How do I really know that the Judeo-Christian God is the one who is the ultimate authority? Besides the feelings and experiences of other people, and to some extent myself, how do I know I'm not just being mislead by a culture? I've talked to some friends and they claim to have experiences as well, some of thier experiences are better then some of my christian friends, some of them even appear happier, peaceful and content then most of the christians I know. Of course I don't believe the majority rules and would want to believe the truth even if I was the only one who did. But how do I know I'm not just being fooled or mislead?
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Could I be wrong about this God?
- Thread starter CoffeeGeek
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If one keeps challenging God they will never know Him. He manifests Himself in His Word (and certainly the whole universe). Let me suggest you read John 1, John 3, John 14 and then ask God to teach you about that. If you really want Him in your life He will come, but on His terms as shown in His Word and by His beloved Son ---the Lord Jesus Christ (our only Savior). Look up always, and don't quit seeking Him.
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S
someguy14
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One must fully believe in God, alone, apart from the world. He said, she said. I heard this I heard that from so and so. Leave the worldly gossip, the reasoning of the worldly ways, God is far beyond that. Desire a personal relationship with God, He alone is all for believers in Him, The true friend. He is The Artist, that creates each of His own uniquely. God is The only authority. Regardless of how many ideas you heard, God is greater and has overcome every idea and sway that may have come your way.
To speak to you personally, you must sincerely give yourself to God. You must love God more than your family, more than any other person in existance. Put Him as number one. I personally guarantee that one cannot go wrong when God is given all that one has. It belongs to Him anyway. All of the things in the world perish, God is eternal. That is the big picture. God is all that matters. We could suffer through some of the worst things imaginable, yet nothing compares to the love of God. All is worth giving away for God. He is all. And every human that has existed form the beginning of time until the end, will confess to that.
To speak to you personally, you must sincerely give yourself to God. You must love God more than your family, more than any other person in existance. Put Him as number one. I personally guarantee that one cannot go wrong when God is given all that one has. It belongs to Him anyway. All of the things in the world perish, God is eternal. That is the big picture. God is all that matters. We could suffer through some of the worst things imaginable, yet nothing compares to the love of God. All is worth giving away for God. He is all. And every human that has existed form the beginning of time until the end, will confess to that.
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Sketcher
Born Imperishable
I'll turn this around: how do you know these questions are not part of a deception to lead you away from him? Furthermore, if Christianity isn't right, then what is?
I myself believe without doubt that the Christian God is the one true God, and that the Bible is right about him, and who Jesus is and what Jesus did. Why? My faith was whittled away to the point where I didn't believe the Gospel anymore, at least not for me. I was tormented at this time by my own guilt, and what turned out to be lie after lie from Hell itself. Whoever the one true God was, I wanted him on his terms if he was interested. So I called out to him, letting him know this, and that I was his. If what the Bible said about Christianity was true, I wanted to be a Christian, believe it, and give him my life. If not, I'd seek something else. I figured if there was a greater god out there, or if God preferred some other faith, there would be no change at all. If God could not hear me, then there would of course be no deliverance, since I had tried to believe multiple times in the earlier weeks and failed. I always relapsed back. And of course if there was no God, then there would be no help either. However, God inexpressibly gave me faith, peace, and improvement. I was not stable yet, but in the weeks after I had not experienced one of those relapses. And growing in the knowledge of God, taking a hold of his promises made me fully stable again, to stay. This may sound nuts to some people. They will of course have to account for their dismissal of it to the God who delivered me, and who delivers everybody. If you believe it and this encourages you, good. But I have to respond with this part of God's story in my life in response to your question.
I myself believe without doubt that the Christian God is the one true God, and that the Bible is right about him, and who Jesus is and what Jesus did. Why? My faith was whittled away to the point where I didn't believe the Gospel anymore, at least not for me. I was tormented at this time by my own guilt, and what turned out to be lie after lie from Hell itself. Whoever the one true God was, I wanted him on his terms if he was interested. So I called out to him, letting him know this, and that I was his. If what the Bible said about Christianity was true, I wanted to be a Christian, believe it, and give him my life. If not, I'd seek something else. I figured if there was a greater god out there, or if God preferred some other faith, there would be no change at all. If God could not hear me, then there would of course be no deliverance, since I had tried to believe multiple times in the earlier weeks and failed. I always relapsed back. And of course if there was no God, then there would be no help either. However, God inexpressibly gave me faith, peace, and improvement. I was not stable yet, but in the weeks after I had not experienced one of those relapses. And growing in the knowledge of God, taking a hold of his promises made me fully stable again, to stay. This may sound nuts to some people. They will of course have to account for their dismissal of it to the God who delivered me, and who delivers everybody. If you believe it and this encourages you, good. But I have to respond with this part of God's story in my life in response to your question.
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So short of testing God and proving Himself to me, and others, there is no way of proving someone elses religion wrong and mine correct?
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- Mar 22, 2011
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There are several angles to this. Christianity is a historical religion. You can verify the accuracy of the record and the integrity of the texts. You can consider the improbability of the survival of both the Jewish race and Christianity, considering the odds and the persecution they endured.
But ultimately it will come down to the question of who is Jesus. Jesus spoke with an authority that leaves no wiggle room. As CS Lewis wrote in his Great Trilemma, he was either Lord, liar or lunatic. He left no other alternative.
Once you get that straight, everything else falls into place. And our lives fall into place also, leading to the final witness - that of the innumerable souls who have found peace and rest and fulfillment in Him.
But ultimately it will come down to the question of who is Jesus. Jesus spoke with an authority that leaves no wiggle room. As CS Lewis wrote in his Great Trilemma, he was either Lord, liar or lunatic. He left no other alternative.
