Hypothetical Christian World

[brightlights]

Get ready to use your imagination.

Let's just say that an eternally existing, triune God really did create everything else that exists. Let's say that this God created human beings to represent him and to live in dependent relationship under him. Their job would be to rule his creation in his place like he would rule it.

Let's say that these humans rebelled against God, foolishly thinking that they could become like God and live independently from him.

Let's say that God, in his mercy, chose to suspend judgment and instead of evicting these evil tenants committed himself to wooing them back into trusting dependence upon him.

Let's say that as the human race multiplied and spread across the face of the earth God continued to care for them, providing rain and sun in their seasons. He also revealed himself to certain men and sent them into the world with words from God. In so doing he created a unique people who, in the middle of a rebellious world, knew and served God.

Let's say that, in the fullness of time, God the Son (one person of the trinity) came as a man, born into this unique people. He came to teach, heal, be rejected and killed, and to raise again from death. Let's say that all of this happened.

Let's say that he ascended back to the Father and will come again to judge rebellion once and for all, but for now he extends mercy and forgiveness through the foolish preaching of this obscure, peculiar people who believe on him.

What would you expect this world to look like? How would it be different from the actual world?

 

[Wiccan_Child]

Get ready to use your imagination.

Let's just say that an eternally existing, triune God really did create everything else that exists. Let's say that this God created human beings to represent him and to live in dependent relationship under him. Their job would be to rule his creation in his place like he would rule it.

Let's say that these humans rebelled against God, foolishly thinking that they could become like God and live independently from him.

Let's say that God, in his mercy, chose to suspend judgment and instead of evicting these evil tenants committed himself to wooing them back into trusting dependence upon him.

Let's say that as the human race multiplied and spread across the face of the earth God continued to care for them, providing rain and sun in their seasons. He also revealed himself to certain men and sent them into the world with words from God. In so doing he created a unique people who, in the middle of a rebellious world, knew and served God.

Let's say that, in the fullness of time, God the Son (one person of the trinity) came as a man, born into this unique people. He came to teach, heal, be rejected and killed, and to raise again from death. Let's say that all of this happened.

Let's say that he ascended back to the Father and will come again to judge rebellion once and for all, but for now he extends mercy and forgiveness through the foolish preaching of this obscure, peculiar people who believe on him.

What would you expect this world to look like? How would it be different from the actual world?

I'd expect to see no suffering in the world. I'd expect to see evidence of design in the things God designed. I'd expect God's existence to be as plain as the colour as the sky. I'd expect there to be a single religion of only one denomination, not least because God would be able to say "Hello, I'm God. No, don't have a Great Schism, or a holy war, or a jihad, let me explain what I meant...".

The world would be a very different place, I think. I wouldn't imagine life would be confined to the surface of a single rock, either. I'd imagine the entire universe would be far more suited for life than this empty expanse that we see. For instance, I can imagine an infinite number of flat 'shelves', infinite in width and breadth, which are covered in life - plants, animals, humans, etc. Imagine the Earth's cover is unpeeled like an orange and laid flat, and then repeated infinitely in width and breadth; and then take the whole thing and repeat it vertically up and down, to create these many layers of life. That would be a far more compact form of life, and it would bespeak an artificial, rather than a natural, origin. And God being God, could probably devise an even more efficient way to create life.

 

[essentialsaltes]

committed himself to wooing them back into trusting dependence upon him.
...
How would it be different from the actual world?

I would be actively wooed by a god.

 

[quatona]

Get ready to use your imagination.

Let's just say that an eternally existing, triune God really did create everything else that exists. Let's say that this God created human beings to represent him and to live in dependent relationship under him. Their job would be to rule his creation in his place like he would rule it.

Let's say that these humans rebelled against God, foolishly thinking that they could become like God and live independently from him.

Let's say that God, in his mercy, chose to suspend judgment and instead of evicting these evil tenants committed himself to wooing them back into trusting dependence upon him.

Let's say that as the human race multiplied and spread across the face of the earth God continued to care for them, providing rain and sun in their seasons. He also revealed himself to certain men and sent them into the world with words from God. In so doing he created a unique people who, in the middle of a rebellious world, knew and served God.

Let's say that, in the fullness of time, God the Son (one person of the trinity) came as a man, born into this unique people. He came to teach, heal, be rejected and killed, and to raise again from death. Let's say that all of this happened.

