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these are of the devil.perhaps a senior forum member could give more accurate answers than me.however I do understand what you are saying and im glad you have somewhere you can have your questions answered.have a good day friendDid you also look at the eyes destroyed by a particularly nasty kind of burrowing worm (created by the creator, for a purpose)? And how about those full of cataracts, or glaucoma. And those which don't see. Or have become cancerous (another of the creator's creations) and had be removed? And let's not forget the colourblind, and astigmatisms, and conjunctivitis, and retinal disorders, and macular degeneration, and the red eye of albinism.
these are of the devil.
yeah I know that god made everything friend that's why I suggested you talk to a senior member of this forum I don't have the answers I believe you need
we can all around us mate.the earth spins at 78000 mph round the sun for example,never altering course just perfectly placed,that alone is incredible.looking at your newborns face just gives you a feeling of something greater than yourself out there.i have asked the same questions friend that you are and sometimes I find some things hard to grasp.but lets say god is not real,you live a life of peace,love,happiness with other Christians then you die and you will be none the wiser.of course I believe that not to be the case but im just trying to make a point.I really hope you find god friend take care.mike
Which god are you hoping I find, Mike? And why?
I've had three newborns, and didn't think of the gods once. I did, however, marvel at the wonders of nature, and the overwhelming protective instinct that nature provides us as mothers.[/QU
I think you know.good luck with your life god bless.Which god are you hoping I find, Mike? And why?
I've had three newborns, and didn't think of the gods once. I did, however, marvel at the wonders of nature, and the overwhelming protective instinct that nature provides us as mothers.
And this is somehow worthy of eternal torture? Not prostrating ourselves 24/7 to someone simply because they put us into this world? What a horribly vain god you worship.
Even if the pot can think, and feel, and experience? Imagine a potter capable of creating living clay golems, capable of feeling pain. Would you not call the potter a monster for smashing his "pots"?
@FireDragon76 this is a part of what I meant by giving up your moral compass, by the way.
If so, what of the faith of a Muslim or a Hindu?
god bless a good read.mikeI think you miss something here. God is free of passions or vices like pride and vanity. If he wants us to worship him, it's for some other reason, other than his enjoyment.
I'm not a Calvinist so I don't believe God creates "pots" just to destroy them (that's a passage in Romans I think was taken well out of context, talking about a nation of people rather than an individual). There is a mystery to God's salvation, why some people believe and others don't, as somebody who attends a Lutheran church I can acknowledge that. But Lutherans also reject the idea that God creates anyone predestined to be destroyed, because we believe the witness of the Bible is against it. We don't point to speculative theology of God's meticulous control of all events as evidence of his glory, we point to Jesus dying for the sins of the whole world, and his rising from the grave and triumphing over his enemies as the way that God has chosen to glorify himself. It is a glory hidden from the world, and that is precisely why many other Protestant groups do not have this as the center of their theology.
I'm OK with them being saved because of their faith, if they follow the light they have been given. This isn't incompatible with belief that Jesus is the savior of the world. But the truth is, we just don't know for sure... we only know that Jesus has promised to save those that believe in him.
It's ironic that people mention colorblindness among a list of other maladies... that's a condition I have too (I see only about ten percent the shades of green that most people do). In fact I have a half-dozen medical conditions, some of them quite painful and difficult to treat, like fibromyalgia. It would be easy for me to stew in self-pity, but by the grace of God, it doesn't always overwhelm me. I've got things that are worth far more than riches, fame, or good health... in fact sometimes its possible to see, by the grace of God, that all these struggles allow us to appreciate other things that ordinary people cannot. And it's not like that faith has come easy to me, I've struggled with doubt too... I think most Christians do from time to time . But that's why Jesus left us with a Church, where we gather, despite out doubts, to hear the Gospel and receive the sacraments, and to meet with our brothers and sisters in Christ.
its a tough choice for some.I was addicted to drugs in a gang heavily tattooed I weigh 100 kg ive been to the bottom.Jesus is the only thing in my life that has been positive if anything I need this.I cannot see the harm,and I believe that it has historical backing as well as spiritual.im happy how happy are you?thats not philosophical im just curious :]Thanks, but I've spent about 30 years trying to get answers from 'seniors'. Pastors, grandmothers, theologians, young crusaders, Priests, etc. They claim to be able to answer any question, and claim to want to help. But they all cut and run, some after slamming doors.
so true friend. god bless thanx for taking time to reply to me.I think the stories people have of God speaking to them are interesting to listen to, and often inspiring. Many of them don't sound mundane.
