My thread got deleted before, and I don't know why. I'm not debating, because if these problems got adequitly answered, I would convert. I would love to convert back, I was before a much happier individual.
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But I don't see how anyone could ever convince me. Maybe proof, or even a compelling philosophy would be enough.
So, I would like you guys to try to convert me to Christianity. Here's a few of my problems with it..
Why Christianity? Why not Buddhism? Why not Islam?
christianity shows evidence of beng truth. One book I am working on, that deals with the evidence is "The Case for Christ" by Lee Strobel I came highly recommended to me, and so far, I am impressed...personally, I add to the long line of evidence personal experiences that support the claims, but that is individual and not necessarily what you are looking for here. The why "Christianity" is about the evidence.
Let me take a moment to say here that when talking about Christianity, I am referring to a believer in Christ, not a religious belief per sa.
An omniscient being in a universe is incapable with freewill. If a being is omniscient then it already knows what I did before I did it and that would mean I had no choice in it at all.
Many people try to get omniscient all turned around. Encarta defines omniscient as...all knowing: knowing or seeming to know everything...
Point is this, God is hard for man to define. We try to put human terms, human understanding on something that is not human. Consider Charlette's web, the author puts human characteristics on the animal does that help us to understand what or how a pig behaves or what a pig knows?
God is omnscient, but does that mean we understand the supernatural God...in fact, I would love to see a passage in scripture that says that God knows everything, past, present, and future...consider this article
Apologetics Press - The Omniscience of God The passages present demonstrate a God who is present and therefore knows, kind of like me watching my children from behind a door or corner.
The majority of people assume that omniscience means knowing before hand, but in reality it is much closer to knowing by being there. As to prophecy that is also more closely linked to being there then to fortune telling ideas. God is eternal, without end, time is for God, eternal without end. We don't understand time or God that way, when we do, omniscience takes on a much more biblical concept.
I don't see your point with there being evil in the world because of Gods gift of freewill. When God made us he put in every fault into us, there is no random effect he can give us that will make us create faults on our own.
this is actually one of my favorite arguments against Christianity...According to Gen., sin isn't really a flaw (sin usually meaning in the argument evil)...sin is the result of man being asked to love and man saying sorry I don't want to. I have 5 kids, I teach them, love them, correct them, etc. What I desire from them is love. But each has had moments in time where they didn't like me much, not to mention not "feeling" love. Does that make them flawed? My teen son and I get into a fight over something, he doesn't feel much love, doesn't even feel like for a season, is he flawed?
Man isn't flawed just because he doesn't love. In fact, love is a voluntary thing, otherwise it isn't love at all. My son has no love if I force him to feel what he does not. Man, was created by God for love. Because love is only possible when we have a right to choose whether we love or not, the flaw isn't in not loving (sinning). In fact, the "perfect" creation (don't mistake this for the argument of a world without pain and death) would be one that can choose to love because that is what love is, the choice to remain faithful, kind, putting others above oneself. Man is the "perfect" creation for his created purpose.
If I choose good actions i still am highly likely to get bad things to happen to me, what is the sense in that? Why wouldn't you reward the good people and make sure the sinners don't hurt the others.
Christianity isn't about appeasing anyone or anything. Lots of people apply this pagan idealism to christianity, but it is wrong. The bible tells us that things happen, that God is not a respector of persons, that it rains on the just and the unjust...in fact, if loving God always brought "good" things, then it isn't anymore love than if I hold gun to your head and say, "love me". Love can only happen with 1. choice, and 2. with the "good" and "bad" of life, because it is in both the good and the bad that love is tested and tried and evidenced.
Heaven and hell also doesn't make sense to me. I can live a perfect life giving to charity, helping every person I can, and never hear of "God's word" and I would end up in hell. But, I could kill millions and millions of people and as long as I believe in Jesus and God I automatically go to heaven.
My guess is that it doesn't make sense because you are seeing heaven and hell as rewards and punishments. That isn't what Gen. tells us. According to GEn. death (separation from God) is the consequence of sin, not the punishment for sin. That is why how "good" we are doesn't matter to our eternity. Sin carries with it the consequence of death, and it is Jesus Christ who bridges the gap between the death and life God speak of to us. (we can talk about why Jesus is the bridge, but for the moment I am trying to hold very close to your questions) So if heaven and hell are the consequences, not the punishment, then you can be all kinds of wonderful and still go to hell.
Look at it this way, I instruct my kids to not play in the street, they however, don't listen and get hit by a car. Did the car hit them because I judged them for being disobedient, or did the car hit them because the consequence of playing in a busy street is that you get hit by a car? Man was told by God, don't play with sin (in the street). Man faced death (getting hit by the car) will picking up thier toys, or washing my car (all the good man can do) change the consequence of playing in the street?
I have a problem with the laws put forth by the Lord. If I work on a Sabbath I should be stoned? If I am disobedient to my parents I shall be tied to a tree and stoned?
be careful which laws you apply to God and which are permitted by God. This is another common misunderstanding. According to the OT God permitted much that He didn't approve of because of the hardness of man's hearts. These laws are often attributed to God when in reality of scripture, God said, 'your wrong, but if you insist on doing it your way, at least do X'
Let me see, an example....I try to control the amount of time my kids spend on the computer. But I have to be gone, so I know that no matter how I insist, the kids will be on the computer while I am gone. So even though I don't want them on, I know that they are stuborn enough to disobey. So I make a deal with my kids and say, okay, I know your gonna be on, so here is what I will do, you can be on, but not connected to the internet. My kids can live with that, so the law is set. Now you could say, that I made a law that my kids could play on the computer while I was gone, but to do so would totally miss the point. The point is that my law would say, no computer, but then, they would breaking a law I know they can't or won't hold to, so I give them grace and say, let me make it easier for you to hold to the law.
God, didn't make a law just to catch man, He made laws to protect man from himself. In fact, the bible tells us that all the laws, all the prophets are about love. (biblical love) If the law is temporing man's stubborn nature with love, most people would say that is a good thing, not a bad thing.
Lastly(Not of my objections but of what I am willing to type), I don't understand the significance of Jesus, God created himself in human form, sacrificed himself in human form, then resurrected himself for what? To take away the bad sins and allow people access to heaven? If he really wanted to, and if he was omnipotent, he would just forgive the sins and be a more reasonable God.
No, this goes back to understanding what sin is and what the consequence of sin is.
Let me see how streamline I can make this for the sake of a post...the consequences of sin is death, blood. That is what happens when you sin, death...but like I would do anything to save my child even when he runs into the street and gets hit by a car, God wants to save his creation. So blood is required. God gave man His own blood, like a blood transfusion if it helps, to save the child hit by the car.
In the OT we see that the people required blood sacrifices to pay for the sins of man, it is blood that is required and blood was sacrificed. In the NT the blood that satisfied the sin was Jesus Christ. It really all goes back to the Gen. understanding of sin and what the consequence of sin really is.
Hopefully, I posted in the right spot, and hopefully I don't get banned for "trolling"
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Hopefully this helps I really enjoy talking about these things and exploring with people who like to question them. Thanks so for the questions (no sarcasm, I really enjoy questions)