Why is Christianity so mysterious and self-contradictory?

[coffee4u]

What does that mean?

Romans 12:19
Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,” says the Lord.

 

[1watchman]

Dear VCR, you fail in your reasoning herein, by not understanding the Bible! Satan is the fallen Angel from the beginning (note Genesis 2 &3; etc.). He was created as an Angel, and given a high place in service, but began to assert self and try to imitate God ---read your Bible, friend! He was cast out of Heaven, and then ALLOWED to try man to cause man to stay close to God, rather than be carnal: self-serving. Man still likes the carnal ways (even failing Christians do), and serve self. Satan helps self-serving man to disobey God. Our God as a good parent to His children, wants to teach them to be obedient to their Father for their own good.
All the wickedness and evil ways in the world is man serving self; and Satan helps them to that. Our God wants His children to LEARN the right ways, and not just let them stumble along, as would ANY good parent.

If we fail to make God: as our Lord Jesus Christ coming to save man, our Lord and guide, we will fall victim to Satan's ways ---and perish. Satan will enjoy that, and we will lose eternal life forever ---being cast into the "lake of fire" one day with Satan. Please read the four Gospels and Epistles, and pray to God as in John 3; John 14; Romans 8, etc.
I will pray for you, friend! Write me personally at Conversation page if you would like to study this further. -1watchman

 

[VCR-2000]

Also, the other thing is that God thinks you are either "self-serving" or glorifying him completely, for a complex God there seems to be no room for that gray area in between when it comes to dealing with and pleasing him. At least in this current world we are able to have this benefit.

And when Jesus does come to save his people, we will already be in Heaven (or Hell) anyway, so it won't really matter that we were saved because we would be so brainwashed to forget everything in the past.

I have to wonder if sometimes Christians are out of touch with those who are questioning or do not believe, because it's hard to have a discussion about things and it really seem to just boil down to re-enforcing something that is already said about Christian doctrine anyway.

 

[timothyu]

because it's hard to have a discussion about things and it really seem to just boil down to re-enforcing something that is already said about Christian doctrine anyway.

You mean that all data stored on the master computer that is each and every life, will be gone through as a disk cleanup is done with only the useful and non viral data resurrected?

 

[James_Lai]

I think there is a lack of clarity or a mismatch between what Christians see they experience vs. what everyone else sees. I think that Satan is winning the war on people, at least for right now. Yet, I always hear platitudes like "God is in control" or "Satan is weak" while they ignore the problems and situation in this world down here right in front of their eyes and ears, or at least they try to downplay or justify it as being "good" in the end, despite God hating Satan and evil works the most times in the Bible. How could I take such paradoxes or contradictions seriously? If you insist seriously that Satan is weak or losing now and God is "winning", clearly what I see going on right now is exactly the upside-down opposite?

Why does Christianity speak like this?

What is Christianity? There are many versions and opinions.

 

[coffee4u]

What is Christianity? There are many versions and opinions.

At it's simplest, following Christ.

Romans 10:9
If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.

 

[Daniel Marsh]

I think there is a lack of clarity or a mismatch between what Christians see they experience vs. what everyone else sees. I think that Satan is winning the war on people, at least for right now. Yet, I always hear platitudes like "God is in control" or "Satan is weak" while they ignore the problems and situation in this world down here right in front of their eyes and ears, or at least they try to downplay or justify it as being "good" in the end, despite God hating Satan and evil works the most times in the Bible. How could I take such paradoxes or contradictions seriously? If you insist seriously that Satan is weak or losing now and God is "winning", clearly what I see going on right now is exactly the upside-down opposite?

Why does Christianity speak like this?

God allows a permissive will. He does not step in to stop evil at this time. He wants Christians and others to be responsible for their own actions.

In the end God will wipe out evil.

For now all we can do is Pray, live a good life, share Jesus, walk in the Spirit and help others.

 

[Daniel Marsh]

Some Christians speak like this. They are not the majority.

