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Is it possible that there is only one God...... for everyone?

ananda

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I can't view video/utube etc do you have a written example.
Here's the transcript from the video:


While looking for that please provide the evidence that Jesus did not rise from the dead.
I neither have evidence either way for or against it, therefore I am agnostic.
 
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Tolworth John

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I was expecting some solid arguments. If that is all you have you have no grounds for rejecting Christianity.

Christianity stands on the historical evidence that Jesus rose from the dead. So if you left Christianity that is something you should have a view on.
 
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ananda

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Your argument seems to presuppose that I'm an atheist against Christianity. I am not. I am agnostic, like the OP.

I have no proof either for or against Jesus' rising from the dead. On a side, but related note, even if he did exist, and he did rise from the dead and I saw it with my own eyes, it still would not address my fundamental concern in life.
 
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Tolworth John

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I'm an atheist against Christianity. I am not. I am agnostic, like the OP.
Effectivly what is the difference.
One say there is no God the other says I don't know, but unless one is actively investigating whether there is a God or not. Then effectivly an agnostict is an atheist.

You have no proof you say, yet you have the bible with four accounts of Jesus's life, death and resurrection.

If Jesus is God then you have to aline your world view with his world view, rather than seek to impose it on him.
 
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ananda

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Effectivly what is the difference.
One say there is no God the other says I don't know, but unless one is actively investigating whether there is a God or not. Then effectivly an agnostict is an atheist.
The difference is in the mental state. The atheist remains in a state of aversion towards the issue; the agnostic is neither averse nor attached, but admits ignorance on the issue.

The believer is attached to the issue; To the believer, both the atheist and agnostic might appear similar, because neither the atheist nor the agnostic retain any sort of attachment.

You have no proof you say, yet you have the bible with four accounts of Jesus's life, death and resurrection.

If Jesus is God then you have to aline your world view with his world view, rather than seek to impose it on him.
The Bible's accounts is not proof, just like the book "Harry Potter & the Philosopher's Stone" does not prove Harry Potter's existence as a powerful wizard, nor does the Iliad or Odyssey prove Zeus or Poseidon.
 
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Tolworth John

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"The Bible's accounts is not proof." I'm sorry to correct you but four indepentdant reports written within the life time of eyewitness is proof of Jesus's life, trial, exceution and resurrection.
The book of Luke is regarded by historians as tottaly accurate on historical facts.
No historian seriously doubts the facts about Jesus and about his resurrection they use weasel words to avoid having to comment on the fact of the resurrection.

may I suggest you look at the web site, 'coldcasechristianity' where a detective used his training to examine the gospels and was convinced that they were accurate, reliable accounts by witnesses. The same sort of statements he used to gain convictions in coldcases.
 
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ananda

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"The Bible's accounts is not proof." I'm sorry to correct you but four indepentdant reports written within the life time of eyewitness is proof of Jesus's life, trial, exceution and resurrection.
Accounts supposedly written ~30-60 years after the alleged fact is hardly proof. I can barely say that I remember what I ate for breakfast two days ago.

Unfortunately, I cannot say that the standards taught & used by historians or detectives are my standards. When it comes to my ultimate concerns in life, I require direct knowledge (proof) ... no amount of evidence however great can substitute for proof, in my perspective.

As I suggested before, even if the evidence suggests to a 99.9% chance that the events recorded in the biblical gospels did happen, it 1. is still not 100%, and 2. it would still not address or answer my fundamental question in life.
 
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Tolworth John

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Accounts supposedly written ~30-60 years after the alleged fact is hardly proof.
Fact the romans destroyedJerusalem in AD 70, this is not mentioned anywhere in the NT, so all the NT was written by then. The latest anything could have been written is before the revoult that brought the roman armies down on Jerusalem.
That your memory and mine is poor says nothing about the memories of those trained to use their memories.
That the writers frequently say there are witnesses living who can confirm what they say is evidence of the reliability of the NT.
Unfortunately, I cannot say that the standards taught & used by historians or detectives are my standards. When it comes to my ultimate concerns in life, I require direct knowledge

Interesting a detective can examine the evidence in a murder case and bring an accused to court and based on the evidence obtain a conviction and you say what he has to say on the bible is irrelevent.

You are saying that even if there is a God with moral standards you will not believe or respond unless Gods moral code is your moral code.
 
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Chriliman

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The purpose of giving meaning to words is so we who objectively exist can agree on what they objectively mean.

If accurate mathematics is not fallible, then by definition, it is infallible(not fallible) if you adhere to the agreed objective meaning of the words fallible and infallible. If you don't adhere to the agreed objective meaning, then we won't come to an agreement here.
 
