atheist looking for a meaning in life

[Deafsilence]

So you're not making any long term plans then...

That is correct, I minimized my retirement contributions to minimum. I will still need a little when the time comes. But I do not expect this world to exist as we know it now in 18 years.

 

[Deafsilence]

The normal term for that is that God is the "author" of sin. If, then, God desires men to sin, then it is His will. If we are doing His will, then it isn't sin, since sin is defined as something that is contrary to God's will.

What you've defined is a conflicted god. I would suggest that you rethink your interpretations of those verses.

God is not the author of sin. God is the creator of man which has flesh and therefore sins. Sin is born out of the lusts of the flesh (see book of James). So God facilitated man knowing that man would sin. But knowing that man would sin beforehand was acceptable to God for God knew that He had already planned the delivery from sin for man. But sin is necessary for man such that man will know Good. For what does God say when man did sin? Man has become as us to know Good and Evil. This was desired for God is Creating His own Kind. Remember in Genesis each was being created after its "kind". Man is also being created after the God Kind which is why man was created in the image of God.

Gen 3:22 And the LORD God said, Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil: and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever:

 

[Derf]

God is not the author of sin. God is the creator of man which has flesh and therefore sins. Sin is born out of the lusts of the flesh (see book of James). So God facilitated man knowing that man would sin. But knowing that man would sin beforehand was acceptable to God for God knew that He had already planned the delivery from sin for man. But sin is necessary for man such that man will know Good. For what does God say when man did sin? Man has become as us to know Good and Evil.

You just wrapped yourself back around to saying God is the author of sin.

This was desired for God is Creating His own Kind. Remember in Genesis each was being created after its "kind".

Be careful of twisting the words. He created the different animals to reproduce after their own kind, but He didn't create animals after pre-existing kinds.

Man is also being created after the God Kind which is why man was created in the image of God.

When Adam sinned, every one of his offspring was affected in a seriously negative way, some call it depravity. If God knowing good and evil means the same thing, then how can he create only good offspring?

Gen 3:22 And the LORD God said, Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil: and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever:

Is Satan doing what God wants all the time? Then Satan is by definition not an adversary, but an accomplice to God's evil.

 

[JSP]

Little back story , was born in a hindu family, currently an atheist, i am 20 yr old and feel like an old man with nothing to show for in life, now i wish that if only the internet hadnt filled my brain with a million ideas there still would have been a way for me to believe in god, finally have came to an understanding that lifes pretty empty without a bigger reason to live than myself, wish there was way for me to redpillmy brain into believing in god, but again i feel like its too late for me. I have no idea where to go from here.

Shivag lets keep it simple.
John 3:16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son.
That Whom so ever believed in him, would not perish but have everlasting life.

 

[Bradskii]

Lol. The 700 dollar fee is for a keynote speech like in front of a convention or church..

My normal services, friendly chats, targeted prayer sessions,, and acts of charity are free Lol.

Good to know you don't charge for a friendly chat...

 

[Deafsilence]

Lol. The 700 dollar fee is for a keynote speech like in front of a convention or church..

My normal services, friendly chats, targeted prayer sessions,, and acts of charity are free Lol.

You best hope that your service

You just wrapped yourself back around to saying God is the author of sin.

Be careful of twisting the words. He created the different animals to reproduce after their own kind, but He didn't create animals after pre-existing kinds.

When Adam sinned, every one of his offspring was affected in a seriously negative way, some call it depravity. If God knowing good and evil means the same thing, then how can he create only good offspring?

Is Satan doing what God wants all the time? Then Satan is by definition not an adversary, but an accomplice to God's evil.

No, as I don't think author is the correct term. Author would mean that the sin directly came from God. The sin did not come directly from God. Sin comes from lusts of the flesh. At this point, I don't think your trying to understand what I'm saying but rather just trying to oppose what I'm saying. I won't respond to you directly further.

 

[Derf]

You best hope that your service

No, as I don't think author is the correct term. Author would mean that the sin directly came from God. The sin did not come directly from God. Sin comes from lusts of the flesh. At this point, I don't think your trying to understand what I'm saying but rather just trying to oppose what I'm saying. I won't respond to you directly further.

That's odd. From my point of view, it seemed like you were trying to oppose what I'm saying.