Let's say that he ascended back to the Father and will come again to judge rebellion once and for all, but for now he extends mercy and forgiveness through the foolish preaching of this obscure, peculiar people who believe on him.

What would you expect this world to look like?

How would it be different from the actual world?

To cut this short: Let´s say for the sake of the argument that the world as it is is reconcilable with this mythology.
Is there a point you want to make?

 

[Elioenai26]

Get ready to use your imagination.

Let's just say that an eternally existing, triune God really did create everything else that exists. Let's say that this God created human beings to represent him and to live in dependent relationship under him. Their job would be to rule his creation in his place like he would rule it.

Let's say that these humans rebelled against God, foolishly thinking that they could become like God and live independently from him.

Let's say that God, in his mercy, chose to suspend judgment and instead of evicting these evil tenants committed himself to wooing them back into trusting dependence upon him.

Let's say that as the human race multiplied and spread across the face of the earth God continued to care for them, providing rain and sun in their seasons. He also revealed himself to certain men and sent them into the world with words from God. In so doing he created a unique people who, in the middle of a rebellious world, knew and served God.

Let's say that, in the fullness of time, God the Son (one person of the trinity) came as a man, born into this unique people. He came to teach, heal, be rejected and killed, and to raise again from death. Let's say that all of this happened.

Let's say that he ascended back to the Father and will come again to judge rebellion once and for all, but for now he extends mercy and forgiveness through the foolish preaching of this obscure, peculiar people who believe on him.

What would you expect this world to look like? How would it be different from the actual world?

I would expect this world to look just like the one we live in at the present moment. It would not be different at all from the present.

Very nice post brightlights.

 

[Elioenai26]

I'd expect to see no suffering in the world.

Why would you expect that?

I'd expect to see evidence of design in the things God designed.

I agree...

I'd expect God's existence to be as plain as the colour as the sky.

I also agree...

I'd expect there to be a single religion of only one denomination, not least because God would be able to say "Hello, I'm God. No, don't have a Great Schism, or a holy war, or a jihad, let me explain what I meant...".

Why would you expect there to be only one religion? One denomination? I would'nt.

The world would be a very different place, I think.

In what way?

I wouldn't imagine life would be confined to the surface of a single rock, either.

You assume that it is. But why assume that?

 

[HitchSlap]

And, let's just say, if there were no god, the world would look just like it does.

 

[Elioenai26]

And, let's just say, if there were no god, the world would look just like it does.

Let us just say, that if there were no God, there would be no world for you to observe, which means there would be no "you" to do the observing.

 

[HitchSlap]

Let us just say, that if there were no God, there would be no world for you to observe, which means there would be no "you" to do the observing.

Let's just say, that if there were no Bob, there would be no world for you to observe, which means no Al Gore, which means there would be no internets for you to do foruming.

 

[Wiccan_Child]

Why would you expect that?

Per the OP, God is merciful, and cares for his creations (he provides rains and seasons and so forth). Thus, such a being could easily ensure that famine, plague, disease, and other natural disasters simply never occur. As well, he could intervene on a regular basis to ensure that man-made suffering never occurs, either (bullets fired vanish before impact, a knife turns to butter, punches always conveniently miss, etc).

Why would you expect there to be only one religion? One denomination? I would'nt.

If, per the OP, God has indeed committed himself to wooing us back into a dependant relationship with him, then he would make do so clearly and obviously. He wouldn't let his wishes be known through the rather inaccurate method of the slow accumulation, compilation, translation, and interpretation of various disparate documents over thousands of years - such a process is slightly prone to error. Rather, if he wanted something known, he'd make it known, clearly, plainly, and unambiguously.

There's only one opinion on what colour the sky is. There's only one opinion on whether babies come from the womb or the stork. And, in a world where God's existence is obvious and his wishes obviously known, there would be only one opinion on who made all the world (God).

In what way?

In all the ways I described - one universal religion (that would be less like a religion and more like a 'everyone knows' fact, like the colour of the sky or the direction of gravity).

You assume that it is. But why assume that?

Because the Earth is a sphere, finite in area. The universe is virtually entirely empty space, so no life there. The few things that exist in it are also almost entirely barren, so no life there, either. Life does exist, but as a thin skin on the outermost layer of a few, just-right rocks.

The universe is almost entirely empty, and almost entirely devoid of life.

 

[Elioenai26]

Per the OP, God is merciful, and cares for his creations (he provides rains and seasons and so forth).

This is true....

Thus, such a being could easily ensure that famine, plague, disease, and other natural disasters simply never occur.

