Why?

[Arqo]

I seem to have trouble believing in God. I want to so bad but my mind won't let me. Does anybody have a reason to believe that hasn't already been proven ludicrous?

 

[DMMullinax]

Which ludicrous reasons are you talking about? I don't know if I can really tell you what you haven't already heard, but it's looking at the Bible and seeing how beautifully it applies to someone's life. How it covers every issue. When I gave my life to God I realized how much a slave to other stuff I really was, and how I was doing a terrible job at running my own life. Not sure if that's what you're aiming for or physical evidence of God- which in my own view is rampant in just going outdoors, but a big part of believing in God is faith, and looking outside of things, not in some black and white realm we put around everything, but things that can't be measured.

And looking into the Old Testament and history I don't see why the Israelites would make up a God and religious faith so different than what the nations around them were believing. They had a transcendent God while the Canaanites and everyone else had deities and systems that were interconnected with the physical Earth. I don't see how people would make that up.

 

[LachMck]

Personally, I have seen miracles happen, so that is a biggie for me. Secondly is that we simply can't just be an accident. I do believe in evolution, but I also believe that it is through God that all of reality exists, and that without God there would be nothing-no physics, no time, nothing at all. Life can't be here for no reason at all, just pure chance. Otherwise we may as well go around doing whatever we want and stuff the consequences.

 

[Arqo]

I dont think the bible is an accurate representation of god. It Condemns slavery, genocide and racism. As for miracles, please elaborate on what kind you've seen? Lastly, what is the difference between faith and gullibility?

 

[PaxThroughX]

I seem to have trouble believing in God. I want to so bad but my mind won't let me. Does anybody have a reason to believe that hasn't already been proven ludicrous?

Hey im new on here. Ok well why should you not belive in God, what is it that your struggling to belive in exactly. So that i can answer the question better.

 

[DMMullinax]

I dont think the bible is an accurate representation of god. It Condemns slavery, genocide and racism. As for miracles, please elaborate on what kind you've seen? Lastly, what is the difference between faith and gullibility?

What's wrong with condemning slavery, genocide, and racism?

 

[StickwithJesus]

Lastly, what is the difference between faith and gullibility?

A gullible person is easily tricked; a person who has faith expects a result in accordance to their faith.

 

[Arqo]

Hey im new on here. Ok well why should you not belive in God, what is it that your struggling to belive in exactly. So that i can answer the question better.

I'm struggling with believing it if I could I would.

 

[Arqo]

What's wrong with condemning slavery, genocide, and racism?

Sorry I mixed some definitions I meant advocates

 

[Arqo]

A gullible person is easily tricked; a person who has faith expects a result in accordance to their faith.

According to dictionary.com gullible is defined as easily deceived. Faith is defined by believing without evidence. Isn't someone who believes some thing without evidence gullible?

 

[DMMullinax]

Sorry I mixed some definitions I meant advocates

Oh ok, I figured that might have been it, haha. And I can tell you I don't see anywhere where God advocates any of those things. People like to assume that slavery among the Israelite nation was comparable to the slavery in America prior to the Civil War. It was nothing like that. If a brother was poor, he could "sell" himself to the person he owed and work for them as a hired hand to pay of a debt or a crime that required a fine he couldn't pay. By no means was this person treated as a slave, but a hired worker. "If your brother becomes poor beside you and sells himself to you, you shall not make him serve as a slave: he shall be with you as a hired servant and as a sojourner. He shall serve with you until the year of the jubilee. The he shall go out from you, he and his children with him, and go back to his own clan and return to the possession of his fathers. For they are my servants, whom I brought out of the land of Egypt; they shall not be sold as slaves. You shall not rule over him ruthlessly but shall fear your God." Leviticus 39-43. The same goes to a foreigner who comes to join the Israelites, the same rights. Doesn't sound oppressive to me.

