Ask God a question

Cieza said:

Lack of an answer from God leaves us where we're at before I started this thread. That there is no evidence that a fully omniscient & omnipotent being exists.

So if you ask and get no answer or the wrong answer, it puts us no further back than we were at before the OP.

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WRONG! These ideas of "omniscient and omnipotent" are man-made. We can go off course into idolatry, following them as you are. and anyone who knows God would NOT ask Him such a thing as you request - because we know better.

Your assumptions are just off

So if someone says that you're facing a direction you are facing, and they're right, what are you going to do? Idolize that person? Think that person has the right God? Will you listen to them and take their advice wholly? Or will you think, out of N, NE, E, SE, S, SW, W, NW that they just got lucky?

You see, I don't think you will be satisfied with one answer. I think you will test and test and test again. And God absolutely will not do that.

What question can you ask that God can answer that nobody knows but you that will be a final, definitive response that will prove to you that He exists?

If there is nothing, then you're just playing a game.

.

brinny said:

God communicates in my heart. How do i put that in words?

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Exactly. A newborn baby will feel it's mother's warmth and love without being able to put it into words.

Cieza said:

Christians have claimed that they can:
1) Communicate with God
2) Hear God speak

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When God 'speaks' it's not always as we are communicating now.

You're taking this too literally. For e.g. the Bible says that God breathed life into Adam. Now this doesn't mean that God has a mouth and lungs.

Cieza said:

They also claim that God hears everything, knows everything and wants us to believe he exists. By that rationale, if a Christian asks God what polar direction I'm sitting in as I type this, they should get an answer back from God stating the precise polar direction I'm sitting in. The lack of an answer merely reinforces my position that the Christian God - as Christians describe God - does not exist.

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Secondly if some Christians could know God's words in the sense you're saying they do then if none of them were here it wouldn't mean that God doesn't exist.

It would just mean that those particular Christians are absent.

Your challenge is just so full of holes.

Cieza said:

Lack of an answer from God leaves us where we're at before I started this thread. That there is no evidence that a fully omniscient & omnipotent being exists.

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That doesn't follow at all. You mean that a lack of an answer to your question by a means that you restrict means that.

Cieza said:

So if you ask and get no answer or the wrong answer, it puts us no further back than we were at before the OP.

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A lack of answer would be just that, a lack of an answer

You take this to mean that God doesn't exist. That sort of illogical leap is why I'm glad I'm not an atheist

Yes, God is all-knowing, and He does know which direction you're sitting in. However, God is not some genie who will make whatever request we ask from Him.

God does communicate with His followers, but there's a difference between someone coming to God for wisdom and someone coming to test Him. Furthermore, not all people are equally blessed with hearing from God. God's voice is usually not an audible sound, but He speaks though silence. As a result, people who are less adept at hearing from God can come to false or inaccurate interpretations. You could get only one response from someone who genuinely heard from God and gets the answer right, but they'd be drowned out by others making blind guesses based on their own emotions.

Some also pointed out that God is not the only knowledgeable spirit out there. Demons can also alter our thoughts, and sometimes may even share their knowledge if they think it might help their cause. The reason for the success of the Anti-Christ is that people would mistake his miracles for evidence or his divinity (assuming the Anti-Christ is a literal man).

Like the Pharisees who asked Jesus for a sign to prove He was who He claimed to be, the OP is asking (rather demanding) for a sign from G-d so that he will believe in Him. However, G-d has already proven Himself through creation (Romans 1:18-23), through the Scriptures (2 Timothy 3:15-17), and through His Son, Jesus Christ (Philippians 2:5-11). No matter what he claims, he has no excuse for not believing.

I don't think, from what I've read in his posts, that the OP is willing to believe but rather is looking for excuses to justify his unbelief. However, the OP needs to realize that G-d knows his heart and he isn't fooling Him one bit. Scripture tells us that G-d resists the proud but gives grace to the humble (Proverbs 16:5; 16:18; 3:34; James 4:6). The OP doesn't appear to be humble before G-d. Although we cannot truly know his heart, Jesus did say that from "out of the heart, the mouth speaks" (Matthew 15:18-19; Luke 6:45).