If that was His goal, then yes, this statement is also true.

As well, he could intervene on a regular basis to ensure that man-made suffering never occurs, either (bullets fired vanish before impact, a knife turns to butter, punches always conveniently miss, etc).

If that was His goal, then yes, this statement is also true.

If, per the OP, God has indeed committed himself to wooing us back into a dependant relationship with him, then he would make do so clearly and obviously.

He has. He even came to earth as a man and lived for some 33 years to demonstrate how much He loves us. He died for us, and rose again for us. He ascended into heaven for us. etc. etc.

Go on...

He wouldn't let his wishes be known through the rather inaccurate method of the slow accumulation, compilation, translation, and interpretation of various disparate documents over thousands of years - such a process is slightly prone to error.

Not if He is superintending the whole process while at the same time allowing men to exercise their God given abilities, talents, and intellect.

Rather, if he wanted something known, he'd make it known, clearly, plainly, and unambiguously.

The Bible makes His will known quite clearly.

There's only one opinion on what colour the sky is.

No there is not.

There's only one opinion on whether babies come from the womb or the stork.

Depends on who you're talking with.

And, in a world where God's existence is obvious and his wishes obviously known, there would be only one opinion on who made all the world (God).

That would be true only if everyone willed to acknowledge Him as Creator. But this is clearly not the case. For in this very forum, several men have already confessed that even if they were convinced God did exist, they would still not worship, reverence, honor, or even acknowledge Him as Creator and Lord.

In all the ways I described - one universal religion (that would be less like a religion and more like a 'everyone knows' fact, like the colour of the sky or the direction of gravity).

That cannot happen at the present for several obvious reasons, namely, that the wicked have not been removed from the earth and judged for their wickedness. That in no way implies that it will never happen however.

Because the Earth is a sphere, finite in area.

It is actually more properly described as an oblate spheroid, but go on...

The universe is virtually entirely empty space, so no life there.

You should know better than to say that. The "known universe" is more accurate and definitely does not denote the universe in its entirety.

The few things that exist in it are also almost entirely barren, so no life there, either.

You assume that. You do not know that.

Life does exist, but as a thin skin on the outermost layer of a few, just-right rocks.

Hmm... just-right rocks...

The universe is almost entirely empty, and almost entirely devoid of life.

The small portion of the universe we know about and can observe through the lens of telescopes and machinery does not constitute the "universe" my friend.

 

[Cush]

What would you expect this world to look like? How would it be different from the actual world?

I'd expect the kingdom of God to be a heavenly society upon earth as it is in heaven where God's will is as perfectly done as in heaven. I'd expect all to be surrendered to the perfect will of God, that is, OUR will, heart and life. For those who have rejected God I suspect that they would be utterly miserable in heaven, so I wouldn't expect to see them there. I'd expect to see all of us who love the Lord to adoringly serve Him.

Praise Him

 

[Wiccan_Child]

This is true....



If that was His goal, then yes, this statement is also true.



If that was His goal, then yes, this statement is also true.

If you control seasons and rains, then you control drought and famine. If had the omnipotence of a god, you'd step in to stop your creations (which you care for) from suffering.

The OP did not stipulate any conditions on God's mercy or caring, other than to state that he controls things like seasons and rains, and is committed to wooing us. A loving, caring, merciful, all-powerful being that takes a proactive approach to divine intervention - now that's something we could use

He has. He even came to earth as a man and lived for some 33 years to demonstrate how much He loves us. He died for us, and rose again for us. He ascended into heaven for us. etc. etc.

Coming to Earth to live a single span of 33 years as a human carpenter in a region and time where literacy is lacking, doesn't quite count as 'clear and obvious'. At best, it might be clear and obvious for the people Jesus met during those 33 years. Nowadays, it's not even clear if he ever existed, let alone did the miraculous things attributed to him. As well, when I said 'us', I meant all humans, across all times and cultures, not a single generation of a single town.

Not if He is superintending the whole process while at the same time allowing men to exercise their God given abilities, talents, and intellect.

So he's willing to go to such supernatural lengths ensure the authority of a book (which still somehow comes in a thousand varieties with a thousand different interpretations), but is unwilling to use his powers over the rain and the seasons to prevent famine and drought, but is still caring and merciful?

No, such a being wouldn't issue his wishes through something as fallible as Chinese whispers, when he's a) omnipotent, and b) willing to intervene on a global scale for thousands of years. There are far more direct, unambiguous, and effective means for getting his wishes known.

