughtful people often ask about the nature of God, the nature of life, and the validity of Biblical Christianity. 

For example: 

Is there a God?  What about evolution?  How about Eastern mysticism?  Is the Bible really God's Word?  How close is the Bible of today to the original Bible?  How does it differ from other great works of religious literature?  Did Jesus really rise from the dead?  If God is good and sovereign, why is there excessive pain and suffering in the world? 

John Warwick Montgomery, a lawyer, professor, theologian and author who has eleven earned degrees, including doctorates in philosophy, theology and law, has commented,

“Your MS is an excellent popular case for biblical faith.  It is carefully researched, very well written, and stylistically attractive.”

Searching for Truth in Vegas, Hollywood & Bethlehem is available in paperback, as an eBook and as an audiobook on Amazon.com

It provides honest answers to honest questions.  I hope you’ll enjoy reading it.  God bless.


Tuesday, May 10, 2022

Abortion . . . What's It Really All About?

 

With the current controversy swirling around the US Supreme Court decison to overturn Roe v. Wade and the role that decision is now playing in the current midterm elections, it’s important to understand what the root issue is in the abortion controversy. 

Abortion has very little to do with a woman's right to choose.  It has very much to do with allowing men to use women, and then abandon those women when they get pregnant with their child, not just her child.

Pro-Life Feminists 

Most people don’t realize it, but the women who began the Women’s Rights Movement in the nineteenth century were strongly pro-life.  Susan B. Anthony, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Matilda Joslyn Gage and others understood correctly that abortion then, as now, is sometimes injurious to women . . . and 100% fatal for their unborn children.

Gage, writing in the April 9, 1868 issue of The Revolution – the official newspaper of the National Woman Suffrage Association begun by Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton – wrote:

“. . .  the crime of abortion is not one in which the guilt lies solely or even chiefly with the woman . . . I hesitate not to assert that most of this crime of 'child murder,' 'abortion,' 'infanticide,' lies at the door of the male sex.”

Mattie Brinkerhoff wrote in that same publication a year later,

“When a man steals to satisfy hunger, we may safely conclude that there is something wrong in society – so when a woman destroys the life of her unborn child, it is an evidence that either by education or circumstances she has been greatly wronged.”

Susan B. Anthony commented, 

“Guilty?  Yes.  No matter what the motive, love of ease, or a desire to save from suffering the unborn innocent, the woman is awfully guilty who commits the deed.  It will burden her conscience in life, it will burden her soul in death.  But, oh, thrice guilty is he who drove her to desperation which impelled her to the crime!”

The reason why these women were opposed to abortion is actually quite obvious.  Abortion cuts to the core of what it means to be a woman.  For, unlike every biological male who has ever existed, only women can be the agents of one of the most miraculous events that can occur here on earth – the conception and birth of a child.   

Pro-Choice Feminists

The women’s movement became pro-choice during the height of the free-love movement in the 1960s out of self-defense. 

The fact is that free love produces babies.  And it is the woman who literally “bears” the responsibility of the sexual activity in the form of a child.

It was all too often the case in the sixties that irresponsible males abandoned their children and the mothers of their children in pursuit of greener pastures.  The question that was then asked over and over again by women was,

“Where were the men when the babies were born?!”

That pattern continues today, except that men can soothe their consciences to a certain degree by telling themselves that if she gets pregnant, she can always get an abortion!

Considering the abysmal record of some in high public office when it comes to personal morality, it’s no wonder abortion legislation passes.  The actions of these legislators are too often motivated not by a concern for the best interests of women, but by a concern for what they see as the best interests for themselves.

The Heart of the Issue

Abortion is the most important moral issue of our day, in much the same way that slavery was for America in the nineteenth century, and the “Final Solution” was for citizens of Nazi Germany in the twentieth century.  In each of those cases, as in the case of abortion today, it was deemed acceptable to deprive a certain group of people of their inherent rights as human beings – in the case of abortion, depriving a human being of the right to life itself.

A child inside the womb is not just a piece of tissue that is part of a woman’s body.  Every cell in an unborn child’s body is genetically distinct from its mother . . . just as every cell in the bodies of every child or adult outside the womb is genetically distinct from its mother.

The scientifically determined fact of the matter is that human life begins at conception and is continuous, whether inside or outside the womb, until death. 

The motives of many pro-choice people who want to help women in need are clearly honorable.  Unfortunately, the method they seek to employ is misguided.  Abortion often harms women physically and psychologically, and it’s always fatal for their unborn children, who, if they had been given the right to choose, would undoubtedly have chosen life.

