The following quotes are taken from evilbible.com:
"Jesus
Lied About Prayer - "Jesus is quoted many times in the Bible
saying that a believer can ask for anything through prayer and receive
it. He even goes so far as to say that mountains and trees can be thrown
into the sea simply by praying for it. This is clearly a lie, and can be
proven to be a lie by any believer. Simply pray for me to be converted to
Christianity right away. Or better yet ask God to move the mountains
behind my house. He could make a lot of converts that way. If I’m
converted today, I’ll post a public apology on my web site and devote my life
to kissing God’s a--. If I’m not converted it would only be fair for you
to apologize and devote your life to kissing my butt.
Here are the
quotes from Jesus that proves that he lied:
1)
"And
Jesus answered and said to them, 'Truly I say to you, if you have faith and do
not doubt, you will not only do what was done to the fig tree, but even if you
say to this mountain, `Be taken up and cast into the sea,' it will happen.
"And all things you ask in prayer, believing, you will
receive." (Matthew
21:21-22 NAS)
2)
"Ask
and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be
opened to you. For everyone who asks, receives; and the one who seeks,
finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened." (Matthew
7:7-8 NAB)
3)
"Again
I say to you, that if two of you agree on earth about anything that they may
ask, it shall be done for them by My Father who is in heaven. For where
two or three have gathered together in My name, I am there in their midst." (Matthew
18:19-20 NAS)
4)
"Amen,
I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, 'Be lifted up and thrown into the
sea,' and does not doubt in his heart but believes that what he says will
happen, it shall be done for him. Therefore I tell you, all that you ask
for in prayer, believe that you will receive it and it shall be yours." (Mark
11:23-24 NAB)
5)
"And
I tell you, ask and you will receive; seek and you will find; knock and the
door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks, receives; and the one
who seeks, finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened." (Luke
11:9-10 NAB)
6)
"And
whatever you ask in my name, I will do, so that the Father may be glorified in
the Son. If you ask anything of me in my name, I will do it." (John
14:13-14 NAB)
7)
"If
you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask for whatever you want and it
will be done for you." (John 15:7 NAB)
8)
"It
was not you who chose me, but I who chose you and appointed you to go and bear
fruit that will remain, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name he may
give you."
(John 15:16 NAB)
9)
"On
that day you will not question me about anything. Amen, amen, I say to
you, whatever you ask the Father in my name he will give you. Until now
you have not asked anything in my name; ask and you will receive, so that your
joy may be complete." (John 16:23-24 NAB)
A lot of
Christians ignore what Jesus actually says in the Bible. They also tend
to add things to the actual words to make them say something else. If you
honestly and truthfully read these quotes, without adding to them, it is very
easy to see that Jesus is not saying that God will think about your
prayers. He says God will grant all your prayers. Clearly, God
doesn’t grant all prayers and this proves that Jesus was a habitual liar."
Was
Jesus a liar? Let's examine each of
these quotes in context.
1.,
4. Matthew 21:21-22; Mark 11:23-24:
Jesus often spoke to his disciples in parables, and told them flat out that he
was speaking to them figuratively - using metaphors (see John 16:25). In other words, when Jesus spoke of a mountain
being thrown into the sea, he wasn't talking about a mountain literally being
thrown into a sea. It was a metaphor for
faith in God to overcome major obstacles in life.
2.,
5. Matthew 7:7-8; Luke 11:9-10: Jesus was talking about something very specific
in this passage - the Holy Spirit. A few
verses later, as he was elaborating on his "Ask and it will be given to
you" statement, he said the following: "If you then, though you are
evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your
Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!” (Luke 11:13, NIV). Taken in context, Jesus was talking about his
followers asking God to give them the Holy Spirit.
3.
Matthew 18:19-20: Again, this is another quote that is taken out of context. These verses are part of a larger passage
where Jesus was talking about dealing with sin in the church.
The full passage can be read here:
6.,
7., 8.: In John chapters 14 and 15, Jesus was about to be crucified, and was
speaking to his disciples one last time.
It is important to notice the verse just before the promise is first
given: "Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will
do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than
these, because I am going to the Father" (John 14:12, NIV). In response to Philip's request to show them
the Father (John 14:8), Jesus emphasized that "anyone who has seen me has
seen the Father" (John 14:9, NIV).
He further stated that since he was returning to the Father, his
disciples would now be on earth acting as his representatives. That being the case, the phrase "ask in
my name" means asking the Father as a representative of Jesus, who always
prayed that God's will would be done (Luke 22:42). John elaborates on this point in a later
letter: "This is the confidence we have in
approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us - whatever we ask - we know that we have what we asked of him" (1 John 5:14-15, NIV).
9.
John 16:23-24: This is another snippet of a much larger passage where Jesus was
about to be crucified, and was speaking to his disciples one last time. Jesus was responding to the disciples'
question about what he meant when he said that he was leaving and returning to
the Father. He responded by explaining
that he had been speaking figuratively to them (using metaphors - in other
words, not to be taken literally), but when he returned they would no longer
need to ask him for clarification; they would receive wisdom and clarity
directly from God the Father in Jesus' name.
"Though I have been speaking figuratively, a time
is coming when I will no longer use this kind of language but will tell you
plainly about my Father. In that day you will ask in my name. I am not saying that I will ask
the Father on your behalf. No, the Father himself loves you because you have loved me and have
believed that I came from God. I came from the Father and entered the world; now I am leaving the
world and going back to the Father” (John 16:25-28, NIV).
You can read the full text of John chapter 16 at
this link:
In
conclusion, these statements of Jesus were not meant to be taken as a blanket
promise that we could ask for whatever we want and immediately receive it. Taken in context, many of these verses were
speaking of other things entirely. It is
also important to understand that God has given each person a choice regarding
their own salvation, and that each person must choose for themselves what to
believe. No one can choose for them, and
no one can override their decision. "He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God - children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband's will, but born of God" (John 1:11-13, NIV).