The Bible makes His will known quite clearly.

So his stance on divorce is...? Abortion? Homosexuality? Eugenics?

There's no religious consensus on these issues so, ipso facto, the Bible is an ineffective way of God's wishes being known. If such a being exists, he be a fool to use such sloppy method - hence I don't believe he would.

That would be true only if everyone willed to acknowledge Him as Creator. But this is clearly not the case. For in this very forum, several men have already confessed that even if they were convinced God did exist, they would still not worship, reverence, honor, or even acknowledge Him as Creator and Lord.

I, too, would not worship, revere, nor honour such a being. I see no reason to do so unless he did something worthy of it, and allowing billions to suffer, not just in this life but in the next one too, is not something worthy of reverence.

But we're not talking about that, we're talking about the OP's hypothetical world. In it, God would make his presence clear and obvious; his existence would be no more disputed than the air we breath or the ground we stand on. There would be one religion, inasmuch as God's existence and wishes are as firmly established as the fact that apples fall when dropped.

That cannot happen at the present for several obvious reasons, namely, that the wicked have not been removed from the earth and judged for their wickedness. That in no way implies that it will never happen however.

We're not talking about the current world, we're talking about the OP's world, where a merciful omnipotence cares enough about us to control the seasons and the rain, and has committed itself to wooing us into a relationship with it. At no point did the OP stipulate such a strange and arbitrary condition as, "Assume that God cannot show himself while there are wicked people who haven't been whisked away and judged".

The God I can imagine is not limited by such things, and until the OP says otherwise, it's unproductive to start shifting the goalpost.

It is actually more properly described as an oblate spheroid, but go on...

You should know better than to say that. The "known universe" is more accurate and definitely does not denote the universe in its entirety.

You assume that. You do not know that.

Hmm... just-right rocks...

The small portion of the universe we know about and can observe through the lens of telescopes and machinery does not constitute the "universe" my friend.

Being a physicist, I'm quite aware, thank you. If my point was to give a physics lecture, I'd have given one.

As it was, my point was that the universe could easily be more densely packed with life, instead of having vast stretches of empty space.

 

[Elioenai26]

If you control seasons and rains, then you control drought and famine. If had the omnipotence of a god, you'd step in to stop your creations (which you care for) from suffering.

If people were less selfish and more selfless and self-sacrificing as Christ said they should be and even exemplified, then famine (regardless of climate conditions) would quickly be eradicated.

This goes for Christians as well as non-Christians. You have people from both camps who think more for their own welfare than for the welfare of their neighbor. This is not God's fault.

The OP did not stipulate any conditions on God's mercy or caring, other than to state that he controls things like seasons and rains, and is committed to wooing us. A loving, caring, merciful, all-powerful being that takes a proactive approach to divine intervention - now that's something we could use

You are right. What could be more proactive than God telling us what to do and what not to do in order to protect us from evil and suffering and giving us a clear warning as to what will happen if this proactive advice is spurned? Not only that, but after our deliberate rebellion, God is still merciful in that He partook of the suffering that we all experience as humans in this life and died at the hands of sinners all the while being innocent of any crime.

Coming to Earth to live a single span of 33 years as a human carpenter in a region and time where literacy is lacking, doesn't quite count as 'clear and obvious'. At best, it might be clear and obvious for the people Jesus met during those 33 years. Nowadays, it's not even clear if he ever existed, let alone did the miraculous things attributed to him. As well, when I said 'us', I meant all humans, across all times and cultures, not a single generation of a single town.

Jesus' existence is doubted only by those with an agenda of some sort. I will not even venture to get into the validity of his historicity so widely accepted is it that it is virtually undeniable as is the existence of any other notable figure of antiquity.

Incidentally, Christ came at the perfect time in history. Do some research on it. He came during the time in which the Pax Romana was pervasive over much of the known world. The Greek language was spoken by most at the time and was a wonderful means of communicating and articulating the gospel message throughout the Roman Empire. The Roman Roads allowed for relatively swift and easy transmission of the gospel to nations near and far and there was a general expectancy, and anticipation by many at that time, not only of the Jews, but for many gentiles, that life as they knew it was going to be radically altered in some unknown, yea even mysterious way. Prophecies had gradually been fulfilled and yea, even when the fulness of time had come, God sent His Son into the world as a Light shining in the darkness.

