Why not? My amount of 'faith' in anything is basically proportionate to the amount of evidence which exists to demonstrate as such. Hence, the claimed God of the Bible, leaves me virtually faithless. And one of the reasons I have concluded as such, is that the claims do not match with my reality.
Christianity is the only religion with historical evidence including proof of prophecy, consistency in manuscripts written hundreds of years apart, and nonbiblical accounts of Jesus. There is no shortage of evidence for Christian apologetics— overwhelmingly more than any evidence for your great great grandmother I am sure.
Personally, the thousands of testimonies of changed lives are enough evidence for me.
EVEN IF this were true, I can put gravity to the test, time and time again. I can rely upon it, time and time again.
I do not need to make excuses, if it does not work the way I expected or intended. If you can do this with [your] believed upon 'God', please demonstrate? The term 'gravity' is a label we humans slap upon it.
This force, in and of itself, makes no claims. God apparently does
God never works in the way I intended or expected. He is far beyond my imagination.
Apparently, it looks as if you decided to instead reconcile human emotion, human actions, and explained natural phenomenon as 'God'? Please see above in red.
Actually yes. I feel I appreciate and live life more fully when I attribute life to God. I credit Him for the cloud layers in beautiful sunsets and Him for the neurons in humans emotions like love and joy. I am not sure that science alone can ever satisfy human wonder but feel free to settle for whatever explanations you want.
"God is preparing creation to be ready to stand in the full presence of God, but we are not yet ready. I will pray for you but I hope that you will allow yourself to open your heart up to God again. I hope that your time here on CF is not for nothing."
1. So, if He is preparing creation, HOW would this apply to still-borns, dead infants, dead children, etc? Are you saying that the ones we mourn are the 'lucky ones'? If so, then maybe humans should just abort every pregnancy? If we love our children as much as God, seems like a small sacrifice to assure our offspring end up where they need to go, without first being subjected to a plausible 'purification' processes.
2. And why does anyone NEED to prepare? Once you transcend from where-ever, to heaven, you are no longer you anyways.
I am talking about what God desires after salvation.
For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast.
For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.
Good works is not about attending church or reading your Bible. It is about
looking out for the least of these. It is about being moved by God to care for the poor, needy and oppressed, whether they are dying children or mentally handicapped, because the Kingdom of God is dedicated
to them. God does not build a home for the homeless out of thin air, He calls each of us to do our part in "preparing" the Kingdom of God, so that it may one day be delivered back to Him. This is how God will restore creation. I am not sure how you got to the conclusion of sacrificing babies.
A: Eternity is a long time. If I'm eventually going to end up where God wants me, due to 'grace', then it really does not matter about your 'hope' for me, right?
B: My point here is that, according to God, every knee will bow, because God will unveil His presence to all, in a way no one can deny. THUS, I do not need to 'prepare' for anything
C: See A: and B:
Please see my above response.
And if it does not align with God's wishes, God's grace will place me where He wants me anyways. Hence, 'Jesus' already solved all the issues. Humans can run amuck. At worst, we will have to endure some temporary 'cleansing process'.
That is a rather immature way to look at things, cvanwey.
I am sure that your own mother/father is a very gracious person, who probably loves you unconditionally. Knowing this, do you "run amuck"? In the end it is you that has to come to terms with your own sin, shame, and repentance.
But I did ask some actual questions, for which you did not address:
1. WHY put such humans through such a process, if they are going to ultimately end up where He wants them anyways?
2. What sort of 'loving God', would set back, and watch it all happen, knowing with infallible certainty, exactly the way it was going to go down?
3. In the end, they all end up in heaven anyways. What does the human gain, after being in heaven? Do humans sit around, and compare stories of what God put them through before they got there?
God's universal salvation plan does not violate free will. People 'ultimately ending up where He wants them' is not the same thing as them being forced to go there against their will. God allows us to accept our salvation in our own way.
God told you this, or you found this in the Bible?
Just what I've chosen to believe.
As stated prior, I don't need to search - (past or present). According to [you], God will present to me in His time. God will correct me, in His time. I will submit, in God's time. In the end, we all end up in heaven anyways. And like I stated prior, eternity is a LONG time. Hence, it really does not matter, according to your philosophy.
Like I said sir God respects your free will, so it will be in
your time.
So, if you wish, please address my prior points. If not, so-be-it :
- What 'evidence' specifically have I been given, and should follow, for God?
- The title of the thread demonstrates how we have absolutely no unity among the believers AND non-believers. When you read the pages of the Bible, we have a multitude of 'confirmed' renditions. You are a testament to this; and a contributor.
- And no, belief is not a choice Otherwise, simply WILL yourself to believe the opposite of something you currently truly belief, without reason.
I feel I have addressed these points extensively throughout the course of our discussion; including my testimonies of how I personally encounter God, my consensus that faith is not uniform, and the idea you can make choices that affect your beliefs. If you feel I have not adequately addressed your concerns then please ask more specific questions.