I Have An Honest Question For Christians

[Zionsfriend]

If there was no God, then there would be no me to be frightened.

"A little philosophy inclineth a man’s mind to atheism, but depth in philosophy bringeth men’s minds about to religion."​

Lord Bacon.

 

[VioletAngel]

Do you have a link where I could read about this?
I'm not sure of the significance of this passage or why it would be considered a prophecy.
If the author KNEW that these things were built, how was he prophecy's anything?
What I mean is that the passage simply says that something was built, and later we found what was built.
That's not a prophecy.

A prophecy would be Jesus dictating Pi to the 800th decimal place, or someone predicting that humans would travel to the moon.


If there was a significance and I missed it, I apologize, and I'll ask you kindly to reword it.

You are right, that is not prophecy, but archaeological proof. I was just trying to see exactly what you are asking for, something like archaeological proof?

 

[VioletAngel]

Do you have a link where I could read about this?

http://www.kingsolomonsgate.com/

This is the site, and there are others out there, all you must do is run a Google search.

This was proof that the Bible was correct about the existence of King Solomon, and that he really existed.

I am an archaeology nut, I suppose, and took classes in both archaeology and anthropology in college.

 

[MaragonEvolved]

It can still be read and understood. There are so many manuscripts that were made, and they were scattered around the known world at that time, sacred to the people who read them, and then after through time and distance were compared, and found to be almost identical, not changed except for a few minor copying errors. There were a lot more copies of the Bible written than of writings Plato and Socrates. Yet you believe they existed, don't you? A lot less proof, and just as much faith to believe that, yet you don't believe the Bible. The wonder about it is we should! The evidence is overwhelming.

Please don't take this the wrong way, but when the guys from Yale and Harvard and Cambridge and Waterloo ALL tell me that the bible is NOT historically accurate and that we cannot read the original language it was written it, I tend to believe them.
Something to do with the 12+ years of education and all.
Plato and Socrates were written about by LOTS of different people for lots of different reasons, not just in one book.

Read the stories of the saints that died from terrible tortures. It wasn't just death they endured, but tortures that lasted for days and weeks, and yet they never backed down from their faith. Many of them went willingly to their death, knowing the tortures that awaited them.

Yeah, I've read them, I used to be Christian.
Guess what?
The Muslims and every other religion have martyrs too.
Does that make Islam and the other religions right too?

We all do this too. Being a Christian doesn't mean an end to that.

Yeah, but being a Christian doesn't add anything extra.

That may be. But the Bible promises so much more and life eternal, and even promising that all the suffering of this life will be worth it! Humans were created to worship God, and without fulfilment of this, we are nothing.

Here's a question for you.
What if the bible DIDN'T promise eternal life?
What if God existed, and you still just died? Nothing happened after death, you just died.
Would you still worship and try to convince me to worship if there was no reward?

 

[MaragonEvolved]

http://www.kingsolomonsgate.com/

This is the site, and there are others out there, all you must do is run a Google search.

This was proof that the Bible was correct about the existence of King Solomon, and that he really existed.

I am an archaeology nut, I suppose, and took classes in both archaeology and anthropology in college.

Yeah, but we have proof of Solomon outside of the bible as well.

As I said, think about it this way.
There was a guy, and he was living WHEN this wall was being built. So he wrote down something about the wall.

A prophecy would be like predicting a future occurance.

Thanks for the website, I'll check it out.

 

[VioletAngel]

Please don't take this the wrong way, but when the guys from Yale and Harvard and Cambridge and Waterloo ALL tell me that the bible is NOT historically accurate and that we cannot read the original language it was written it, I tend to believe them.
Something to do with the 12+ years of education and all.
Plato and Socrates were written about by LOTS of different people for lots of different reasons, not just in one book.

That doesn't mean a whole lot to me. I went to college to, for five years. I found many so-called experts and people with a ton of expensive education to be plain wrong. I had to delve into stuff for myself and decide. Perhaps these were all atheists too, just trying to prove a point? The Bible says every man is a liar, and in all of my years I was puzzled by that statement. Guess what, it is true, if they don't believe in the living God, they tend to lie about it.

Yeah, I've read them, I used to be Christian.
Guess what?
The Muslims and every other religion have martyrs too.
Does that make Islam and the other religions right too?

What martyrs? The ones that take up a sword and kill people with it, and ultimately die from that? That is not being a martyr, that is being a warmonger.

Yeah, but being a Christian doesn't add anything extra.

Well, I respectively disagree.

Here's a question for you.
What if the bible DIDN'T promise eternal life?
What if God existed, and you still just died? Nothing happened after death, you just died.
Would you still worship and try to convince me to worship if there was no reward?

You cannot subtract from the Bible and expect anything from it. That is a very large chunk you just (theoretically) removed! The eternal life issue began in Genesis, and without it the whole Bible is then reduced to a mere history book.