 

[Siddhi Koli]

Welcome to CF!

 

[Joined2krist]

Praying for you. Welcome!

 

[returntosender]

Little back story , was born in a hindu family, currently an atheist, i am 20 yr old and feel like an old man with nothing to show for in life, now i wish that if only the internet hadnt filled my brain with a million ideas there still would have been a way for me to believe in god, finally have came to an understanding that lifes pretty empty without a bigger reason to live than myself, wish there was way for me to redpillmy brain into believing in god, but again i feel like its too late for me. I have no idea where to go from here.

If i was you i would get to know God to see if you want to be his. Read his word every day
Merry Christmas

 

[JohnArrran]

As a Christian I would encourage you to explore Christianity. Get a Bible and read the gospels then reread them. Then read Romans and then reread the gospels. By then you will understand well the basics of the Christian faith. Ask God to open your eyes as you read. Thee Christian faith is faith in the Christ of the Bible. Becoming a Christian involves repenting of sin, trusting in Jesus as Saviour from sins and acknowledging him as Lord of your life.

I agree with the first writer that there may well be aspects of your life that you need to restructure. There are things that are worthwhile in life for their own sake. Earning a living, helping others, family etc. The Bible book of Ecclesiastes expresses how you are feeling. It doesn’t really give the answer. The answer is found in the gospels in a God who loves you and his Son who died for you. However, until you read and reread and begin to see just how unique and glorious Jesus is for yourself, comments by people like me will be largely meaningless.

I hope you come to know Jesus.

 

[GraceBro]

Little back story , was born in a hindu family, currently an atheist, i am 20 yr old and feel like an old man with nothing to show for in life, now i wish that if only the internet hadnt filled my brain with a million ideas there still would have been a way for me to believe in god, finally have came to an understanding that lifes pretty empty without a bigger reason to live than myself, wish there was way for me to redpillmy brain into believing in god, but again i feel like its too late for me. I have no idea where to go from here.

If you are feeling "that life's pretty empty without a bigger reason to live" than yourself, that is because you are empty and there is a bigger reason to live than yourself. If I were you, I would ask myself, "Am I looking to get love, acceptance, meaning, and purpose to life from all the things the world has to offer?" If so, I would wager that your pursuit of those things has left you feeling empty. That is exactly where you should be. God created you with those needs. However, He is the only one that can meet those needs in Himself through faith in Jesus Christ. If you are intrigued, let me know, and I can guide you to some free teaching that can get you started investigating these things.

Grace and Peace.

 

[SeventhFisherofMen]

Little back story , was born in a hindu family, currently an atheist, i am 20 yr old and feel like an old man with nothing to show for in life, now i wish that if only the internet hadnt filled my brain with a million ideas there still would have been a way for me to believe in god, finally have came to an understanding that lifes pretty empty without a bigger reason to live than myself, wish there was way for me to redpillmy brain into believing in god, but again i feel like its too late for me. I have no idea where to go from here.

When you realize society, teachers, and the media push so hard against the existence of God you will realize why it's being oppressed so much, and that reason is that it is true. Jesus sees everything, He sees your desire to want there to be a reason to believe in Jesus.

My advice: Ask Jesus "if you're real then give me some sort of sign." Don't sit there waiting for lightning to strike or the ocean to part, look for the small miracles, The nudge of The Holy Spirit to tell you "Hey, i'm here" someone to mention God to you, maybe a stranger to help or talk to you that could actually be an angel or Jesus in disguise. You never know.

When I was in college I tried really hard to believe that God didn't exist. I tried extremely hard to convince myself He didn't exist. The one thought in my mind was "What if Jesus came back now". I did not want to wait for that to happen to realize i should put my faith in Him. Not too long after I became a Christian by my own choosing. Then more and more miracles piled up until I can now say there is no way anyone can ever convince me Jesus is not real, He is real. Now it's about reading the Bible, seeing The Truth, and realizing there's a reason the world works so hard to minimize and downplay Jesus and Christianity. It's because it's true and the ruler of this world wants to convince you that none of this is true, none of the near death experiences or the miracle testimonies or appearances of Jesus and angels in dreams are true, they want you to believe the lie that it's not true and you should go back to the hot tub of this world and be comfortable in meaninglessness and just watch tv your whole life and just waste time and your purpose. Jesus wants more for you and for you to join His army and employment in this world.

