Belief

[XChristian]

Fear, guilt, the need to be loved plus exposure to Christianity seem to be the basic components of Christian faith. As far as I can tell from your responses. So far, nothing that a rational non-believer would understand. Except for Bobinators angels and demons, unfortunately I doubt he has any proof of his angels and demons. I think it all boils down to you want to believe. You want to believe there is more to life than what you can physically see and experience. You want to believe there is a reason for all the madness and suffering in the world. I can understand that but I need more than that to believe in a specific God with specific attributes and demands.

 

[Lukaris]

Well Christ says that there will be tribulation in this world and such is the truth and such is the consequence of sin as explained in Genesis. Many people ask, "Why does God permit bad things?' and agreeably it is not easy to accept but there is often tribulation in this world. God promises salvation from it by repentance to His only begotten Son and we are to abide in love, faith, and hope (1 Corinthians 13:13) for the length of our lives to the gift of salvation in the aflterlife and this is faith. Many hope for fairness but a Christian knows it is not here but found in faith. Christ calls individuals having virtues as blessed in the Beatitudes & many of us believe he will not foresake those who may not know Him intellectually but may subconsciously follow Him and also the innocent poor (see Psalm 10). There is no need to be loved here but we have a need to love in even the smallest ways we possibly can but tribulation will remain in this world as long as it exists.

 

[Chesterton]

Fear, guilt, the need to be loved plus exposure to Christianity seem to be the basic components of Christian faith.

Your post almost refutes itself. If your position is that Christianity is wholly false, then the onus is on you to explain this supposed fear, guilt, and need to be loved.

 

[Angeloffire]

What convinced you Christians out there to believe in and accept Jesus Christ as your savior? Just wondering.

Hi XChristian,

I was thinking alot about your question and hope I do it justice.

When people make Jesus Lord of their life. It means that you have seen yourself as you really are and you have asked Jesus to be the boss of your life.

I'm of simplistic mind and do not care for 'religion' and by that I mean rules, bylaws, and fetters of mankind, but I only want Truth.

God is Truth. He is 1+1=2. He is everything that is real and true.

Every person believes something and there is no such thing as a person with 'no' faith. We believe the garbage man will show up and pick up our trash....even that is a belief .

The question is, what do you believe? Then whatever you act on and move from is your faith.

Sin....is wrong thinking acted on. For example, pride is man esteeming himself as God, ultimate truth. But he isn't, so if he follows himself and his misplaced thinking, he is like a man in a small boat adrift on the sea of his mind.

God is pure Knowledge. This was why King David in the bible loved to meditate on Him. God was showing David His mind. God is pure wisdom, not religion.

When you give your life to God and you ask Him to guide you the rest of your life, and you lay your own ways down at His feet as you are shown the correct way to go by Him, then you will know salvation.

Humility is the path to God.

I believe in Him, because He lives in me and because he loves me more than His own life.

Blessings,

Angel Of Fire

 

[Ryft]

So far, nothing that a rational non-believer would understand.

Maybe nothing a closed-minded non-believer would understand, because my post at least (I will not presumptively defend someone else's post) contained material a rational person would understand. Comprehensive? Of course not. Understandable? Certainly, for a rational person anyway. Your posts are beginning to hemorrhage bigotry; I'd get a compression bandage on that flow. Unless your comfortable with the reputation, of course, which would be bewildering but not impossible.

I think it all boils down to you want to believe.

This is a completely bankrupt criticism, because that statement is true for practically every single person in the world. Including you. Your worldview likewise boils down to you want to believe. All of us differ merely over 'what' we want to believe; i.e. what we give intellectual assent to. It is the case for practically all people, from brainwashed bigots to critical skeptics. So to point out that Christians form their worldview in a way that is akin to how nearly anyone forms a worldview is... well, not exactly a criticism. Nor entirely meaningful, for that matter, rather like pointing out that Christians breathe air the way everyone else does. Sort of meaningless, ultimately.

 

[XChristian]

Ryft,
I would like to believe in an afterlife of eternal bliss but there is simply nothing to support it. How is Christianity the one true religion and every other religion false? In my experience most peoples faith is based on what they were raised to believe. Also, labeling someone a close-minded bigot probably isn't the best way to get your point across.

 

[Lyle]

How is Christianity the one true religion and every other religion false?

It depends on how deeply you want to look into it. There are claims, changes that back them. Beliefs and charges that back them. The fact is is that every other religion fails to acknowledge key problems and is logically flawed by design. That sounds bold doesn't it...

Tell me something first, I wrote out a bit but erased it. How much do you know of other religions and Christianity? i mean, where are you coming from on this matter... You have started this thread with a question, which has finally been answering, and then the process is broken with the idea that everyone believes what is right in their own mind. Tell me what you are thinking.

 

[JTT]

What convinced you Christians out there to believe in and accept Jesus Christ as your savior? Just wondering.

For me, it's not the normal Christian Answer. I also don't consider myself a Christian, I believe its just a label, a word to name something. I don't need a label for God to know my heart.

Jesus has saved me, in his love. What I mean is that I have learned to love others by taking His Lead. By the way he treated others, the lowely, the sinners, the sick, the helpless, the needy... through THIS love, I have learned to love not only others but myself. I realize how much God loves me. He loves me no matter what I have done.. and THIS made me want to do better. To love more. To show others how much THEY are loved..This was probably the most important thing for me. To watch how Jesus stood by his love and didn't give in even when he was beaten and broken.. He stuck by that Love and I will do the same. Its pretty amazing. I don't understand the whole blood sacrifice thing. I think too much emphasis has been put on Jesus' death rather than his life.