But we don't behead every member of our faith who comes up with a strange interpretation of some spiritual matter...no matter how incorrect they might be. As a result, there is inevitably going to be a range of opinions about such stuff. You shouldn't let it color your thinking about Christianity itself.

I am happy for that.

 

[eleos1954]

I think there is a lack of clarity or a mismatch between what Christians see they experience vs. what everyone else sees. I think that Satan is winning the war on people, at least for right now. Yet, I always hear platitudes like "God is in control" or "Satan is weak" while they ignore the problems and situation in this world down here right in front of their eyes and ears, or at least they try to downplay or justify it as being "good" in the end, despite God hating Satan and evil works the most times in the Bible. How could I take such paradoxes or contradictions seriously? If you insist seriously that Satan is weak or losing now and God is "winning", clearly what I see going on right now is exactly the upside-down opposite?

Why does Christianity speak like this?

Satan isn't "winning" .... he lost .... it is a done deal. We are living in the last days of a spiritual war .... it's a matter of when God decides to return and pick up all the survivors ... until then there will be "battles". God has not fully executed His plan .... until then ... there will be chaos in our world ... and that is what His Word teaches.

John 16:33
New International Version

33 “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”

and so it is

 

[rturner76]

I think there is a lack of clarity or a mismatch between what Christians see they experience vs. what everyone else sees.

It's because it is run by fallible human beings

 

[childeye 2]

I think there is a lack of clarity or a mismatch between what Christians see they experience vs. what everyone else sees. I think that Satan is winning the war on people, at least for right now. Yet, I always hear platitudes like "God is in control" or "Satan is weak" while they ignore the problems and situation in this world down here right in front of their eyes and ears, or at least they try to downplay or justify it as being "good" in the end, despite God hating Satan and evil works the most times in the Bible. How could I take such paradoxes or contradictions seriously? If you insist seriously that Satan is weak or losing now and God is "winning", clearly what I see going on right now is exactly the upside-down opposite?

Why does Christianity speak like this?

Christianity is properly defined as trusting in The Spirit of Christ as the way to eternal Life. Another way of saying that is, believing God is the same Character of Person as the man Jesus, who as an innocent person who had done no wrong, submitted to suffering and death unjustly, without returning evil or reviling against his crucifiers, but on the contrary forgiving his crucifiers. Therefore the cross of Christ is like watching unconditional love being tested to see if it breaks. The issue becomes lost in semantics when Jesus is deemed a loser in the eyes of a wicked world, but a winner in the eyes of a glorious God in heaven.

 

[timothyu]

Satan isn't "winning" .... he lost .... it is a done deal.

Yet man has continued the pursuit of a world government, a reality now within reach for the first time in history, but a governance built upon the self serving will or man rather than the will of God. The ultimate showdown in a world already lost.

 

[eleos1954]

Yet man has continued the pursuit of a world government, a reality now within reach for the first time in history, but a governance built upon the self serving will or man rather than the will of God. The ultimate showdown in a world already lost.

Sad but true (current world) ... I look forward to His return and living under His government. Putting others before self.

It's a continuing story ... and it's not over until God decides it is. ;o)

 

[VCR-2000]

How do you keep your faith knowing that God permits Satan to influence this world, and not only that, but there is only so much "good" people can do, we do not have the power ourselves to stop or reverse evil. I know God is supposed to be omni-benevolent, but I can't reconcile that in current life either. And I don't want to hear about the excuse "Well, he will wipe out all evil when we go to Heaven". That doesn't restore the consequences of things pre-action.

And I don't think believing you should burn or suffer for eternity because you don't accept God is "permissive". It probably depends on what you see as "permissive". If you see it as somehow there must be an infinite and static consequence for finite actions, then I disagree this is so-called "permissive".

 

[timothyu]

How do you keep your faith knowing that God permits Satan to influence this world, and not only that, but there is only so much "good" people can do, we do not have the power ourselves to stop or reverse evil.

