The Unsuspecting Christian

By Joseph Vorpahl

Are you really a Christian? Why doesn't the New Testament teach God's word? If God is all-powerful, why do we need Jesus? Can a story be told and retold for thousands of years and still be accurate? The Unsuspecting Christian will answer these and many other questions straight from the Bible, and the answers will surprise you. This is an easy-to-read and honest religious book that can be enjoyed by Christians and non-Christians alike.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Christian Faith Publishing, Inc.
• Release date: Sep 9, 2021
• ISBN: 9781098091361

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The Unsuspecting Christian

Joseph Vorpahl

Copyright © 2021 by Joseph Vorpahl

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods without the prior written permission of the publisher. For permission requests, solicit the publisher via the address below.

Christian Faith Publishing, Inc.

832 Park Avenue

Meadville, PA 16335

www.christianfaithpublishing.com

Printed in the United States of America

Table of Contents

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People get so passionate when asked to explain Jesus. You will get the same ordinary answers from the Dark Ages: Jesus is God born by a miracle. He went all around the Middle East preaching with his disciples and doing miracles. Then he was betrayed, captured, falsely accused, and very cruelly punished and killed for our sins.

If you can accept this answer, they will offer a Bible or take you to church with them. Everything is great until you start to think about it and ask questions. Again, if you accept their typical, old-fashioned answers and go along with the crowd, everything will be perfect. You’re a good Christian. Now, all you have to do is repeat back whatever they tell you, and judge others.

It’s when you honestly research ANYTHING about the Christian religion, they go from friendly to defensive. You will get all kinds of lightning-fast chapters and verses telling you you’re wrong, they’re right, and you need to believe them.

Even when you say, lets read those chapters you just quoted, and explain to them that you can’t just take a quote out of the middle of a conversation and insert it wherever you want, or just use it as a standalone verse, they still insist the Bible is God’s word, and THEY believe it. Then comes my personal favorite. Doctor-father-pastor—(place another title here) gave a sermon on this and this is what they told me: "AND THEY DON’T LIE, END OF CONVERSATION." They are angry because you questioned their faith. You’re upset because they won’t listen to reason, and you still can’t get an acceptable answer to your question.

It seems at this time, you have a decision to make. Do I run away from this religion, even though I do believe some or most of their teachings? Or do I just go along to fit in. For most of us, this is a very hard decision to make. We were raised by our family’s beliefs and told "This is what WE believe, and as a child, their beliefs are all we know. It’s just expected; you must honor your father and mother" and continue in their faith.

Even though I was born and baptized a Christian, I always felt alone in church. What is it I’m not getting? I’m here, I’m listening, I’m paying attention. So why do all the other people here seem to be so much happier and better off than me? Jesus Christ died for their sins. This assurance makes their lives worth more. All they need to do is believe Jesus is God and follow whatever the church tells them, and they will have eternal life in a paradise with Jesus, and he will reward them for the way they lived their life on earth.

When I was in my early twenties, I wanted this piece of mind, so I spent five years reading and studying the Bible. I must admit, I was shocked at what I read; this isn’t what I heard in church! So I would read it again. After a few chapters, I would go to the church and talk to my pastor and he would try to explain to me, "This is what WE believe this means." Still, I couldn’t see how this could be a church teaching something other than what the Bible says.

After that first month or two, my pastor started getting too busy to discuss this and suggested I just keep reading the Bible and God will speak to me in his own time. So when I finished the Old Testament, I set up an appointment with him to ask my questions.

It was at this time I was told that the church is more than the Bible. A lot of the stories and teachings were passed down by word of mouth and not recorded in the Bible, but they are still God’s Word and nothing has changed in thousands of years. I should just stop trying to figure it out and have faith in the church. This idea turned me away from the church for a few years, but I finished the Bible. Now I had a completely new set of questions, so I went back to my childhood church, to a pastor whom I’ve known for a long time. He really tried to answer my questions, but he had to stay within the parameters of our religion. He did inform me that there are other books out there that answer some of my questions. Officially, they are not inspired by God, but they are useful books. So it’s time to start all over.

After studying all I could, talking to many different Christian faiths and looking into other religions and beliefs, I can only conclude, Jesus was here on earth. He did wonderful things, and he was able to deceive man and pull him away from God by tricking him into worshiping him instead. Now here’s how!

As we know, the Bible is made up of two parts. The Old Testament tells us about God. He is all-powerful, all-mighty, and all-knowing. He made all things in heaven and on earth by just speaking the words. He chose the people of Israel to be his people and gave them the Ten Commandments so they would know exactly what was expected of them. He demanded complete loyalty and compliance. God sent them to war with other nations, and if they listened to God, they won. If they didn’t listen to him, God would punish the whole nation. God would tell them directly in a strong thundering voice DO THIS or THOU SHALT NOT DO THAT! If they asked for help, miracles would happen. Food would drop down from the sky, water would appear in the desert, the firstborn of a whole nation would die, or a flood would almost kill off all humanity. GOD IS ALL POWERFUL, and he showed it.

Then we have the New Testament about Jesus. He was born an infant in a barn, He grew up studying the religion of his parents. We get a few quick looks into his childhood, then thirty years later, he goes out on the road