Once you get that straight, everything else falls into place. And our lives fall into place also, leading to the final witness - that of the innumerable souls who have found peace and rest and fulfillment in Him.
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- Mar 22, 2011
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Thanks, sis. Now that I'm back on my regular keyboard layout I can actually type...
There are many apologetics works out there that are good. I always liked Josh McDowell's stuff. CS Lewis' Mere Christianity is great and is online.
One of the key points is that the Bible is rooted in history. It's not a mere religious theory like many others, such as Hinduism/Buddhism (that is not to say there isn't truth in other religions, but the fullness of revelation is found only in Christ). Another angle is the prophecies the Bible has made, that against all odds have come true. Nowhere else can you find that sort of thing on any scale.
The Great Trilemma is from Mere Christianity. This is it:
And here is a really neat testimony from someone who was a 60's hippy, and dead-set against Christianity.
There are many apologetics works out there that are good. I always liked Josh McDowell's stuff. CS Lewis' Mere Christianity is great and is online.
One of the key points is that the Bible is rooted in history. It's not a mere religious theory like many others, such as Hinduism/Buddhism (that is not to say there isn't truth in other religions, but the fullness of revelation is found only in Christ). Another angle is the prophecies the Bible has made, that against all odds have come true. Nowhere else can you find that sort of thing on any scale.
The Great Trilemma is from Mere Christianity. This is it:
"I am trying here to prevent anyone saying the really foolish thing that people often say about Him: I’m ready to accept Jesus as a great moral teacher, but I don’t accept his claim to be God. That is the one thing we must not say. A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic — on the level with the man who says he is a poached egg — or else he would be the Devil of Hell. You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God, or else a madman or something worse. You can shut him up for a fool, you can spit at him and kill him as a demon or you can fall at his feet and call him Lord and God, but let us not come with any patronising nonsense about his being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to. ... Now it seems to me obvious that He was neither a lunatic nor a fiend: and consequently, however strange or terrifying or unlikely it may seem, I have to accept the view that He was and is God."
And here is a really neat testimony from someone who was a 60's hippy, and dead-set against Christianity.
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Make sure you're not testing God - Matthew 4:7 says "Do not put the Lord your God to the test." It's more that your heart needs to be totally open and accepting to Jesus. He is always pursuing your love but you can only fully accept Him when you are seeking out of love, not out of contempt. God does not need to "prove" himself to us. Does that make sense?
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GaryWonder
Can't wait to leave California!
Wow. Good stuff. I remember hearing about what Lewis wrote, when I was younger. It's great to see it again, to put things back into perspective.
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I love that also. It cuts right to the quick. I was reading yesterday that some have added a fourth "L" to it: legend. Fine, but there is no way Christ was mere legend, and even secular history concurs. The apostles didn’t willingly go to their deaths for a mere legend.
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As for putting God to the test, I don’t get that sense from CofeeGeek. She seems to be sincerely struggling with issues that most of us will have at one time or another. This kind of testing of our faith is normal, and drives us deeper into its roots. That is a good thing, because our faith rests on solid ground no matter how you approach it, and if we keep at it we can only get stronger. The danger is in giving up before we find the answers.
The Greek word in "Thou shalt not put the Lord thy God to the test" has the connotation of extreme, inappropriate testing. Like willfully jumping off a roof and saying, "God, you HAVE to catch me before I hit ground". But God gave us our minds as a major part of our personhood, and for the purpose of sincerely trying to ascertain what is true He wants us to use them. In Isaiah He invites us to reason together with Him, and in Malachi He challenges us to prove His word, and Paul tells us to examine ourselves to prove we are in the faith. Open rebuke is better than hidden love. It is better that we test our faith, discover the truth and draw near with confidence, than stay at a distance out of fear.
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As for putting God to the test, I don’t get that sense from CofeeGeek. She seems to be sincerely struggling with issues that most of us will have at one time or another. This kind of testing of our faith is normal, and drives us deeper into its roots. That is a good thing, because our faith rests on solid ground no matter how you approach it, and if we keep at it we can only get stronger. The danger is in giving up before we find the answers.
The Greek word in "Thou shalt not put the Lord thy God to the test" has the connotation of extreme, inappropriate testing. Like willfully jumping off a roof and saying, "God, you HAVE to catch me before I hit ground". But God gave us our minds as a major part of our personhood, and for the purpose of sincerely trying to ascertain what is true He wants us to use them. In Isaiah He invites us to reason together with Him, and in Malachi He challenges us to prove His word, and Paul tells us to examine ourselves to prove we are in the faith. Open rebuke is better than hidden love. It is better that we test our faith, discover the truth and draw near with confidence, than stay at a distance out of fear.
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There are so many religions world wide. Why is Christianity the right one? Buddha, Muhammad and Confucious were considered great prophets/teachers. None of these claimed to be equal to God. Jesus did! Jesus said God exists and your'e looking at Him. Jesus pointed people to Himself. He said He is the way, truth and life. No one comes to the Father but through me. Please search Ian McCormack testimony, A Glimpse of Eternity . I tried to include link but was not able to post for some reason.
Also friend, please think about this for a moment. Christianity is mocked openly on TV, MTV, music and movies...(GCB, SNL skit-Tim Tebow....)People are always cursing in Jesus' name. Why aren't they mocking Buddha, Shiva or Muhammad? It's always Jesus. For hundreds of thousands of years, people have tried to destroy Christianity. I know I serve the one true living God, Jesus Christ.
Also friend, please think about this for a moment. Christianity is mocked openly on TV, MTV, music and movies...(GCB, SNL skit-Tim Tebow....)People are always cursing in Jesus' name. Why aren't they mocking Buddha, Shiva or Muhammad? It's always Jesus. For hundreds of thousands of years, people have tried to destroy Christianity. I know I serve the one true living God, Jesus Christ.
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