Just like with slavery and the holocaust, there will come a time in the future when people will look back on this generation and wonder how a civilized people could ever have considered that the taking of an innocent human being’s life would be something that was not only allowed, but considered good.


Thursday, October 11, 2018

How Many Will There Be?

Who is more powerful, God or the devil?  

Will the devil ultimately succeed in foiling God’s plan?  

Asked another way . . .  

“How many will there be, ultimately, in the number of the damned?”

More than 3,500 people watched as Lucifer confronted St. John, the author of the book of Revelation, with that very question in a theatrical performance at the Magnificat Day of Thanksgiving Saturday, October 6, at the Kings Theater in Brooklyn, NY.    

The Seven Mysteries of Salvation was written by Pierre-Marie Dumont – a French layman and founding publisher of Magnificat, a prayer and devotional magazine reaching hundreds of thousands of Catholics worldwide every month. The Mysteries were performed by a troupe of New York actors, a world-class symphony orchestra and choir . . . and me.  I had the privilege of playing St. John.

The Seventh Mystery – The Ultimate Triumph of Love begins with Guiseppe Verdi’s Day of Wrath, and ends with the orchestra, chorus and audience singing Sing With All The Saints by Ludwig van Beethoven.

So, how many do you think there will be, ultimately, in the number of the damned?  

It’s a question that affects not only each of us, but our families, our friends and literally billions of people we don’t even know.

Watch the performance here – https://youtu.be/DVIDtqJnTmQ?t=6427 – to see how John answered Lucifer! 

Thursday, July 05, 2018

Not Just Fire Insurance!



In any discussion about the possibility that Hell may not be forever, one question always comes up:

 If everyone eventually gets to heaven, why share your faith?

Some time ago I received a fund appeal letter from a mission organization that directly related to this issue.  The letter explained,

"The work of missions is not a numbers game, but numbers don’t lie.  Statistically, in the time it probably took you to scan the envelope, open the letter, and read these first two sentences, 10 human beings died having never heard the good news about Jesus.  Gone forever.

I’m told that about 150,000 people will die today!  Nearly half of them will have never heard that Jesus came that they might have life.  In fact, most of them live in places where they have no reasonable access to that truth . . .

We can sensationalize the numbers, but people are not numbers.  Jesus died for people, and as Dr. Henry said, 'The gospel is only good news if it gets there in time.'”

Won’t proclaiming the message that God will ultimately restore all of His creation to its intended perfection strip people of the motivation to share the message of Christ with others?  Why should missionaries and other dedicated Christians subject themselves to ridicule and deprivation by going out of their way, often to distant and backward lands, to tell others the “Good News” if everyone will get to heaven someday, anyway?  Won’t the message that God will eventually restore all have a dangerously negative effect on missions and evangelism?

The “Good News” Really Is Good News!

The Gospel does much more than simply provide a fire insurance policy to keep people out of Hell. 

People are not individuals whose lives may be important for a while, or even for a lifetime, but who are ultimately meant to be burned up or thrown away.  People are created beings of inestimable worth who need to be rescued by God from pursuing wasted, meaningless lives.

The Great Commission that Jesus gave commands us to make disciples, not just to make converts.  Evangelism is a by-product of making disciples and loving your neighbor.  If you are a true disciple of Jesus Christ who is growing in faith and in your relationship with God, you will be prepared and have a desire to share the truths you have learned with others.  If you genuinely love your neighbor, you will be alert to opportunities to not only try to convert them, but to help the whole person by ministering to the various needs in their lives that the Gospel addresses. 

Jesus came to give people an abundant and meaningful life.  The eternal life that He gives begins in the here and now, not just the hereafter.  As people fit in with God’s plan for their lives, they will experience reconciliation with God and one another, forgiveness of their sins and the ability to forgive those who have wronged them, power to overcome sinful patterns and behaviors, freedom from bondage to addictions, and true purpose.  The result is the greatest joy and true fulfillment possible. 

The “Good News” really is Good News!  And as the prophet Jeremiah explained when lamenting the fall of Jerusalem, God’s goodness doesn’t have a time limit attached to it.

“No one is cast off by the Lord forever.  Though He brings grief, He will show compassion, so great is His unfailing love.”

Available in Paperback, eBook and Audiobook formats

Thursday, June 21, 2018

Is the "Good News" . . . Good News?


I just returned from a trip to the Middle East where it became increasingly clear to me that the traditional concept of endless suffering in Hell is not good news! 