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ananda

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I have no way of confirming all of this for myself, unfortunately.

No, I'm saying that an allegedly infallible, almighty deity who uses fallible methods cannot be infallible himself.
 
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ananda

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Reality is objective, but language used to point to that Reality is fluid.

Language is useful when it points to Reality which can know and apprehend for ourselves - this is how early Buddhism uses language; this is also the language of mathematics, or logic.

If language suggests an alleged reality which we cannot know or apprehend directly (e.g. the alleged resurrection of Jesus, or the wizardry of Harry Potter), then that language becomes practically useless - this is how Christianity and faith-based religions uses language.
 
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Tolworth John

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I have no way of confirming all of this for myself, unfortunately
So no one can provide you with evidence because you cannot yourself verivie it.
try reading this article:-
12 Historical Facts - Gary Habermas
Please note the author has a list of over 2000 historians, both Christian and nonchristian who have written about the resurrection and who believe Jesus lived and died etc.

No, I'm saying that an allegedly infallible, almighty deity who uses fallible methods cannot be infallible himself

And yet again it is you who determines the rules.
Why can a God not use what ever method that he decides to use?
 
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ananda

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Evidence is fine, but it does not prove anything. E.g. Someone can see a pottery fragment found in the deserts of Palestine with the letters "YSA" and claims it is evidence for Jesus; I can examine the same fragment and claim it is evidence for a boy practicing his writing skills in school.

And yet again it is you who determines the rules.
Why can a God not use what ever method that he decides to use?
Under that argument, we could say that Zeus revealed himself through the Greek religion.
 
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Chriliman

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Reality is objective, but language used to point to that Reality is fluid.

It's only fluid if you don't agree upon an objective meaning for the words being used. If objective beings agree upon the actually meaning of words, then language is no longer fluid(having whatever meaning you fancy)

Language is useful when it points to Reality which can know and apprehend for ourselves - this is how early Buddhism uses language; this is also the language of mathematics, or logic.

And objectively agree upon. If there's a disagreement about what a word means then one or the other(or both) is wrong, they can't both be right.


Logically, the entire idea behind Jesus being resurrected from the dead is so all can be able to know him through personal, verifiable experience at any time, since he's immortal. So it's simply untrue that the living Christ cannot be known or apprehended directly. If He's immortally alive, then he can be known.
 
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ananda

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That's the problem with language I'm highlighting. It's subjective.

How have you personally verified the existence of an independent, intelligent, almighty being named "Jesus"?
 
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Chriliman

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That's the problem with language I'm highlighting. It's subjective.

It is subjective, but once the correct meaning is conveyed objectively(from one objective being to another), it becomes objective. The correct objective meaning can be determined using accurate logic.

How have you personally verified the existence of an independent, intelligent, almighty being named "Jesus"?

Through the comprehension of what he objectively teaches in Scripture, summed up as 'love God and others', and through what He has made in creation. God is a relationship of objectively existing beings who lovingly agree about what's actually true. The Father, Son and Holy Spirit. The driver of meaningful existence is relationship.
 
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ananda

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It is subjective, but once the correct meaning is conveyed objectively(from one objective being to another), it becomes objective. The correct objective meaning can be determined using accurate logic.
Something that is seen as objective does not make it independently Real. It could simply exist in the two beings' minds, like the Flying Spaghetti Monster.

None of that tells me that you personally and directly met an independent, intelligent, almighty being named "Jesus". You are pointing to some qualities evident in the world around us (like relationship, or love), and jumped to the conclusion that it was all created by "God" or "Jesus". I could just as well jump to the conclusion that Ahura-Mazda created those qualities.
 
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Dave RP

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Well to be honest I do think that large chunks of the old testament are ludicrous, I mean the flood, Jonah and a fish, Tower of Babel, creation in 6 days..... I could go on but it would be pointless.

God may judge us on belief of Jesus but I genuinely think that any god will give a lot more slack than that, but we'll see.
 
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Chriliman

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Something that is seen as objective does not make it independently Real. It could simply exist in the two beings' minds, like the Flying Spaghetti Monster.

you could, but is that the most reasonable conclusion?


You could, but that wouldn't negate the fact that meaningful existence is driven by relationship, which does support the Christian notion of who/what God is.
 
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Chriliman

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God may judge us on belief of Jesus but I genuinely think that any god will give a lot more slack than that, but we'll see.

Your outlook shows humility, I hope more atheist/agnostics take this view.
 
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