And I'm guessing you're referring to the genocide of the Canaanites? While it may seem crazy that God would do this, we have to realize that God is long-suffering, and gave the Canaanites 400 years as He told Abraham in Genesis 15:13-16. He let the Israelites suffer that long, giving the Canaanites 400 years to change their ways because He felt their evil hadn't reach its pinnacle yet. After that God used the Israelites to judge the Canaanites. Just as later, when the Israelites had reached they point of wickedness and were to be exiled, God used the Assyrians and the Babylonians. Wasn't really any favoritism going on, God judged on His own time, allowing ample time for people to change. The fact that God would allow the wickedness the Canaanites did to continue that long shows how much He resists having to judge people. He would rather see them saved, but because he is a righteous, Holy, and just God he must judge those who sin and don't change their ways.

And I don't see where God supports racism in the Bible. You'll have to give me an example of that. God chose Israel to be his chosen people and entered into a special relationship with them that He would use to bless the other nations. That's an honor to be used by God in that way, but He isn't racist. That doesn't really line up with anything. Why would God choose to make His creation, then dislike them because they were a certain color or race? He made color and race, that wouldn't make any sense. Plus, Paul says in Galatians 3:28 "There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male or female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus." Doesn't seem like racism or favoritism to me.

 

[Arqo]

Oh ok, I figured that might have been it, haha. And I can tell you I don't see anywhere where God advocates any of those things. People like to assume that slavery among the Israelite nation was comparable to the slavery in America prior to the Civil War. It was nothing like that. If a brother was poor, he could "sell" himself to the person he owed and work for them as a hired hand to pay of a debt or a crime that required a fine he couldn't pay. By no means was this person treated as a slave, but a hired worker. "If your brother becomes poor beside you and sells himself to you, you shall not make him serve as a slave: he shall be with you as a hired servant and as a sojourner. He shall serve with you until the year of the jubilee. The he shall go out from you, he and his children with him, and go back to his own clan and return to the possession of his fathers. For they are my servants, whom I brought out of the land of Egypt; they shall not be sold as slaves. You shall not rule over him ruthlessly but shall fear your God." Leviticus 39-43. The same goes to a foreigner who comes to join the Israelites, the same rights. Doesn't sound oppressive to me.

And I'm guessing you're referring to the genocide of the Canaanites? While it may seem crazy that God would do this, we have to realize that God is long-suffering, and gave the Canaanites 400 years as He told Abraham in Genesis 15:13-16. He let the Israelites suffer that long, giving the Canaanites 400 years to change their ways because He felt their evil hadn't reach its pinnacle yet. After that God used the Israelites to judge the Canaanites. Just as later, when the Israelites had reached they point of wickedness and were to be exiled, God used the Assyrians and the Babylonians. Wasn't really any favoritism going on, God judged on His own time, allowing ample time for people to change. The fact that God would allow the wickedness the Canaanites did to continue that long shows how much He resists having to judge people. He would rather see them saved, but because he is a righteous, Holy, and just God he must judge those who sin and don't change their ways.

And I don't see where God supports racism in the Bible. You'll have to give me an example of that. God chose Israel to be his chosen people and entered into a special relationship with them that He would use to bless the other nations. That's an honor to be used by God in that way, but He isn't racist. That doesn't really line up with anything. Why would God choose to make His creation, then dislike them because they were a certain color or race? He made color and race, that wouldn't make any sense. Plus, Paul says in Galatians 3:28 "There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male or female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus." Doesn't seem like racism or favoritism to me.

Thank you for the response. But why is God against homosexuality? We know now that homosexuality is not a choice. Also why should we believe anything the bible says? Sorry to sound hostil just trying to understand.

 

[PaxThroughX]

I'm struggling with believing it if I could I would.

Look around you. How did the earth come about? Whats its source? I personally at times wonder if Gods there at my hardest moments in life and he is, what happens is the devil comes in, trys to please my flesh, comes in and tries to pull me away from God. But then I remind myself who created everything. The one who gave his only son for us so that we can be with God again. And to add to where ppl will go when they died before christ, is either hades(hell) or abrahams bossom(the grave). I ll explain more in detail later on.

 

[StickwithJesus]

According to dictionary.com gullible is defined as easily deceived. Faith is defined by believing without evidence. Isn't someone who believes some thing without evidence gullible?

I guess so; but I've actually received the things I've asked for on multiple occasions. So maybe the first time

 

[Arqo]

I guess so; but I've actually received the things I've asked for on multiple occasions. So maybe the first time

Like?