It’s not good news for a Muslim to hear that every ancestor, relative, friend or loved one who has died, and the vast majority of those still alive, have no hope.  It’s not good news for a Hindu or Buddhist to be told that all or almost all of the people they love and honor are experiencing or will experience endless, conscious suffering at the hands of the God you are telling them about.  For them, the message of never-ending punishment in Hell is not the most joyful news ever announced.  It’s the most dreadful news ever announced. 

That is one of the reasons it has been so hard for the gospel to take root in cultures that place a high value on family relationships.  The first Christian missionary to Japan, St. Francis Xavier, experienced this response to the message he preached.  He sent the following letter back to the Vatican in 1552:

One of things that most of all pains and torments these Japanese is that we teach them that the prison of hell is irrevocably shut.  For they grieve over the fate of their departed children, of their parents and relatives, and they often show their grief by their tears.  So they ask us if there is any hope, any way to free them by prayer from that eternal misery, and I am obliged to answer that there is absolutely none . . .

They often ask if God cannot take their fathers out of hell, and why their punishment must never have an end.  We gave them a satisfactory answer, but they did not cease to grieve over the misfortune of their relatives; and I can hardly restrain my tears sometimes at seeing men so dear to my heart suffer such intense pain about a thing which is already done with and can never be undone.

Not Then  . . . Not Now

The greatest time of expansion in the Christian Church was in the first few centuries after Christ, when the dominant view of the Church was that God would ultimately restore all of His creation to its intended perfection.  For them, Hell was real, but it didn’t last forever.  And it had a positive purpose.  They knew something about God's sovereign power coupled with His unfailing love for all that we have forgotten.

Punishment for sin is not the issue.  The real issue is whether or not suffering in Hell goes on forever, and the true teaching of Scripture is that it does not.

Over the years, I have listened to many people share testimonies of how and why they became Christians. 

Many have mentioned the example of a friend or acquaintance who demonstrated an inner strength, power over sin, or quality of life that impressed them.  Others have said that entering into a personal relationship with God gave them a sense of purpose in a world that seemed to have no direction, or that He provided a solid source of security at a time in their lives when everything else was falling apart.  A number have mentioned that Biblical Christianity provided clear answers to questions about life and the world around them that had a ring of truth to them.  

I can honestly say, however, that very few of the people I’ve talked to have said that they came to faith because they were afraid they would suffer endlessly in Hell if they did not believe, and becoming a Christian gave them peace of mind in that area.  In fact, in my experience, the doctrine of never-ending suffering has caused far more people to be driven away from the faith than drawn to it.

The experience of a friend speaks to the issue very well.

I used to be afraid to share the gospel, for fear that the conversation would come around to the subject of hell. I was afraid that someone would ask, “What about those who have never heard”? or “How can a good God allow billions of people to be tormented forever?” or “What’s the point of bringing people into existence only to suffer in this life, die, and then suffer forever with no hope of relief?” I had no good answers. Sure, I knew all the standard answers, but they didn’t satisfy me any more than they satisfied those who asked the questions.

Now I am free to share the gospel without worrying about getting trapped by good questions that have no good answers.  I can confidently proclaim that God is Love, that He is not a monster who allows people to spend eternity in perpetual suffering apart from Him.  At the same time, I can confidently proclaim that He is holy and righteous, He is a consuming fire, and He will not let anyone get away with anything.  He will do whatever it takes to make sinners holy, fit for spending eternity in His presence.

Now that is Good News!


Available in Paperback, eBook and Audiobook formats

Tuesday, May 08, 2018

Door Standing Open – Post Conference Report


“The conference was PIVOTAL and only enhanced my Faith.”  

“I feel so much better prepared now to give an answer for the hope that lies within!”  

“For me it was exactly what I needed to put the lingering doubts about Universal Salvation to rest.”  

“I believe I speak for most when I say we were sad to see it end.”

Those were some of the comments from participants who came to the Door Standing Open Conference 2018 from Rhode Island, Massachusetts, Connecticut, New York State, Pennsylvania, Virginia, South Carolina, Florida, Texas, Colorado, Arkansas, Oregon, Ontario and British Columbia, Canada, Finland and Sweden.

“Never-ending hell is not Good News!” said George W. Sarris, award-winning author of Heaven’s Doors . . . Wider than You Ever Believed!  “It is not good news that God loses . . . forever . . . most of those created in His image.”  He explained, “That was not the teaching of the Early Church.  It is not the teaching of the Bible.  And it’s contrary to what the Bible teaches about the nature and character of God.”