 

[MaragonEvolved]

That doesn't mean a whole lot to me. I went to college to, for five years. I found many so-called experts and people with a ton of expensive education to be plain wrong. I had to delve into stuff for myself and decide. Perhaps these were all atheists too, just trying to prove a point? The Bible says every man is a liar, and in all of my years I was puzzled by that statement. Guess what, it is true, if they don't believe in the living God, they tend to lie about it.

Well, I've been through 6 years of University, so I tend to agree with educated people.
Would you go to a doctor from Harvard about your health problem or trust some guy who read about it on the internet?
I dislike that you would paint all of academia to be liars simply because they are not Christian.

What martyrs? The ones that take up a sword and kill people with it, and ultimately die from that? That is not being a martyr, that is being a warmonger.

Have you read the Koran? The Torah? All of the Holy books of the other religions?
All of them have people who have refused to denounce their god(s) and have died because of it.
This is not something that is unique to Christianity.

I hate to do this, but Christians can be warmongers too, and historically have been.

You cannot subtract from the Bible and expect anything from it. That is a very large chunk you just (theoretically) removed! The eternal life issue began in Genesis, and without it the whole Bible is then reduced to a mere history book.

The point I'm trying to prove is that you ONLY believe the bible and god because you fear death and the unknown and the bible offers you eternal life.

If belief on God was NOT attached to Heaven, how many would still believe?

 

[VioletAngel]

If there was no God, then there would be no me to be frightened.

"A little philosophy inclineth a man’s mind to atheism, but depth in philosophy bringeth men’s minds about to religion."​

Lord Bacon.

Good point!

 

[VioletAngel]

Well, I've been through 6 years of University, so I tend to agree with educated people.
Would you go to a doctor from Harvard about your health problem or trust some guy who read about it on the internet?
I dislike that you would paint all of academia to be liars simply because they are not Christian.

I just had the unpleasant experience of a supposedly knowledgeable doctor prescribed some medications that nearly killed me. I'm supposed to believe them without question? I think not. Not all are liars, but I am simply saying they were promoting their own belief system, perhaps. It isn't unheard of.

Have you read the Koran? The Torah? All of the Holy books of the other religions?
All of them have people who have refused to denounce their god(s) and have died because of it.
This is not something that is unique to Christianity.

I hate to do this, but Christians can be warmongers too, and historically have been.

This is completely a different topic. I was referring to the Saints that were martyred in the first, second, and third centuries, who did not take up the sword, but were martyred by the Roman empire.

The point I'm trying to prove is that you ONLY believe the bible and god because you fear death and the unknown and the bible offers you eternal life.

If belief on God was NOT attached to Heaven, how many would still believe?

What do you know about me? You have here a judgement that you suppose is true about me. If there were no God, then I suppose one wouldn't have to fear death, because in death there would be nothing. If there WERE a living God, and a person lived their life against the precepts of what the living God said, then yes, a lot of fear with the consequences would be in order.

 

[Rut]

I am a 4th year psychology student(yeah, I'm also an atheist but that has nothing to do with my paper), and I'm currently writing a paper on religious belief.

I just have a few questions that I hope some of you would be kind enough to answer.

Okay, lets say that for whatever reason, you begin to have doubts about your faith. Does the idea that there is no God frighten you?

Why does it frighten you?

OR

Why does it NOT frighten you?


Edit: To be clear, this is like a yes or no question plus a short justification.
What I am asking you to do is to PRETEND that it's possible that god does not exist and then tell me how you would feel about god not existing.

Thanks.




I would really appreciate you helping me out.



Have yourselves a nice day.

If I have any doubt about my faith is it not going to be if that is a God or not.I need only to look at the nature

 

[tbird_energizerbunny]

I am a 4th year psychology student(yeah, I'm also an atheist but that has nothing to do with my paper), and I'm currently writing a paper on religious belief.

I just have a few questions that I hope some of you would be kind enough to answer.

Okay, lets say that for whatever reason, you begin to have doubts about your faith. Does the idea that there is no God frighten you?

Why does it frighten you?

OR

Why does it NOT frighten you?


Edit: To be clear, this is like a yes or no question plus a short justification.
What I am asking you to do is to PRETEND that it's possible that god does not exist and then tell me how you would feel about god not existing.

Thanks.




I would really appreciate you helping me out.



Have yourselves a nice day.

Honestly. I have doubts too. But if I doubted the existance of God completely, I think i'd push it away. The act of simply living with a hope that there is a God that loves me enough to die for me, makes all the difference in the world. One day living with the hope of something more than this, is better than living with a lifetime without hope of life beyond.

Meaning, I would be a Christian even if there were no God. Even if all of us are just simply condemned to die and return to dust. Even if nothing good comes of it, I would be a Christian because it helps me deal with life and it helps me to learn to love a lot deeper.