The only person we are to change is ourselves, rejecting the will and governance of man for the will and governance of God. The two are counter-cultures to each other.

 

[Sunshinee777]

I think there is a lack of clarity or a mismatch between what Christians see they experience vs. what everyone else sees. I think that Satan is winning the war on people, at least for right now. Yet, I always hear platitudes like "God is in control" or "Satan is weak" while they ignore the problems and situation in this world down here right in front of their eyes and ears, or at least they try to downplay or justify it as being "good" in the end, despite God hating Satan and evil works the most times in the Bible. How could I take such paradoxes or contradictions seriously? If you insist seriously that Satan is weak or losing now and God is "winning", clearly what I see going on right now is exactly the upside-down opposite?

Why does Christianity speak like this?

Of course God is winning. How someone like satan could ever have power over anything unless God let him have it? So everything has meaning and God has perfect plan. When you walk with Jesus, you are filled with the Holy Spirit, you grow in God you start understand things from the understanding of the Spirit of God, not from your own understanding. But first, you need to be born again and you can’t born again without complete childlike trust, that Jesus died on the cross for your sins, He died, was buried and rise up and is now sitting on the throne in heaven right side of God the Father. Jesus didn’t leave us ”as orphans” here on earth, He sent His Spirit so when we are filled with the Holy Spirit we have ”keys” to open the scriptures and see ”behind the curtains of deception”
satan can be clever but Jesus always has upper hand of satans deceptions, and when we are born again christians we have the authority over satan, through Jesus Christ. This is not rocketscience, this is much more. But even a child with trust and faith understands. That’s the beauty of it.

 

[Reasonable Christian]

OP, it would help me answer your question if you could explain exactly what you think is "self-contradictory" about Christianity. I'm not clear on that from your post. For the record, the Bible doesn't teach that Satan is "winning" or "losing" at any given time prior to Christ's return. (I'm not even sure how you would define those concepts in this context.) Rather, the Bible teaches that Satan will ultimately lose when Christ returns and Satan and his demons are cast into the lake of fire (Hell). Until then, there will be plenty of evil in the world.

 

[FutureAndAHope]

I think there is a lack of clarity or a mismatch between what Christians see they experience vs. what everyone else sees. I think that Satan is winning the war on people, at least for right now. Yet, I always hear platitudes like "God is in control" or "Satan is weak" while they ignore the problems and situation in this world down here right in front of their eyes and ears, or at least they try to downplay or justify it as being "good" in the end, despite God hating Satan and evil works the most times in the Bible. How could I take such paradoxes or contradictions seriously? If you insist seriously that Satan is weak or losing now and God is "winning", clearly what I see going on right now is exactly the upside-down opposite?

Why does Christianity speak like this?

God tells us to have a love for one another. His goal is that people have respect and care for each other.

However, we see that man often does not follow this ideal. In fact, God was taken by surprise, at how bad people could become.

Gen 6:5-6 And GOD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. And it repented the LORD that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart.

At the time of Noah, God was sorry that He had created man, when He saw how bad they chose to be.

We also see in the New Testament that Jesus stated, that most do not follow the road of love, but end up following the broad road of indifference.

Mat 7:12-14 Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them: for this is the law and the prophets. Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.

The fact is the majority of people choose to not follow the command to love. So in that sense, Satan is winning. But God's offer of salvation is there for any who would accept it, and walk-in brotherly kindness.

 

[VCR-2000]

If God has created mankind and is surprised that it didn't turn out "how he hoped", honestly maybe he shouldn't have created mankind at all. I'm not God either, but we did not consent to be born here as part of his world.

 

[timothyu]

If God has created mankind and is surprised that it didn't turn out "how he hoped", honestly maybe he shouldn't have created mankind at all. I'm not God either, but we did not consent to be born here as part of his world.

Probably the same thoughts turkeys across the DSA were recently thinking.