I once met a woman at church, an older woman, that gave me a book called the Ragamuffin Gospel. It was so strange we would happen to meet, because that book was something I needed to hear at the time. And she was undergoing similar medical problems. We sat in the pew a few times together and became friends. I suggested she go to the healing service, and next Wednesday I saw her there, and the canon layed his hands on her and prayed for her after the service. A few Sundays later I saw her again and she walked without her usual walker and she told me that her brain tumor was gone and her knee didn't bother her anymore: she no longer needed the walker.
I have other stories like that but that one is probably the most dramatic. It's stories like that that, even in those times I struggle that it's hard to lose faith in God altogether.
its a tough choice for some.I was addicted to drugs in a gang heavily tattooed I weigh 100 kg ive been to the bottom.Jesus is the only thing in my life that has been positive if anything I need this.I cannot see the harm,and I believe that it has historical backing as well as spiritual.im happy how happy are you?thats not philosophical im just curious :]
I think you know.good luck with your life god bless.
Have you ever prayed and asked God to show you that He is real?How does one 'seek him', please?
I dove into the bible (and church) with a clean palate, full neutral. I did not presuppose the god existed, nor did I presuppose the god didn't exist. I left myself entirely open to either possibility. Do you think that's a bad or dishonest approach to your god?
Also, if you do think it's the wrong approach, why do you do it with other religions?
You are blessed. This is a great attribute. Hang on to it.Meantime, I have more happiness than I probably deserve, but then I'm a naturally cheerful and upbeat/high energy person. I don't really know what it is to be "blue" without a quantifiable stressor.
But doesn't God know that a demand of faith is simply unconvincing to me, and that no amount of appealing to what I am fairly convinced is essentially the same thing as gullibility will convince me to believe something? I'm essentially stuck - I'm not going to have faith, faith alone is never going to be convincing to me. I need something else. But more to the point, God knows this. He knows exactly what I need, even if I don't! So the fact that I don't believe indicates very clearly that God doesn't care. And if there is a literal hell, he clearly has no problems with me going there.
I'm not sure I'd go that far in saying that we must first have faith. In fact, I think its the reverse. God draws us first before we believe. I attend a Lutheran church now days and they don't teach that people will themselves into belief. God initiates the relationship.
On that point, I think you make a very good point that you can't just convince yourself to have faith, that's not how it works in my experience. But, I do think you can surrender to the possibility of having faith. That's what Pascal was talking about in his famous wager. By living as if we have faith, we become receptive to faith, but we can't create faith for ourselves.
The fact you are here debating these issues is actually a very good sign. It means on some level at least, you are a truth seeker, even if you are not consciously aware of it.
I don't think a scientific worldview is the only possible way to view the world. There are times when a scientific description falls short.
I talked about this on a recent post in Whosoever Will, May Come. The grass always looks greener on the other side of the fence. Church might seem like a chore but its not always a picnic to find something better to do.
I don't think God created Hell as a cosmic torture chamber, in fact I don't think God created Hell at all. In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth, as it's written in Genesis. No mention of hell. Hell is just the natural state were are born into, due to ancestral sins, we are born spiritually dead- materialism is our default reality. And sometimes Hell is not torture, sometimes its a primrose path where we get everything we want but we lose our soul in the process.
I do believe the Bible contains the revelation of Jesus Christ. that right there is God communication with you: Jesus is the revelation of God. The rest, the personal experiences and synchronicities, are not nearly as important to consider.
I think you miss something here. God is free of passions or vices like pride and vanity. If he wants us to worship him, it's for some other reason, other than his enjoyment.
I'm not a Calvinist so I don't believe God creates "pots" just to destroy them (that's a passage in Romans I think was taken well out of context, talking about a nation of people rather than an individual). There is a mystery to God's salvation, why some people believe and others don't, as somebody who attends a Lutheran church I can acknowledge that. But Lutherans also reject the idea that God creates anyone predestined to be destroyed, because we believe the witness of the Bible is against it. We don't point to speculative theology of God's meticulous control of all events as evidence of his glory, we point to Jesus dying for the sins of the whole world, and his rising from the grave and triumphing over his enemies as the way that God has chosen to glorify himself. It is a glory hidden from the world, and that is precisely why many other Protestant groups do not have this as the center of their theology.
you are very intelligent it is a gift.gbWell I don't really. You may be wishing me luck finding A god, not necessarily your personally preferred god.
Someone once encouraged me to "seek god", so I did. When I told her I'd started actively seeking him, she was thrilled. When I later told her I'd almost finished the Koran, and was in sight if embracing Allah, she almost had a stroke. She hadn't specified a god, you see.
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