When I became a Christian things were given to me, jobs, favor, a family, endurance, the gift of helping others. You begin to tap into a Power who is Jesus that will help with all you need. It's like being in Star Wars and you are a good Jedi and you have power for good and now it's about wearing Jesus's armor (look up Ephesians 6 it talks about it in verse 10 I believe). The things of the spirit realm are more real than you think. Trust me it's not made up and the more you read scripture which has God's power the more you will realize this. You will never be the same and for the better too.

Start now, read the Bible, read anything in it, and begin to change i promise it will happen fast too.

 

[Anthony2019]

Hello and welcome!
Wishing you a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

 

[BobRyan]

Little back story , was born in a hindu family, currently an atheist, i am 20 yr old and feel like an old man with nothing to show for in life, now i wish that if only the internet hadnt filled my brain with a million ideas there still would have been a way for me to believe in god, finally have came to an understanding that lifes pretty empty without a bigger reason to live than myself, wish there was way for me to redpillmy brain into believing in god, but again i feel like its too late for me. I have no idea where to go from here.

Good news! There are many reasons to have faith in God.

1. IT is obvious that dust-gas-rocks-sunlight will never "come up with a horse" over time and chance. IT is not reasonable to believe in such a religion. An infinitely capable creator can create - but rocks can't come up with a horse or a human brain - no matter how much "time" they are given.

2. The Urey/Miller experiment in the 50's demonstrated that even the amino-acid building blocks for a single cell- can't be formed in chemical reactions where they all have the chiral orientation actually needed to form a single living cell.

3. The "Long running Evolution Experiment" proves that even 80,000 generations could not budge prokaryotes into coming up with a single Eukaryote ...that's more generations of direct observation than it supposedly took for humans to evolve!!

4. Even the evolutionist world-class scientists cast shade on the religious nature of their own argument - as was seen in the case of the atheist scientist Collin Patterson. When talking about the idea that 'one thing came from another very different thing" He notes "did birds come from Dinosaurs - we don't know, since there is no way of putting that idea to the test". This is the guy that wrote the book on Evolution for the British Museum of Natural History.

By contrast we have cases where atheists encounter God directly and become Christian.

 

[BobRyan]

2) simulation theory would make anything possible. Some have interpreted Bible as saying we are created in God’a imagination (Bible says “image” which is the root of imagination) which I think is like what Hindus say about Brahma and you might compare this to simulation theory in modern terms.

The Ten Commandments say that man is not to make an image of anything in heaven or Earth and then claim to bow before or serve the thing it represents. Image means the outward form of something. Its the same author in Gen 2 as in Exodus 20 according to the Bible and Christ saying that Moses is the one writing, and that author is using the same term to convey the same message/meaning about form.

 

[RileyG]

Welcome to CF! God's blessings upon you!

 

[ViaCrucis]

Little back story , was born in a hindu family, currently an atheist, i am 20 yr old and feel like an old man with nothing to show for in life, now i wish that if only the internet hadnt filled my brain with a million ideas there still would have been a way for me to believe in god, finally have came to an understanding that lifes pretty empty without a bigger reason to live than myself, wish there was way for me to redpillmy brain into believing in god, but again i feel like its too late for me. I have no idea where to go from here.

In my own theological tradition, Lutheranism, we admit that faith isn't something we can attain on our own, no amount of reason can bridge that gap. Instead we speak of faith using the Latin expression "extra nos", literally, "from outside of ourselves". Because to faith means to see and know God in and through Jesus, who Jesus is and what Jesus did, especially in His suffering and death on the cross. Such things run counter-intuitive to the usual ways we tend to conceptualize "divinity" as an idea. It is not particularly difficult to speak of God as radically other, mysterious and transcendent. But to speak of Divinity as that which is radically near, that is found not in "glory", but rather in the weakness, fragility, and suffering of a lowly carpenter from Nazareth--that isn't something any amount of philosophical rationalizing can get us to. It is, in a sense, total nonsense, as even St. Paul the Apostle writes in the New Testament, that to the philosopher and students of reason the Christian faith and Christian message and Christian claim is completely and entirely foolish--it's nonsense. That is what he means when he says "we preach Christ crucified, [which is ... ] foolishness to the Greeks" (1 Corinthians 1:23).