 

[DMMullinax]

Thank you for the response. But why is God against homosexuality? We know now that homosexuality is not a choice. Also why should we believe anything the bible says? Sorry to sound hostil just trying to understand.

I didn't think you sounded hostile at all. And God's against homosexuality because that isn't how we were made to live. God made a man to leave his parents and join with his wife as one entity. There are specifics about men and women that make them compatible, both physically and emotionally. When those roles transfer to relationships of the same sex, it doesn't work right. Obviously they can't reproduce, which is a physical example of why they weren't made to have sexual intercourse, as well as emotionally I don't believe that men can provide for men the same kinds of things that women can provide for men. The same goes for women. Now I think people still live with each other and try and make it work, but I don't see how it could be ultimately fulfilling the way it is designed to be, it's just a slight of the real thing. As far as people being born homosexual, I do believe that people have tendencies, similar to those that are more prone to be alcoholics based on family history, but saying that that rules someone's life is a completely different issue entirely. People may have urges like that, but that doesn't mean they have to live like that. I'm not completely saying I agree that all men or women that are homosexual were born that way, but I do believe some people have tendencies to lean more to those issues later in life. But that isn't an excuse to keep sinning. And don't be mistaken. Someone who commits homosexuality is not on a different level than one who sleeps around and fornicates with women he's not married to. Sin is sin, and is not based on levels. Some people like to group sins and say they are worse than others, but they are all sin.

And a lot of that is a result of sin and the fall, but in no way is that how God wants people to live, because it's not what is best. It's not how we were made to live. God isn't out to get people, He wants to get them back to a place where He can be in communion with His people and restore the relationship with His creation to how it was in Eden. If you just look in the Bible and read it fully, God's compassion is so replete, and His mercy over-flowing, it's overwhelming. But He's just too, and holy, and he won't overlook sin. I really wish you could see that. And as far as why we should believe what the Bible says is because it's so different than anything I've ever read, and so old, but it's timelessness covers even issues we struggle with today. And truly there's just faith. We've been given a lot of evidence, but part of it is just faith, and seeing the outside evidence. If that makes sense?

 

[Arqo]

Look around you. How did the earth come about? Whats its source? I personally at times wonder if Gods there at my hardest moments in life and he is, what happens is the devil comes in, trys to please my flesh, comes in and tries to pull me away from God. But then I remind myself who created everything. The one who gave his only son for us so that we can be with God again. And to add to where ppl will go when they died before christ, is either hades(hell) or abrahams bossom(the grave). I ll explain more in detail later on.

The earth came about from a dying star. All elements are forged when a star dies. Those elements erupted from the star when it explodes and gravity causes them to clump and form planets. There are trillions of stars in the universe so a dying star is a quite common occurrence, therefore even if a planet forming under the right conditions was one to a hundred trillion, life could have formed and under the right evolutionary circumstances, humans could emerge.

Also I assume by where do 'we' go after we die you mean where does our soul? For one thing I am not completely convinced a soul exists. For example, a soul is given to every living thing, correct? But we are not a living thing. We are in fact trillions of living things working together for a common purpose. Does that mean we have trillions of souls? Do they all go to the same place? What if the souls in my foot are better than the souls in my hands? And since my brain controls my actions are my brain souls have authority over the rest of them? This just doesn't make sense for obvious reasons.

 

[Arqo]

I didn't think you sounded hostile at all. And God's against homosexuality because that isn't how we were made to live. God made a man to leave his parents and join with his wife as one entity. There are specifics about men and women that make them compatible, both physically and emotionally. When those roles transfer to relationships of the same sex, it doesn't work right. Obviously they can't reproduce, which is a physical example of why they weren't made to have sexual intercourse, as well as emotionally I don't believe that men can provide for men the same kinds of things that women can provide for men. The same goes for women. Now I think people still live with each other and try and make it work, but I don't see how it could be ultimately fulfilling the way it is designed to be, it's just a slight of the real thing. As far as people being born homosexual, I do believe that people have tendencies, similar to those that are more prone to be alcoholics based on family history, but saying that that rules someone's life is a completely different issue entirely. People may have urges like that, but that doesn't mean they have to live like that. I'm not completely saying I agree that all men or women that are homosexual were born that way, but I do believe some people have tendencies to lean more to those issues later in life. But that isn't an excuse to keep sinning. And don't be mistaken. Someone who commits homosexuality is not on a different level than one who sleeps around and fornicates with women he's not married to. Sin is sin, and is not based on levels. Some people like to group sins and say they are worse than others, but they are all sin.

