How do you define the supernatural? and is it necessary to believe in the supernatural to be a Christian?
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On the supernatural
- Thread starter DarkProphet
- Start date
cutie76
Regular Member
I believe the supernatural is the spirit realm, usually not seen by humans.
If one wishes to become a Christian I think it's in order to believe the Word of God. From John 1 we know that Christ is the Word made flesh, so to believe in Christ is to believe in the Word. The Word speaks about the "supernatural" or spirit world. The Holy Spirit is one of the largest topics on the spirit world.
The battle we are in is a spiritual battle, so it's essential to believe and engage in the battle so that Satan does not take ground in the life of a Christian.
The Word of God says:
Ephesians 6:10-18
10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11 Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. 12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. 13 Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. 14 Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, 15 and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. 16In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17 Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. 18 And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints.
If one wishes to become a Christian I think it's in order to believe the Word of God. From John 1 we know that Christ is the Word made flesh, so to believe in Christ is to believe in the Word. The Word speaks about the "supernatural" or spirit world. The Holy Spirit is one of the largest topics on the spirit world.
The battle we are in is a spiritual battle, so it's essential to believe and engage in the battle so that Satan does not take ground in the life of a Christian.
The Word of God says:
Ephesians 6:10-18
10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11 Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. 12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. 13 Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. 14 Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, 15 and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. 16In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17 Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. 18 And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints.
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CShephard53
Somebody shut me up so I can live out loud!
Yes to your last question, DP. If you don't believe in the supernatural, then the miracles, demons, etc. are a load of tosh and the Bible's wrong.
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ebia
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Generally I wouldn't try and define it - I'm not sure that it's a concept that really holds up to a tight definition; it's a naieve concept that's useful shorthand but best avoided if one is getting serious. If one needed to I suppose I'd go with something like:
That which cannot be studied by naturalistic assumption based methods.
If God comes within your definition of supernatural, then yes.
It really does depend on what you mean by 'supernatural'.
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The question does of whether or not God fits within a definition of supernatural is a bit tricky and I was hoping to avoid that one but here goes. The problem is two fold, one you have to have a good definition of supernatural which you put at...
That which cannot be studied by naturalistic assumption based methods.
to which I'll agree with for now. The other problem is defining what God actually is and that I don't think we could agree on. In any case my feeling is that if God exists then he is simply an unknown part of the natural universe and as such not supernatural.
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Yes, I see that now. I suppose I would also have a different definition of supernatural. I suppose my definition would be...
Anything that is not explainable by natural laws.
There are a few things in nature that are explained by scientific principles that cannot be studied. That is a bit of a paradox but it is a big reason why string theory is not more mainstream... it cannot be studied.
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ebia
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Do you mean Anything that is not currently explainable by natural laws.
or
Anything that is not potentially explainable by natural laws.
Under the former, lightening (say) would once have been supernatural but now is not.
I'm not quite sure I understand the difference between the second definition and mine - they look pretty equivalent to me.
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ReformedChapin
Chapin = Guatemalan
a)That which is constituded beyond the natural world.
b)Yes, because God is beyond the natural world although his creation screams his Glory.
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Merlin
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That which is outside of the temporal causality or spacetime physicality of our natural existence.
Hinse super-natural
Nope. not at all.
Romans, chapter 10 verses 9&10
9 That if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God
raised him from the dead, you will be saved.
10 For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you
confess and are saved.
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ReformedChapin
Chapin = Guatemalan
uh... confession in Christ carries several presuppositions. First you have to believe in a thiest world view that means supernatural phenomena.
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P
PhilosopherD
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Yes, I think you have to believe that, at minimum, God as acted at least a few times in the temporal realm of human history.
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Naturally, God is supernatural. I think it requires believeing in the supernatural. But when you refer to the supernatural, do you mean the "bad" or the "good" supernatural? When their presence is powerful(good or evil) you can feel them, and sometimes even see them. I know they exist. I've seen 5 demons in my life, felt the presence of countless more, and felt the presence of Angels a few times too, although was not bleesed enough to see one. Hope this helps Darkprophet.
-Alex:
-Alex:
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I wasn't aware that there are two kinds of supernatural. What's the difference?
When their presence is powerful(good or evil) you can feel them, and sometimes even see them. I know they exist. I've seen 5 demons in my life, felt the presence of countless more, and felt the presence of Angels a few times too, although was not bleesed enough to see one. Hope this helps Darkprophet.
Can you elaborate on one incident on seeing a demon?
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There are no two different kinds. I was just refering to it to see if you meant demons or angels. yes, I can gladly elaborate on one incident. here it goes: it was around 4 in the morning and i was finally going to sleep. after thelights where turned off, i could not sleep and I looked to the side of my bed,and saw this...thing staring at me. It was grey, about 3 feet tall, squating(sort of) and it had 4 inch long claws and i would say 6 inch teeth, I cant describe the eyes.You can guess i prayed prety hard that night. Hope that settles your doubt.
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