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Actually, that was my point. You do make decisions on faith. That's the basis of inductive reasoning, which is all science.
How did it become tangible for you? You're still hedging your bet that you've lead a life good enough to be let in the Pearly Gates Wkycat. You never know for sure, right? You hope that every move you make is the right one in God's eyes? And you won't really know until you die. Intangible.
Little things. Things that seem difficult to explain. That still small voice. Grace to make it through tough life events. Answered prayers for you and others around you. The growing realization of the complexity of life around you and there is something bigger than this earthly life. 33 years of that.
BTW, I don't earn my way to heaven. I'd be in trouble if that were the case.
A death of a son probably did more than power in my opinion.It's interesting how power has this effect on people.
I was referring to the "instrument in God's hand" part. I lost my first wife and it didn't make me feel like I was an instrument in God's hand.A death of a son probably did more than power in my opinion.
Answered prayers for yourself and others around you? Could you talk with your friends and pray for the folks in Sudan and other less fortunate countries? They seem to really need some answered prayers.Little things. Things that seem difficult to explain. That still small voice. Grace to make it through tough life events. Answered prayers for you and others around you. The growing realization of the complexity of life around you and there is something bigger than this earthly life. 33 years of that.
BTW, I don't earn my way to heaven. I'd be in trouble if that were the case.
Answered prayers for yourself and others around you? Could you talk with your friends and pray for the folks in Sudan and other less fortunate countries? They seem to really need some answered prayers.
Answered prayers for yourself and others around you? Could you talk with your friends and pray for the folks in Sudan and other less fortunate countries? They seem to really need some answered prayers.
Faith = probability
I'm more of a stat guy and not a philosopher, but Hume's problem of induction seems easily solved by applying sample size and statistical significance. At least "solved" from a practical standpoint.
Do I ever believe something without evidence (religious faith), No. Absolutely not. Tell me something you think I believe using the definition of religious faith..........
Do I ever make decisions using religious faith, IOW, something where I have little to no evidence to support my decision? Only when I'm forced to, but I know when I'm doing it and I don't expect a certain outcome like a religious believer does. I know that on average, the expected outcome is directly proportional to the availability of accurate information (evidence).
I don't make decisions based on faith. Faith is gullibility. It isn't a pathway to truth. It is irrational belief without evidence. Faith is not part of my life in any way.
If a child is getting molested by her father every night and the mother knows about it and has the power to stop it but chooses not to stop it, would you consider her a good mother or even a good person?Welder,
The best way for me to understand it is this: God is holy, totally devoid of sin or any type of evil. Anything sinful, flawed, spoiled or tarnished in any way cannot be in His presence. The only thing to do with such is destroy it; burn it the way we'd burn trash. But....because He wants us to be with Him, He made a way for us to be made pure and holy...Jesus took what was due those of us who had sinned. All we have to do is believe God sent Him for that purpose and personally accept what He did. Essentially, Christians believe God came to earth and took our punishment so we could be in Heaven with Him for eternity.
You ask a great question about the child molester and the good guy/non-Christian. It's not the good stuff we do or can do to get us to heaven. It's our imperfections/sins that keep us out. Just one sin renders us unholy and has to be accounted for. A lie, gossipping, lusting, killing someone, etc... each is sufficient to keep us out of Heaven if not forgiven. We are all imperfect...none of us is any better than the other. That is good news for me.
Thanks for the civil reply Ram, but most of what you typed I already know. (Remember, I was raised in a Christian home, and have attended hundreds upon hundreds of sermons) My issue is not with the person who lived a good life, (we all made mistakes, sin if you wish to call them that); no, my issue is with the child molester I spoke of; how can it be possible for that filth to proclaim his faith, at the last minute no less, after a lifetime of evil?Welder,
The best way for me to understand it is this: God is holy, totally devoid of sin or any type of evil. Anything sinful, flawed, spoiled or tarnished in any way cannot be in His presence. The only thing to do with such is destroy it; burn it the way we'd burn trash. But....because He wants us to be with Him, He made a way for us to be made pure and holy...Jesus took what was due those of us who had sinned. All we have to do is believe God sent Him for that purpose and personally accept what He did. Essentially, Christians believe God came to earth and took our punishment so we could be in Heaven with Him for eternity.