One day, the OP will stand before G-d in judgment (Revelation 20:11-15). After he dies, he will have no chance for salvation or forgiveness. There are no second chances after death, for it is written, "And it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment” (Hebrews 9:27). So, when he does stand before G-d in judgment, he will have to give an account of his entire life to Him (Romans 14:12). This means he will have to give an account for every idle word he has ever spoken (Matthew 12:36). He will also have to give an account for every action and every thought. He will not be able to hide anything from G-d. (Hebrews 4:13).

He will have absolutely no excuse whatsoever for not believing (Romans 1:18-23) and for not accepting forgiveness for his sins through His Son, Jesus Christ (John 3:16; 3:18; 3:36; 14:6; Acts 4:12; Romans 3:10-26; 5:8-11; Ephesians 2:8-9; Titus 3:4-7). If he were to die today, without Christ, he would end up in hell, forever. Scripture is very clear that unbelievers are storing up wrath against themselves (Romans 2:5) and that G-d will "give to each person according to what he has done" (Romans 2:6; Revelation 2:23; 20:12; 22:12). And Scripture is also very clear that "It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God" (Hebrews 10:31).

Cieza said:

Christians have claimed that they can:
1) Communicate with God
2) Hear God speak
They also claim that God hears everything, knows everything and wants us to believe he exists. By that rationale, if a Christian asks God what polar direction I'm sitting in as I type this, they should get an answer back from God stating the precise polar direction I'm sitting in.

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One problem here is that you are imposing your own expectations upon God. You have asked Him a question, He has replied to you, and you refuse to acknowledge what He said.

Cieza said:

The lack of an answer merely reinforces my position that the Christian God - as Christians describe God - does not exist.

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I don't think a Christian would ever describe God to behave as you are expecting Him to behave. Demons will, why don't you go to a psychic if all you want is to be impressed? I'll tell you another way that God spoke to me.

Once I lived next to a used clothing recycle bin, you know the ones where you put your used clothing and the company sells some and gives some to the poor. Well I had a shirt with a small tear in it, and when I was cleaning up my room, instead of throwing it in the rubbish I put it in the recycle bin to save space in my rubbish bin. Then later that day I was coming home from town and I saw a couple of water coolers next to the clothing bin, you know the type that serve chilled, filtered water in a foyer. I said to a guy that was standing nearby "that's generous isn't it!". He replied "I think they're probably broken". Then I replied "well they shouldn't be putting their rubbish there then should they". Then as I walked away I remembered that I'd put my rubbish there earlier and my conscience convicted me, how hypocritical I was, yet by my own mouth I confessed God's rebuke upon me. Now you would say that is just coincidence, but I don't believe in coincidence. I walked away from that man and tears filled my eyes because of how wonderful and gracefully effective the Lord's rebuke is. That is another way that God can speak to us, but you shut your mind to that too, claiming that it is more rational to believe in coincidence than to give glory to God.

Why in the world would you expect G-d to tell any of us "what polar direction you're facing?" From the time He told us to the time you saw it, you would've moved.

This is NOT what it means to seek the Lord

Cieza said:

Why should I believe God knows what polar direction I'm facing unless he will actually tell me? It's just like if I can't see, but I claimed I know exactly what color shirt you're wearing. You find this claim somewhat dubious, so you ask me to tell you what color your shirt it. Then when I evade the responsibility of showing you that the claim I've made is accurate, you merely become more dubious.

The process we've gone through in the 10 pages of this thread has made me far more dubious of the existence of an all-knowing, all-powerful God than I was before the thread started.