Just recently Pope Francis questioned the traditional translation of the Greek word peirasmos as temptation,” said David Konstan, Brown University Professor Emeritus of Classics and Comparative Literature.  “This is just one of many Greek words in the New Testament being translated differently these days, involving such fundamental ideas as sin, repentance, faith, punishment, forgiveness – and eternity,” he added.  In his talk, Konstan, who is co-author of Terms for Eternity: Aionios and Aidios in Classic and Christian Texts, explained in detail “Why Greek Matters.”  

Brad Jersak, professor of New Testament and Theology at St. Stephen’s University New Brunswick and author of Her Gates Will Never Be Shut, discussed why “the concept of universal restoration is far from heresy or even a novelty among fringe groups.”  In fact, it was the central theme of some of the most respected teachers and theologians in the first five centuries of the Christian Church.

“The Universalist interpretation of the Bible is far more plausible than either a Calvinist or Arminian interpretation,” argued Thomas Talbott, Professor Emeritus of Philosophy at Willamette University and author of The Inescapable Love of God.  His talk explained the reasons why.

W. Scott Axford, the 19th Pastor of the nearly 200-year-old First Universalist Church in Providence   a Trinitarian Christian congregation upholding the Bible and the historic creeds of the Christian Church – discussed the history of the Universalist Church in America.  It began as a denomination that adhered to the Early Church’s teaching that God will ultimately restore all, and some individual churches still remain true to that vision.

 “Who’s Your Daddy?” asked Peter Hiett, Lead Pastor of The Sanctuary in Denver, CO.  His presentation, based on I John 3:1-3, shared what Scripture teaches about who God is and what He is really like.  He explained that God treats those made in His image as a father treats his children.  He disciplines them, but always in love.  “We are saved by Grace through Faith,” Hiett said, “but God does not love just a few.  In Christ, our Father chooses to redeem all.”

Petri Tikka is working on his PhD in Helsinki.  “All the speakers were really committed and interesting,” he said.  “Another highlight was talking with people personally.”  He told the conference of his work, and later invited the conferees to join him in Finland April 24-26 AD 2020 for the Love Is Strong As Death conference! 

One participant summed up the conference well, “God is doing wonderful things.  I believe we are on the tip of a reformation . . . What an awesome truth that God loves all humanity.”

Friday, February 02, 2018

Conference Challenges 1500 Years of Church Teaching about Hell

For the first 500 years after Christ, Church leadership and laity believed that God would ultimately redeem all of His creation.  Then beliefs changed. 

And for the last 1,500 years, Christians have been told that the majority of the billions of people who have lived on this earth will suffer in hell forever.

So which view is correct?

"Hell is real," says George W. Sarris, award-winning author and speaker, "but it doesn't last forever, and its purpose is to transform sinners, not torture them for all eternity."

The Door Standing Open Conference 2018 will be held the First Universalist Church in Providence, RI April 27-29.  Promising to challenge many traditional beliefs about heaven and hell, it addresses Church teaching from the time of Christ till the present from a historical and Biblical perspective.

Speakers include Peter Hiett, Lead Pastor of The Sanctuary in Denver, CO.  As former Senior Pastor of one of the largest and fastest growing churches in his conservative denomination, Peter was forced to step down because of his belief that God will ultimately restore all. 

W. Scott Axford, 19th Pastor of the nearly 200-year-old First Universalist Church in Providence, says he often finds himself a lone voice upholding the Bible and the historic creeds of the Christian Church in his generally liberal denomination.

Other featured speakers include prominent scholars in the areas of Church history, ancient languages and Biblical studies. 

David Konstan is Professor of Classics at New York University, Professor Emeritus of Classics and Comparative Literature at Brown University, and co-author of Terms for Eternity: Aionios and Aidios in Classic and Christian Texts. 

Thomas Talbott is Emeritus Professor of Philosophy at Willamette University, author of The Inescapable Love of God, and lead contributor to Universal Salvation? The Current Debate.

Brad Jersak teaches New Testament and Theology at St. Stephen’s University New Brunswick and is the author of Her Gates Will Never Be Shut.

George W. Sarris, author of Heaven's Doors . . . Wider than You Ever Believed! is conference coordinator.  His book is the 2018 Illumination Awards Silver Medal winner in Theology.

"Evangelicals congratulate themselves on their willingness to submit to the final authority of scripture.  Yet they also have cherished beliefs that they defend to the hilt . . . Quite rightly, George Sarris insists that even these beliefs should be subjected to the test of scripture," says Nigel Wright, Principal of Spurgeon's College, London, and Council Member of the Evangelical Alliance, UK.

For more information on A Door Standing Open Conference 2018, go to https://www.doorstandingopen.com/