You ask a great question about the child molester and the good guy/non-Christian. It's not the good stuff we do or can do to get us to heaven. It's our imperfections/sins that keep us out. Just one sin renders us unholy and has to be accounted for. A lie, gossipping, lusting, killing someone, etc... each is sufficient to keep us out of Heaven if not forgiven. We are all imperfect...none of us is any better than the other. That is good news for me.
5 years ago, I was on the paddock arguing against God. Partly devils advocate, partly questioning my own beliefs. We're humans, our beliefs should always be questioned. Or at least start that way.
Thomas Merton and CS Lewis were both atheist at one time.
I would say God has no trouble telling the difference from a person with a truly repentant heart, and someone just looking for last minute fire insurance.how can it be possible for that filth to proclaim his faith, at the last minute no less, after a lifetime of evil?
Also, how can we be assured another Lucifer will not arise, align "legions" of other angels with him, and cause another great war in heaven? If heaven is this perfect place, free from all sin, I fail to understand how the "great war" began to start with. I know the story, Lucifer was basically full of himself, and angels aren't on par with humans, yet that still never answers the REAL question: how, if heaven is sin free did he have the ABILITY to feel as he did to begin with?
WW- you bring a good point that I have always wondered. God can create the devil, but can't make it disappear? God loves mankind so much that he creates an angel that will go rogue (remember god's plan?). God must have knew that satan would go rogue (how could he not know?). Just like the questions of Epicurus, why would God make an angel, knowing it would go rogue, only to allow satan to hurt the humans that he loves? Makes no sense. Zilch.
DaBoss,
Obviously the answer is "no". I don't know why God continues to allow this stuff. Why does He allow us to kill, lie,abuse, cheat, manipulate other people for our own selfish desires? Why does He allow divorces and families to break up? Why the wars over stuff less important than one human life? My only explanation is that it's all a result of our free will and choosing our ways over His ways. Sorta making ourselves gods. I don't believe things are the way they were intended to be. One day that will be corrected.
I have a list of things I want to ask Him when I'm in Heaven. Why He waited will be one of them.
I just believe. I can't bring any arguements you've not already heard and maybe discounted. I can't quantify it. I also believe in the devil. He's good at what he does; leading someone to abuse a child causing him to question God's existance.
I've asked the same question in regards to why has he waited considering how evil this world has become and how upside down everything is and one person said that "Maybe he's trying to give some souls some more time to turn their lives around?"
Kind of an interesting point. I have seen some people do a complete 180 with their lives who were pretty horrible before giving their life to God.
My own struggles of understanding is Old Testament vs New Testament and when it applies because that has been debated so much.
You're more benevolent than that character you worship.I won't criticize non believers for doubting. If I'd had their experiences and lived their lives, I might think as they do.
I don't see man's corruption as a reflection of God but just of the modern church. This type of crap is what bothers me that people allow to happen. You let these crooks in the mega churches and the prosperity gospel to poison your mind, sell you the same sermon right back to you in their self help book, and rob you.
I mean, look at this crap. This is Joel Osteen's house
Where in the Bible does it say it is not literal?Smart people understand the bible is not literal. Like the dude who understood the Illiad and Odyssey not literal, but couldn't use that same "common sense" and apply it to the bible.
Took me years to understand that because I grew up in an awful church with awful people, and I'm still bitter, but trying to learn that whole "forgiveness" part. But man people are awful. They'll ruin anything to feed their egos.
The issue most have with "God" or the belief in him is there is no absolute that is always the case.
Example: There is evidence in his work based on the teachings of the bible which in my point is work hard, worship and blessings will come. Maybe not everything we ask but you will be blessed. People complain because that doesn't always make them rich as others etc so they also envy and become jealous which is something the bible teaches against. Then they complain and become negative thinking which is exactly not what he wants from us.
That isn't always how it works though so people aren't strong enough to comprehend because some receive what seems to be more blessing(in the form of finances) even though it seems they don't deserve it.
The bottom line is we are all different and motivated by different things or blessings. In life the bible applies and if you pay attention it will prove itself in time. If you choose to doubt for whatever reason then so be it, and that doesn't mean that blessings will not come to you because whether you realize it or not a lot of times your still doing gods work just not exactly as he planned.
It's really complicated.
God in Old Testament commands the town elders to stone to death any bride who proves not to be a virgin. This is the kind of barbarism we decry when perpetrated by the Taliban, ISIL, etc. Why couldn't OT God be any better than this? In what way is that "Holy" or perfect?
No....I just don't see how being critical or argumentative is productive.You're more benevolent than that character you worship.