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You know, this really doesn't take 10 pages to answer. Although the people here have done an excellent job in doing so. If you just looked again at that passage I linked you on page 1, the answer is plain and simple. God does not reveal himself to you on your terms. He reveals himself to you on his terms. Simply repeating yourself does not change this.

Cieza said:

So God wants me to believe in a stubborn God. And he wants the claims Christians make that he exists to appear to me as highly dubious.

This is good. At least I'm beginning to learn a little bit about God's nature.

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It is quite clear you are the stubborn one here. We have given an abundance of feedback, and you throw it aside because you insist on petty questions of "What polar direction am I facing?" Even your response here ignores what has been said. Fortunately, God is quite patient.

Cieza said:

Why should I believe God knows what polar direction I'm facing unless he will actually tell me? It's just like if I can't see, but I claimed I know exactly what color shirt you're wearing. You find this claim somewhat dubious, so you ask me to tell you what color your shirt it. Then when I evade the responsibility of showing you that the claim I've made is accurate, you merely become more dubious.

The process we've gone through in the 10 pages of this thread has made me far more dubious of the existence of an all-knowing, all-powerful God than I was before the thread started.

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And do you know why that is? It is because you aren't listening to what Jesus is telling you. He is telling you to stop asking such a dumb question and get to business. Are you going to obey Him or not?

Hakan101 said:

Fortunately, God is quite patient.

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A good quote to show Cieza at this point is Genesis 6:3

Then the LORD said, “My Spirit will not contend with humans forever, for they are mortal ; their days will be a hundred and twenty years.”

You have just one lifetime to get it sorted Cieza, don't waste it.

I still can't believe this has gone on for 10 pages, with nothing new to show for it.

Maybe a mod should just lock it down. If he chooses to ignore the answers before him, that is his choice, however much we may despair over it.

If that comes across like I'm belittling him, that wasn't my intention. So sorry if I come across that way.

GrayAngel said:

Yes, God is all-knowing, and He does know which direction you're sitting in. However, God is not some genie who will make whatever request we ask from Him.

God does communicate with His followers, but there's a difference between someone coming to God for wisdom and someone coming to test Him. Furthermore, not all people are equally blessed with hearing from God. God's voice is usually not an audible sound, but He speaks though silence. As a result, people who are less adept at hearing from God can come to false or inaccurate interpretations. You could get only one response from someone who genuinely heard from God and gets the answer right, but they'd be drowned out by others making blind guesses based on their own emotions.

Some also pointed out that God is not the only knowledgeable spirit out there. Demons can also alter our thoughts, and sometimes may even share their knowledge if they think it might help their cause. The reason for the success of the Anti-Christ is that people would mistake his miracles for evidence or his divinity (assuming the Anti-Christ is a literal man).

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Beautiful! Beautiful response and so, so correct! Thank you.

1Prophetess said:

So if someone says that you're facing a direction you are facing, and they're right, what are you going to do? Idolize that person? Think that person has the right God? Will you listen to them and take their advice wholly? Or will you think, out of N, NE, E, SE, S, SW, W, NW that they just got lucky?


You see, I don't think you will be satisfied with one answer. I think you will test and test and test again. And God absolutely will not do that.

What question can you ask that God can answer that nobody knows but you that will be a final, definitive response that will prove to you that He exists?


If there is nothing, then you're just playing a game.

Click to expand...

I personally think that you are running against the wind. You are wasting your time and everyone else's time by your bantering about God not being there all the while you are refusing to do things His way and don't really want to prove He is there. You just want to say to a few people, tell me the answer to my question, and that could determine if there is a God. You're told, God doesn't play games.

But wait! You say you want to play not only one guessing game (which you've been told God doesn't play), but your plan is to play another and another. I know of one man who played a game with God. He put out a fleece, and God answered him--twice. However, God had told him to do something so, to be sure it was God, he tested. However, he already knew there was a God, so this was a test of "did you speak to me" and not "are you there?"

