First of all I doubt you have "rock solid" evidence of gods exsistence. No one has "rock solid" evidence or the existence or non-exsistence of any diety.
I do have proof. Look around you. You can't honestly say that you believe that this entire world, the entire universe, just "happened." That requires much more faith than belief in any God. I also have proof in the changes He's made in me; the miracles I've personally seen. For someone who doesn't want to believe in God, there is no proof good enough. For someone who has experienced Him, they have the proof they need. These are rock solid evidence to me. If you choose not to believe them, that's on you.
Secondly, I am afraid its a little more serious than a few "minor mis-translations". what we today call the bible is filled with errors and has indeed been translated incorrectly but also men have added to it and subtracted from it over the centuries. One excellent example is the last 12 verses of Mark's Gospel. Those twelve (12) verses simply are not present in any of the 4 earliest copies of Mark we have today. They suddenly appear in latter copies. Since we are dealing with copies of copies of copies ( none of the the origional "autographs" currently are known to exist) it is entirely possible that even more was added earlier. There are a number of similar examples of where things in the bible have been added or changed but this is just one really glaring example.
So, name a few. Everyone knows that the 12 verses in Mark are not in the oldest copies that we have. What about the ones we don't have?
Name some mistranslations or errors. I have heard this accusation many times, but few if any have ever even read the Bible, much less researched and supposed errors. My God is more than big enough and influential enough to be sure that what He wants to stay in that book does stay. What a weak, non-effective god you serve, if He cannot do something so simple!
Your version of god does not give man a "choice". Think about it do you really think people voluntarily would burn for all eternaity? of corse not! No one would volunteer for such torture. Their decision to not believe his exsistence is based upon thier view of his exsistence and the limited factual evidence presented to support it.
No, that's where you're wrong. Their decision to not believe is based on the fact that if they admit there's a God, then they also have to admit that there is Someone bigger than they are. Someone they will have to answer to. This is one of the base problems of people today. They want to do whatever they want, with as few consequences and responsibilities as possible. That's why abortion is so prevalent. People have casual sex with anyone and everyone, then kill the results. Also, criminals are blaming childhood for their decisions. It's everyone's fault but the one who actually sinned. The courts are unfair. The police are racist. My parents were divorced. My parent's loved my brother more. I had too many twinkies. All excuses as to why someone sinned, but shouldn't have to deal with the consequences. The most basic - there is no God. We are all accidents of evolution. There is no absolute truth. Who are you to tell me what's right and wrong? Stealing may be wrong for you, but not for me! It's getting ridiculous.
Even though I do believe in his existence i can certainly say I see where others would have great difficulty with the concept. It is not as if they are being asked to believe in the existence of Mexico or Canada, those are far more tangable things, they are being asked to believe in something unknowable (given the limited data).
The data is only limited by your level of belief.
No again you are incorrect. God like any leader is judged ultimately by how he treats his subjects. If his demands are viewed as reasonable and if his treatment of is them is considered fair and just.
Uh, do you really dare to judge God? I am not a "subject" of God. I am His creation. He is the Potter. He is well within His rights to make me into a cup, a bowl, or even shatter me and re-make me into whatever He wants. He has chosen to consider me His daughter. For this I am forever grateful.
But I have to add, if God were not good, not loving, not merciful, He would still deserve every ounce of praise and worship I can offer Him, simply because of Who He is.
"Fair and just" in whose eyes? Is it "fair" to make a 2 year old go to bed at 7 when his 10 yr old brother doesn't have to go until 9? Not to the 2 yr old. He has no concept of sleep needs and age differences. Similarly, what seems "fair" to us is perfectly logical. To us. But there are things we don't understand. But our Father does. Sometimes I have to trust that He knows what He's doing.
So if God is viewed as unreasonable by man, we can judge Him? Who's reason? Mine? Yours? Gandhi's? Jeffery Dahmer's?
These are relitive concepts and they evolve over time and differ between civilizations. Extreeme autocratic rulers are usually not very popular and do not attract many willing followers, followers are usually only obtained by force of arms and coversive tactics. If i asked for all of your money nicely I most likely would be told no. However ending up broke sounds much better if I throw you into a dungon to be tortured.
true. But you are not God. If God asked me to give you everything, I would. God doesn't threaten hell. He has simply told us of that reality. Everyone has sinned. Everyone has earned a place in hell. There is no one perfect, except Jesus. He has chosen to save those who love and obey Him. It is by His mercy that the entire human race doesn't self-destruct. I am walking towards God, away from Hell. But even if I were to receive what I truly deserve - hell - I would still follow God. He is WORTHY of my devotion, regardless of the outcome. The fact that He has saved me from hell is almost beside the point. The point is, heaven or hell aside, God is worthy of our worship.
There are actually few relatives. There are far more absolutes than most want to admit. God is absolutely good. He has absolute power, all authority, all knowledge, and owns all things. Including us.
If his only means of obtaining his desires is force than he is a despot and likely a narcisstic meglamanic. According to your beliefs he only gets what he wants under durress, by compelling people under the threat of hell to do what he wishes them to do.