So he's willing to go to such supernatural lengths ensure the authority of a book (which still somehow comes in a thousand varieties with a thousand different interpretations),

What thousand varieties are you referring to?

but is unwilling to use his powers over the rain and the seasons to prevent famine and drought, but is still caring and merciful?

God does not make a habit of continually suspending the laws of nature and altering climatic conditions so that certain areas of the world will not experience drought. This does not mean that He is not caring and merciful. As I alluded to earlier, people are guilty for not feeding their starving neighbors, not God. When you have roughly 50 people EACH OF WHOME are worth over a billion dollars a piece living in one small little area of land just so they do not have to pay taxes on their wealth (Monaco) and less than a mile away, you have people living in squalor, God is not to blame. Greedy and selfish men are to blame.

No, such a being wouldn't issue his wishes through something as fallible as Chinese whispers, when he's a) omnipotent, and b) willing to intervene on a global scale for thousands of years. There are far more direct, unambiguous, and effective means for getting his wishes known.

I agree. God does not and would not issue His wishes through Chinese whispers.

So his stance on divorce is...? Abortion? Homosexuality? Eugenics?

What did Jesus say about divorce, murder, and sexual immorality?

His will is quite clear.

There's no religious consensus on these issues so, ipso facto, the Bible is an ineffective way of God's wishes being known. If such a being exists, he be a fool to use such sloppy method - hence I don't believe he would.

I do not believe God would use a sloppy method either. I see nothing sloppy about God inspiring godly men to write His words down and preserve them. Did not Christ Himself have disciples, men in whom He put His trust?

I, too, would not worship, revere, nor honour such a being. I see no reason to do so unless he did something worthy of it, and allowing billions to suffer, not just in this life but in the next one too, is not something worthy of reverence.

And this is the real issue we are dealing with. It is not so much a matter of evidence, or lack thereof as it is a matter of you not liking the fact that God stands as one who makes a claim upon your very life. Christ is the only person to ever have declared that men should worship Him and owe their soul's salvation to Him and Him alone. He makes a claim on our lives and some reject this claim. Some refuse to kneel in reverent worship to Him. This is pride in its purest form. It is the reverencing and worshiping of oneself over God who alone is worthy. I am glad you at least were honest enough to admit this point.

But we're not talking about that, we're talking about the OP's hypothetical world. In it, God would make his presence clear and obvious;

Christ has done this and continues to do this through His Church.

his existence would be no more disputed than the air we breath or the ground we stand on.

As long as God sees fit to allow men to believe what they find attractive, no matter how ridiculous it is, there will always be unbelievers. God loves us too much to force us to believe in or love Him.

There would be one religion, inasmuch as God's existence and wishes are as firmly established as the fact that apples fall when dropped.

You equate adherence to an organized religion with acknowledging God's existence. There are many people that believe God created the world, but yet are not a part of an organized religion (deists). So this line of reasoning fails.

We're not talking about the current world, we're talking about the OP's world, where a merciful omnipotence cares enough about us to control the seasons and the rain, and has committed itself to wooing us into a relationship with it. At no point did the OP stipulate such a strange and arbitrary condition as, "Assume that God cannot show himself while there are wicked people who haven't been whisked away and judged".

Read what Pascal wrote about God's Hiddenness. A portion is given below:

"He has willed to make himself quite recognizable by those; and thus, willing to appear openly to those who seek Him with all their heart, and to be hidden from those who flee from Him with all their heart. He so regulates the knowledge of Himself that He has given signs of Himself, visible to those who seek Him, and not to those who seek Him not. There is enough light for those who only desire to see, and enough obscurity for those who have a contrary disposition."

- Blaise Pascal, Pensées

(430)

The God I can imagine is not limited by such things, and until the OP says otherwise, it's unproductive to start shifting the goalpost.

The God you imagine is not God, but your misconception of God based on misunderstandings of the divine attributes.

As it was, my point was that the universe could easily be more densely packed with life, instead of having vast stretches of empty space.

Of course it could be more densely packed with life. So what?

 

[Paradoxum]

Get ready to use your imagination.

*Imagination active*

Let's just say that an eternally existing, triune God really did create everything else that exists. Let's say that this God created human beings to represent him and to live in dependent relationship under him. Their job would be to rule his creation in his place like he would rule it.

Why would that be their job? Seems alot to assume that. Or is that something I just have to accept? I also wonder what that means. Eg: God does rule the world... and allow horrible suffering, but I assume he doesn't want us to do that.