We Christians can hear from God. Most people call it their conscience speaking to them. But unfortunately, being human, we have our own voice, and being human and willful, our voice tends to drown out God's voice. It is only with prayer and fasting that we can be sure which voice it is. So what you're asking these mortal men to do is to pray and fast to answer your first question. Then pray and fast to answer your second question. Then pray and fast to answer a third, and fourth and... where does this end? I'm not willing to do that though I know God would give me the answer.

Why, you ask, would I not be willing to do that? I would not because you are playing a game I don't want to be involved in. I have to work, so fasting is hard when I have to work. I have other responsibilities than you, so fasting is hard to do. And you ask me to do it for a game? God doesn't play games, but I could ask Him to make an exception for me (or you as the case might be). He might. Am I willing to fast to ask Him to play a game which He doesn't do? That seems like a circular motion (similar to flushing the toilet). It also seems somewhat disrespectful to ask Him to do something He doesn't do. So I think I'll wait until it is something I need rather than a game you want to play.



So with mortal man who continually fails, you are going to trust mortal man's word from God to be infallable? Or if it is not and mortal man's hearing is not tuned right with your every question, then there is no God? Why would an infinitive God play your mortal game?

I do not believe any of the gods from ancient times (who were not god at all but demons playing God) would play your game. They would scoff at you. And you're asking the one true God to play this game? How ludicrous!

To me, the issue is this:

1) You don't want an answer.
2) You want to mock God.
3) You want to come to God on your terms, not His.
4) You are not willing to give God a chance to prove anything His way.
5) You selectively respond to people but not everyone. By doing so, you again, don't give God a chance. You lay aside reality (first responders are not always the best trained), and you keep insisting that, if God doesn't do for you what He doesn't do, then He isn't there. Wow!
6) Although you've been told how God acts (i.e. He doesn't play games), you still insist that, if He doesn't play your games, He's not there. Many of us have told you that God doesn't play games. So if God doesn't play games, how can you base His existence on playing games?


This is the third, and last time, I will ask this question. If someone says that you're facing a direction you are facing, and they're right, what are you going to do? Idolize that person? Think that person has the right God? Will you listen to them and take their advice wholly? Or will you think, out of N, NE, E, SE, S, SW, W, NW that they just got lucky?

Let me warn you, if your response is "further testing," then God won't answer you in the beginning. He might tolerate and therefore answer your first question, but He doesn't play games. God doesn't even answer us, His children, more than once! Why would he play games with YOU?

Many Christians have told you that God doesn't play games. And then you want to base His existence on playing games? Do you not see this as ridiculous? Do you not realize that God knows your intent?

I see it as more. You are trying to test God by using mortal man in a way that God refuses to play. Therefore, you have created a game that God doesn't play, want to test your game on mortal, fallable man, and then said, "God doesn't exist."

And if He were to play it once with you and show you an answer to a question, you want to play again and again and again until the one responding fails so you can prove that God doesn't exist. But you would only be proving that man makes errors not that God doesn't exist. Your test, therefore, is ridiculously way too simple and way too fallable for God to play.

Your goal, therefore, is to prove God doesn't exist rather than to seek Him. And you want to shame a person who fails to hear God. But we know we all misunderstand Him at times so why would we, mortals, play?

If you were really seeking Him, he would show Himself to you. But you are not. You have found one more way to deny Him because this isn't your first time. Here's the point: God says that you should deny yourself and follow Him not deny Him and follow yourself. So you're entirely backwards in your thinking.

Yes, God can answer, but you want to banter with people who just want to talk. You don't want an answer. If you did want an answer, you'd answer all responders in hopes one had your answer.

I highly doubt God will ever answer you in this question. Try asking a harder question that will be the only question you ask. Agree to some terms, and then see if He answers. God doesn't play your type of game from people who are not really seeking Him.

But you won't do as I said because it's your way or the highway. Therefore, you're not really seeking Him. You just want to play games. God doesn't play games!