 

[MaragonEvolved]

I just had the unpleasant experience of a supposedly knowledgeable doctor prescribed some medications that nearly killed me. I'm supposed to believe them without question? I think not. Not all are liars, but I am simply saying they were promoting their own belief system, perhaps. It isn't unheard of.

Well, that's unfortunate, and I'm glad your situation was not fatal, but one man's mistake doesn't discount everyone else.
I'm not saying to believe without question! On the contrary, question everything. But when it comes to something that I CANNOT research personally, say ancient biblical texts in a language I can't read, I believe the guy with 12 years of education over the random apologetics website owner.

Here's the thing about your assumption.
If science, or history or any professional field had definitive proof of the bible's accuracy and Jesus' divinity, then why wouldn't they tell everyone?
If there was such proof there would be no such thing as atheists.

This is completely a different topic. I was referring to the Saints that were martyred in the first, second, and third centuries, who did not take up the sword, but were martyred by the Roman empire.

Okay, yes, and Muslims and pagans and all kinds of people of different religions were martyred by Romans and Christians and whatever else.
The point is that just because people were killed for Jesus doesn't make him real.

What do you know about me? You have here a judgement that you suppose is true about me. If there were no God, then I suppose one wouldn't have to fear death, because in death there would be nothing. If there WERE a living God, and a person lived their life against the precepts of what the living God said, then yes, a lot of fear with the consequences would be in order.

I'm not making a judgment, I'm merely asking a simple question.
Why wouldn't you fear death regardless of a god or not?
I don't believe in god and I don't want to die. I like to be alive. From an evolutionary standpoint humans are afraid of death for simple, explainable biological reasons.

You merely dodged my question, I suspect you don't want to answer it.

If there was no eternal life, and you had nothing to GAIN from worshiping god, would you still do it?

 

[VioletAngel]

If there was no eternal life, and you had nothing to GAIN from worshiping god, would you still do it?

Yes.

 

[VioletAngel]

I'm not making a judgment, I'm merely asking a simple question.

You need to think out more carefully the way you word things, then. When you asked the question, you said "You" and that was in an accusatory manner. I apologize if I misunderstood, but your statement was totally wrong about me. And it was a statement, not a question.

The point I'm trying to prove is that you ONLY believe the bible and god because you fear death and the unknown and the bible offers you eternal life.

 

[TheCheat1]

Well, that's unfortunate, and I'm glad your situation was not fatal, but one man's mistake doesn't discount everyone else.
I'm not saying to believe without question! On the contrary, question everything. But when it comes to something that I CANNOT research personally, say ancient biblical texts in a language I can't read, I believe the guy with 12 years of education over the random apologetics website owner.

Here's the thing about your assumption.
If science, or history or any professional field had definitive proof of the bible's accuracy and Jesus' divinity, then why wouldn't they tell everyone?
If there was such proof there would be no such thing as atheists.




Okay, yes, and Muslims and pagans and all kinds of people of different religions were martyred by Romans and Christians and whatever else.
The point is that just because people were killed for Jesus doesn't make him real.




I'm not making a judgment, I'm merely asking a simple question.
Why wouldn't you fear death regardless of a god or not?
I don't believe in god and I don't want to die. I like to be alive. From an evolutionary standpoint humans are afraid of death for simple, explainable biological reasons.

You merely dodged my question, I suspect you don't want to answer it.

If there was no eternal life, and you had nothing to GAIN from worshiping god, would you still do it?

There would be such things as atheists because some people would still not want to obey or believe in God. There is plenty of reason to deny the Bible's validity, but it being wrong is not one of those reasons.

 

[MaragonEvolved]

Yes.

Why?

 

[MaragonEvolved]

There would be such things as atheists because some people would still not want to obey or believe in God. There is plenty of reason to deny the Bible's validity, but it being wrong is not one of those reasons.

Atheists do not dislike god, or hate the bible, or hate the idea of there being a god.
This is called a strawman fallacy; when you make your opponents position into something easily attackable.

I wish that there WAS a god. I'd like to live forever in heaven, and feel like god was always with me and watching over me.
However, I have no empirical evidence for this being true, so I am forced to conclude that there probably isn't a god.

 

[TheCheat1]

Why?

I can't answer for Violet, but I would do it simply because God is worthy of praise.

 

[TheCheat1]

Atheists do not dislike god, or hate the bible, or hate the idea of there being a god.
This is called a strawman fallacy; when you make your opponents position into something easily attackable.

I wish that there WAS a god. I'd like to live forever in heaven, and feel like god was always with me and watching over me.
However, I have no empirical evidence for this being true, so I am forced to conclude that there probably isn't a god.

So then how'd all this happen?

 

[MaragonEvolved]

I can't answer for Violet, but I would do it simply because God is worthy of praise.

Even if we can explain the entire Universe without need for a god and you do not receive eternal life for your belief?