Which would all naturally beg the question, "How, then, does one have faith?". Lutherans find our answer in the Bible, where we read that faith is a gift from God, which God gives through the hearing of Christ's word; that could be described another way: an encounter with grace in the Gospel.

What is the Gospel? The word English word "gospel" is the modern form of the older English word "godspel", a combination of two English words "good" and "spell", with the word "spell" used in its much older sense of "to tell" or "to speak". Literally, "good news", a translation of the Greek word used in the New Testament, euaggelion, which likewise quite literally means "good news" or "good message". In the ancient Roman world when the Roman armies at the frontier of the Roman Republic (and later Roman Empire) were winning their victories, a person was commissioned to go from the front lines and go back to Rome to announce the news of what was going on, they were giving good news. This language is, in a sense, adopted in Christianity: the victory of God and His kingdom, right here in our midst, through Jesus the Messiah, not against another nation of men, but against sin and death. And so Jesus, we believe, in calling together a new kind of community and people associated with Himself--that is, His Church--He called this people to have this good news of Himself, of who He is and what He's done, of God's reign as King and God's victory through the Messiah to be announced everywhere, because through the announcing of this good news means the forgiveness of sin, of reconciliation of men to God through Jesus, and to create a people of faith, hope, and love.

To encounter grace, to encounter God's radical kindness, in the this good news actually--we Lutherans believe--actually does something to us. We can, of course, choose to brush it off, ignore it, etc. But it actually works something in us, gives us something new that wasn't there before, it creates something: faith. And that faith makes us new people, as though we have been born again, born not in the natural way as children of our parents, but born anew of God and have come into a radically new way of relating to God: to see God as Father because in Jesus, His Son, God is revealed as loving, kind, merciful, and unconditionally good Father.

Now, we say "hear" because that is the word Paul uses in Romans 10:17; but I have chosen to also use the word "encounter", because there can be many ways to hear this word of good news. The most obvious would be when it is preached and someone literally hears it; but it can also be read, most importantly in the collection of books which we call the Christian Bible. It is also "heard" in connection with water in the Sacrament of Baptism; and also in connection with bread and wine in the Sacrament of Christ's Supper. We speak of all these things together as "Word and Sacrament", and that they are God's "Means of Grace", as we see them as God's way of communicating to us and working to create and sustain and strengthen faith in us.

Because of this, while Lutherans do engage in evangelism and missionary work all around the world, we don't believe that one comes to the Christian faith by coercion or can be argued into believing. Rather, Lutherans commonly quote Jesus when people came to Him to ask if He was the real deal or not, He said, "Come and see." That is, Jesus invited them to come and see if He was the real deal, and so we believe that if we, as Christ's people, are speaking the Gospel, if that is what is truly happening in our midst, then God's word is truly being preached. Not as "Turn or burn" or "You need to get right with God" or anything like that: but instead we believe Jesus is here and is giving Himself away to everyone who hears, and God will work and create faith to believe through Word and Sacrament. Therefore, we say, "Come and see". We can't convince you, or make you believe; but we believe that God really will seed and water the hearts of those who hear, and bring to fruition what He plants and waters--faith.

-CryptoLutheran

 

[Gregory Thompson]

Little back story , was born in a hindu family, currently an atheist, i am 20 yr old and feel like an old man with nothing to show for in life, now i wish that if only the internet hadnt filled my brain with a million ideas there still would have been a way for me to believe in god, finally have came to an understanding that lifes pretty empty without a bigger reason to live than myself, wish there was way for me to redpillmy brain into believing in god, but again i feel like its too late for me. I have no idea where to go from here.

Okay this is the "exploring Christianity section" noted.

The wish that the internet hadn't filled your brain with a million ideas reminds me of the effect that consuming the fruit of knowing what is Good and Evil. This fruit was in the Garden of Eden at the beginning of the bible.

This introduction that there was good and that there was evil, deviated from God's perception that all of creation being good, and lead to humans being separated from God.

Millennia later God came in the form of a man, Jesus who is called Christ, to become the bridge so man and God would not be separated anymore.

That is to say, you may have a long road, but it isn't without hope.

may God bless you on your journey.

 

[Sabertooth]

Hello & welcome @shivang.

Have you heard of the Four Spiritual Laws?