And a lot of that is a result of sin and the fall, but in no way is that how God wants people to live, because it's not what is best. It's not how we were made to live. God isn't out to get people, He wants to get them back to a place where He can be in communion with His people and restore the relationship with His creation to how it was in Eden. If you just look in the Bible and read it fully, God's compassion is so replete, and His mercy over-flowing, it's overwhelming. But He's just too, and holy, and he won't overlook sin. I really wish you could see that. And as far as why we should believe what the Bible says is because it's so different than anything I've ever read, and so old, but it's timelessness covers even issues we struggle with today. And truly there's just faith. We've been given a lot of evidence, but part of it is just faith, and seeing the outside evidence. If that makes sense?

But we know homosexuality is not a choice. It is a behavior that we are born with just as you and I are born with the desire for women.

About the bible, just because it's old doesn't mean it's true. For example Greek mythology is much older than Christianity yet that is not true. Also the Karan also relates many problems and feeling about life, we have to realize that the authors of these books were people too who also went through the same things as us.

And faith, faith leads you no where. If you believe solely on faith there is no way to distinguish between Islam and Christianity. Evidence must be required for any justifiable beleif and a god who surely knows this and has given us critical thinking skills would realize this and provide undeniable proof for his existence, or at least not rely on text that has no evidence to support it.

 

[StickwithJesus]

Like?

So many things happen; it is crazy.

About two months ago I was feeling worthless in church; random lady told her to tell me that God thinks I'm worth more than diamonds.

Wanted to drum; in a crowd of two hundred people the drummers asks me if I want to drum

Six months after that I ask God for a drum kit and I got one on Christmas. I didn't tell anyone I wanted one; but my parents got me one; turns out the model they wanted to get wasn't available until April so they upgraded for a better model which was made affordable because the drum-store owner split the difference.

One time I was helping some kids; thought to myself "Man I want a glass of coke" and some random lady offers me a whole bottle.

One time in church I wanted to join in with communion but I was scared to and an old friend spots me and not only gives me to the courage to go up, but also goes up with me and prays the prayer with me.

Many times I have asked God for the opportunity to speak to someone and then that person comes and speaks to me. It doesn't matter if they are angry with me or anything; they just speak to me in a nice way.

God has healed me of all my mental issues and problems

I asked God for an opportunity to build muscle and I meet a random guy from Germany who not only knows how to do it quickly but also that he wants a training partner. This guy is also the same strength as me which is weird.

One time I was addicted to Wow; I clocked over a month of gaming time on it and a song convicted me and within a couple of days I was cured from my addiction.

God has cured my laziness

Due to a doctor giving me anti-bio-tics as a kid I have brown spots on all my teeth and recently my teeth are starting to get stronger and whiter which is awesome. One particular tooth bothered me and at the Orthodontist I was told I had a hole in one of my teeth. When I go to the dentist he tells me that the hole that the Ortho referred too wasn't a hole and he fixed the tooth that was bothering me for some reason.

I wanted a close-friend, and all of a sudden I have the world's nicest guy as my friend who is both a mentor and a friend. This happened about three months ago or something.

Once I prayed for a machine to start working; after an inactive and broken period of ten years it suddenly starts working which is weird considering my mom tried to fix it multiple times.

Whenever I pray for someone; no matter who it is, something cool happens. Like if someone is feeling suicidal/depressed or afraid then it immediately leaves.

I have a friend in Greece who is desperately in love and is separated from his girlfriend; I pray for him and then a couple of months later he thanks me for praying because he is together with this girl. I think there was a break up and a lot of heart-break before I prayed and after that they were like a married couple. It is awesome.


Those are just the ones I prayed for; well at least the ones that spring to mind. There are probably many others.

Anyway; God bless you

 

[Arqo]

These are just rare events which are very possible. How do you distinguish between a rare event and a miracle?