Greetings! Good luck on your journey.
So I have two questions for Christians here.
1. Do you agree that the existence of your God is an unsubstantiated claim, one that hasn’t been established by proof or competent evidence? If you disagree then please substantiate the claim with some evidence that is free from error, fallacy or misapprehension.
Accepting the existence of God really is THE ultimate issue isn't it? This is one of the reasons why I don't deal with the myriad of topics usually found on apologetics boards, because they all come down to this. The rest is pointless discussion if there is no agreement on this matter. It is more a matter of conviction. I'm sure my answer will be far from convincing to you. My answer will likely annoy you and not be what you're looking for.
The closest I can come is to explain it this way:
When it comes to God, one can use such examples as the existence of our mind, or our feelings. We know that such things exist, though we cannot prove it physically. It is the same with God.
Also it is our belief that if one has seen Christ, then one has seen God. In the Orthodox Church we believe that our priests are icons of Christ to us, and those in the Church are literally part of the body of Christ, and we are to be icons of Christ to those around us. Essentially we believe that as many as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ. We partake of the mystery of communion- wherein we partake of the body and blood of Christ- not only do we witness this miracle, but we literally have Christ in us.
2. Please explain how beliefs that are founded and dependent on an unsubstantiated claim are worth serious consideration? Christianity makes demands based on the supposed existence of its God—God says this, God demands that, Jesus (the son of God) says you should do something else, the Bible says so and so—but why should any heed be paid to those demands when their underlying justification is unsubstantiated? Why should Christianity be treated with any deference or respect when its basis is nothing but an unsubstantiated claim?
Why should one give serious consideration to Christianity- Hope.
[FONT="]Before anything else one must believe in God, "that He is, and that He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him" (Hebrews 11:6). -St Seraphim of Sarov - Spiritual Instructions
"For behold, all our lofty doctrines, how destitute they are of reasonings, and dependent on faith alone. God is not anywhere, and is everywhere. What has less reason than this (What idea makes less logical sense)? He was not made, He did not make Himself, He never began to be. What reasoning will receive this if there is no faith?" -St. John the Chrysostom
[/FONT] God is comprehensible in our contemplation of His attributes [or divine energies], but God is incomprehensible in our contemplation of His divine essence." -St. Maximus the Confessor(Cent. On Charity, IV, 7, trans. Pegon, Sources Chretiennes 9, p.153)
(If you don't want a basic proselytizing message, then you can stop reading now. However, it's an Orthodox spin, so it might be different than what you were expecting.)
[FONT="]It is our belief that God is Love. Our goal is to attain theosis and there is no other meaning in life outside of communion with God. We were created for such communion. God has revealed Himself through the incarnation. Through Christ we can all know God.[/FONT]
How does one know Christ?; through His Church.
"No one can take God as his Father unless he takes the Church as his mother" --St. Cyprian of Carthage
How is one saved?
Salvation happened in the past. Via the incarnation (specifically the hypostatic union), it became possible for us to attain theosis. To one in the Church (a Christian), we are being saved. If we persevere, we will be saved in the future. Those in the Church are part of the body of Christ and have the Holy Trinity living in them. Through the life of the Church, the Holy Mysteries, and the power of the Holy Spirit, we are empowered to do good works. Anyone living out their life in the Church will be changed/transfigured. This is only possible through the life, death, and resurrection of Christ. We must daily pick up our cross and follow Him. Christ’s suffering death on the cross and resurrection made it possible for us to now have a way through suffering and a way to reconcile ourselves to God (abolishing sin and death) through his human nature. Christ’s ultimate act of suffering love gives us His saving companionship and grace. We can literally be baptized into Christ as part of His body (Church/Israel). Through our life in the Church, the ultimate hospital for sinners, we hope to one day attain theosis and participate in the divine energies of God.
[FONT="]Regarding our view of heaven and hell: "[/FONT][FONT="]The Orthodox teaching is that Heaven and Hell are the same "place" , standing in front of God. The Judgment is individual perception, determined by one's relationship to God. This perception will determine whether or not one experiences it as paradise (Heaven) or agony (Hell) eternally ."
[/FONT] God is Love and His presence is like fire. How one endures this fire has everything to do with how they were tempered in this life, just like the three righteous youths in the fiery furnace were able to joyfully walk around unharmed in the fire, so did others who didn't love God perish just being near the fire. The fire didn't change.
Here is a quote from an old Wikipedia article on the topic (that doesn’t seem to be around anymore) that I thought explained it pretty well: "For many ancient Christians, Hell was the same "place" as Heaven: living in the presence of God and directly experiencing God's love. Whether this was experienced as pleasure or torment depended on one's disposition towards God. St. Isaac of Syria wrote in
Mystic Treatises: "
... those who find themselves in Hell will be chastised by the scourge of love. How cruel and bitter this torment of love will be! For those who understand that they have sinned against love, undergo greater suffering than those produced by the most fearful tortures. The sorrow which takes hold of the heart, which has sinned against love, is more piercing than any other pain. It is not right to say that the sinners in Hell are deprived of the love of God ... But love acts in two ways, as suffering of the reproved, and as joy in the blessed!" This ancient view is still the doctrine of the Eastern Orthodox Church."
[FONT="]
[/FONT]
Belief is a matter of dying for Christ and His commandments. It is believing that such a death is life-giving. It is to count poverty as riches, and to consider the lowest humiliation as true honor and nobility. Faith is believing that when one has nothing, one has everything. More than this, it is to possess the incomprehensible riches of the knowledge of Christ and to look upon all visible things as but clay and smoke. St. Symeon the New Theologian, The Practical and Theological Chapters
The problem of our life is union with God, and sin completely prevents this; therefore flee from sin as from a terrible enemy, as from the destroyer of the soul, because to be without God is death and not life. Let us therefore understand our destination; let us always remember that our common Master calls us to union with Himself. -St. John of Kronstadt (My Life in Christ, Part 1; Holy Trinity Monastery pg. 20)
If you wish to save your soul and win eternal life, arise from your lethargy, make the sign of the Cross and say: In the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost. Amen. Faith comes not through pondering but through action. Not words and speculation but experience teaches us what God is. To let in fresh air we have to open a window; to get tanned we must go out into the sunshine. Achieving faith is no different; we never reach a goal by just sitting in comfort and waiting, say the Holy Fathers. Let the Prodigal Son be our example. He "arose and came" (Luke 15:20). -Tito Colliander The Way of the Ascetics.
[FONT="]
[/FONT]