Let's say that these humans rebelled against God, foolishly thinking that they could become like God and live independently from him.

Ok.

Let's say that God, in his mercy, chose to suspend judgment and instead of evicting these evil tenants committed himself to wooing them back into trusting dependence upon him.

I'm surprised God would see us as evil rather than immature stupid selfish children. Parents get annoyed with children, but they don't tend to throw their children out on the street. God is meant to be a perfect Father too.

Let's say that as the human race multiplied and spread across the face of the earth God continued to care for them, providing rain and sun in their seasons. He also revealed himself to certain men and sent them into the world with words from God. In so doing he created a unique people who, in the middle of a rebellious world, knew and served God.

Seem a bit unfair on everyone else...

Let's say that, in the fullness of time, God the Son (one person of the trinity) came as a man, born into this unique people. He came to teach, heal, be rejected and killed, and to raise again from death. Let's say that all of this happened.

Okay.

Let's say that he ascended back to the Father and will come again to judge rebellion once and for all, but for now he extends mercy and forgiveness through the foolish preaching of this obscure, peculiar people who believe on him.

What would you expect this world to look like? How would it be different from the actual world?

It depends what you think God is like.

Looking at the world today it would seem like God is quite an absent Father. What father wouldn't' give their dying child a fish. What father wouldn't relieve their child of their unrelenting pain?

Why wouldn't God be there to talk to audibly and to groups. Why isn't Gods presence more than what mental disability, or simply bias, can copy?

So I would expect there to be less natural suffering, and a greater obvious presence of the Spirit. I would also expect Christians to have a better track record at getting morality correct. eg: Not being in favour of slavery, witch burning, female subordination, or protecting rapist pedophiles. Oh, but this time you got it right have you.... like every corrupt priest has probably thought?

How many times has "The Bible says..." or "God says..." been used for evil? The Christians thought they were doing the right thing, but nevertheless ended up murdering and torturing people. At what point does "The Bible says..." become obviously a dangerous argument to make?

*sorry*

 

[essentialsaltes]

Incidentally, Christ came at the perfect time in history. Do some research on it. He came during the time in which the Pax Romana was pervasive over much of the known world.

Tell that to the Chinese, or the Indians, or the Maya.

I submit that now would be a much better time. If Jesus bought a cell phone, he could reach out and directly touch the vast majority of people on earth.

 

[Elioenai26]

Tell that to the Chinese, or the Indians, or the Maya.

I submit that now would be a much better time. If Jesus bought a cell phone, he could reach out and directly touch the vast majority of people on earth.

He is doing just that. Through people like myself, and the billions of other Christians who have cellphones.

I have a Motorola Droid Bionic by the way.

 

[BluhdoftheLamb]

I'd expect to see no suffering in the world.

Full stop. Even just that much, doesn't flow logically from the contents of the OP.

 

[Ken-1122]

Get ready to use your imagination.

Let's just say that an eternally existing, triune God really did create everything else that exists. Let's say that this God created human beings to represent him and to live in dependent relationship under him. Their job would be to rule his creation in his place like he would rule it.

Let's say that these humans rebelled against God, foolishly thinking that they could become like God and live independently from him.

Let's say that God, in his mercy, chose to suspend judgment and instead of evicting these evil tenants committed himself to wooing them back into trusting dependence upon him.

Let's say that as the human race multiplied and spread across the face of the earth God continued to care for them, providing rain and sun in their seasons. He also revealed himself to certain men and sent them into the world with words from God. In so doing he created a unique people who, in the middle of a rebellious world, knew and served God.

Let's say that, in the fullness of time, God the Son (one person of the trinity) came as a man, born into this unique people. He came to teach, heal, be rejected and killed, and to raise again from death. Let's say that all of this happened.

Let's say that he ascended back to the Father and will come again to judge rebellion once and for all, but for now he extends mercy and forgiveness through the foolish preaching of this obscure, peculiar people who believe on him.

What would you expect this world to look like? How would it be different from the actual world?

If all this were true, the world might look the same, but there would be proof that this God exists.

Ken

 

[Davian]

Tell that to the Chinese, or the Indians, or the Maya.

I submit that now would be a much better time. If Jesus bought a cell phone, he could reach out and directly touch the vast majority of people on earth.

He is doing just that. Through people like myself, and the billions of other Christians who have cellphones.

I have a Motorola Droid Bionic by the way.

Directly? You should have his number then. What is it?

Samsung Galaxy Note 2 here.