I don't know anyone who came to God out of a fear of Hell. It is not hell that chases us to Him. His love woos us, calls to us. All we want to do is worship Him. What He wants is to walk with us, fellowship with us, love us. But He is so pure, He cannot stand being in the presence of sin. So He sent Jesus to save us. If He were as dictatorial as you seem to think, would He have died in order to rescue us? Of course not. He would have wiped us all out and started all over. He loves us.
Thats why I reject that concept of god. I reject the concept of a god who throws people off into an abyss simply because they did not believe in him or did not to the letter follow his teachings (even if it was done with intent to not follow him). If on the other hand you were correct about the nature of god It would be in my opinion our (all sane peoples) to oppose him as we would any brutish dictator.
He has come here, died, rose again, warned us time and time again of the dangers of living for our own selfish desires. But He gave us free will, and He will not prevent you from walking off a cliff that He has shown you over and over again. If you choose to walk into hell when He's there offering you heaven, that is YOUR decision, not His. From what you say, you must think that everyone goes to heaven. So I have to walk the streets with Hitler? With Manson, Dahmer, Hussien, Ben Laden? No way.
A ruler deserves praise only if he is just. No ruler (god) could justify the kind of duress you ascribe to your version of god. That view of god holds that people are tortured for all eternity simply because they saw the weight of evidence agaisnt gods existence and did not accept the teachings of christianity. Also any ruler who believed he "desreved" worship in spite of such brutish behavour would have shown him/herself to be narcisstic.
God does not believe He deserves worship. He DOES deserve it. He made you, gave you everything you have, including your next heartbeat and breath. Do you have food? Clothing? Shelter? Yes, you may have worked for those, but who gave you that ability? My husband would love to be able to go back to work, but 20 strokes has made that impossible. He has given so much to you and me. He even gave Himself. What more do you want?
If "even unbelievers" would have the "automatic response" to worship him when they see him, how cruel it would be to then toss them off to hell fire since the only reason they did not "worship" him before was thier lack of belief in his existence. That only sounds logical.
Let's see. I believe in God, though I've never seen Him. Therefore, I love Him, I live for Him, and worship Him through faith. My neighbor has heard the Gospel, but chooses not to believe. He lives only for himself, drugging, whoring, abusive. He has faith only in what he can see and touch and prove. So when we both die, we both see God as He is, we both worship, and God should treat us the same?
Yeah, I can see how your way is much fairer than His.
My god does not requrie endless praise for the sake of praise.
Neither does mine. I choose to offer endless praise because of my great love of Him, and because He deserves it. And no, God doesn't make human sense sometimes. So what? It's like trying to ask a slug to explain quantum physics. Just because it can't explain it doesn't mean it doesn't exist.
The god I believe in would not send Gandi to hell simply because of his beliefs.
I am fully aware that the god you believe in would not send anyone to hell because of his beliefs. Unfortunately, your god is not the one who will be making that decision. It is Yahweh, the God of the Bible, who will decide. And His requirements are well-known.
It is so sad that you have attributed these falsehoods to the One God, Father of us all. He does not force us to be robots, that is not love. His love is expressed in the gospel the greatest news that anyone has ever heard. We are able to come to him only because of His love and mercy. It is by his mercy and grace that we are even able to believe trust and act according to that Love.
Oh man you are without excuse! says the Word of God, for all have fallen short of the glory of God. I will let the Word of God speak for himself:
Rom 1:16 ¶ For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.
Rom 1:17 For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith.
Rom 1:18 ¶ For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness;
Rom 1:19 Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed [it] unto them.
Rom 1:20 For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, [even] his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse:
Rom 1:21 Because that, when they knew God, they glorified [him] not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened.
Rom 1:22 Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools,
Rom 1:23 And changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and fourfooted beasts, and creeping things.
Rom 1:24 Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonour their own bodies between themselves:
Rom 1:25 Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen.
Rom 1:26 For this cause God gave them up unto vile affections: for even their women did change the natural use into that which is against nature:
Rom 1:27 And likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust one toward another; men with men working that which is unseemly, and receiving in themselves that recompence of their error which was meet.
Rom 1:28 And even as they did not like to retain God in [their] knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient;
Rom 1:29 Being filled with all unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, debate, deceit, malignity; whisperers,
Rom 1:30 Backbiters, haters of God, despiteful, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents,
Rom 1:31 Without understanding, covenantbreakers, without natural affection, implacable, unmerciful:
Rom 1:32 Who knowing the judgment of God, that they which commit such things are worthy of death, not only do the same, but have pleasure in them that do them.
So you see it is not without cause that God allows men to turn from his grace and mercy it is that mans own heart that condemns him, not God. God has provided the way of escape, but if we refuse God what is left for us? I pray the God's love will compell you to turn to him and let Him change you from death into life, from cursing to blessings.
Therefor choose this day whom you shall serve.
one man set free,
Jeffrey
