Questions for gamers

[mentalkitty789]

Well, this should clue you into the fact that we are all built to know and worship God, and in lieu of that, we will direct that worship towards something else. I am sure you have noticed this in our culture, where people worship money, power, celebrity, sex, and a million other things. People are looking for a fulfillment, but this can only come from God. Only God can satisfy the desires of our heart, which are for an eternal satisifaction. This world can not provide that, because everything in it is perishing. Only Jesus Christ can give us rest for the burdens of this world and true satisfaction. In this is peace, contentment, joy, and love.

I'm sure that would be true if your religion is correct. I don't worship anything though, I'm not praying to any idol, or money, or celebrities, or anything I can thing of. Then again I would sooner believe the Buddhist's view of the world than the Christian one, but I'm a fallen hateful being that is immoral in the extreme, because I don't worship the Christian God, so what could I possible know?

 

[thesunisout]

I'm sure that would be true if your religion is correct. I don't worship anything though, I'm not praying to any idol, or money, or celebrities, or anything I can thing of. Then again I would sooner believe the Buddhist's view of the world than the Christian one, but I'm a fallen hateful being that is immoral in the extreme, because I don't worship the Christian God, so what could I possible know?

Although you may prefer Buddhism over Christianity, there is only one truth, and it isn't concerned with our personal preferences. We should believe what is real rather than what we prefer is real, don't you agree?

Now, you should not single yourself out, because we have all fallen short of Gods standards, and we have all sinned. There is nothing special or different about me; I deserve Gods punishment just as much as you do. The difference is, I have accepted Gods offer of forgiveness for my sins and I am no longer in rebellion against His authority.

Jesus Christ paid the price for your sins on the cross. If you picture this as a courtroom, then God is your judge and your sin is a legal matter that is before Him. Since Jesus Christ has already paid for your crimes, your case can be dismissed, but only if you accept His pardon. If you reject His pardon then you will be judged for your sins, and the penalty for sin is death. In biblical terms, this is the second death, which is eternal conscious torment in hell.

God is merciful and doesn't want this to happen to you, but He also isn't going to force you to choose either. He has His hand extended to you, but it is up to you to grab hold of it.

 

[mentalkitty789]

Although you may prefer Buddhism over Christianity, there is only one truth, and it isn't concerned with our personal preferences. We should believe what is real rather than what we prefer is real, don't you agree?

Now, you should not single yourself out, because we have all fallen short of Gods standards, and we have all sinned. There is nothing special or different about me; I deserve Gods punishment just as much as you do. The difference is, I have accepted Gods offer of forgiveness for my sins and I am no longer in rebellion against His authority.

Jesus Christ paid the price for your sins on the cross. If you picture this as a courtroom, then God is your judge and your sin is a legal matter that is before Him. Since Jesus Christ has already paid for your crimes, your case can be dismissed, but only if you accept His pardon. If you reject His pardon then you will be judged for your sins, and the penalty for sin is death. In biblical terms, this is the second death, which is eternal conscious torment in hell.

God is merciful and doesn't want this to happen to you, but He also isn't going to force you to choose either. He has His hand extended to you, but it is up to you to grab hold of it.

It has nothing to do with personal preference. From what I've observed though Christianity is just simply so absurd, that I would sooner believe that is life is pain and suffering and we are in an endless cycle of death and reincarnation that can only be transcended by removing want.

And if my punishment is to be eternal, there is no point to it, other than the person who's sent me there sadistic pleasure. I am dead, I'm no longer a threat to anyone, there is no rehabilitation in hell, it is absolutely pointless.
Still if God was really so merciful, why create Hell to begin with? Why create the concept of sin and of evil. God created the universe so unless he created those or the ability for them to exist then those things simply could not exist.
God could have created the world any way he liked, being all powerful, but he chose one that would lead to the suffering, and eternal damnation of billions. There is no question about free-will if you believe in it, because if an option never existed, then there is no way the choice can be taken away or added. Yet God made the world the way he did. If he is not sadistic and malicious, then why?

 

[thesunisout]

It has nothing to do with personal preference. From what I've observed though Christianity is just simply so absurd, that I would sooner believe that is life is pain and suffering and we are in an endless cycle of death and reincarnation that can only be transcended by removing want.

And if my punishment is to be eternal, there is no point to it, other than the person who's sent me there sadistic pleasure. I am dead, I'm no longer a threat to anyone, there is no rehabilitation in hell, it is absolutely pointless.
Still if God was really so merciful, why create Hell to begin with? Why create the concept of sin and of evil. God created the universe so unless he created those or the ability for them to exist then those things simply could not exist.
God could have created the world any way he liked, being all powerful, but he chose one that would lead to the suffering, and eternal damnation of billions. There is no question about free-will if you believe in it, because if an option never existed, then there is no way the choice can be taken away or added. Yet God made the world the way he did. If he is not sadistic and malicious, then why?

This video will explain some of your questions:

Since Evil & Suffering Exist, A Loving God Cannot ...? - YouTube

God didn't create hell for us, He created it for the devil and his angels. He would prefer that no one go, but anyone who throws in with Satan is going to be punished along with him. In the end, the only people who will be in hell are unrepentant sinners.

You're absolutely correct, there is no rehabilitation in hell, and that is because sin has eternal consequences. One sin caused the entire creation to fall; that is how bad it really is. It is not a temporal crime, because you are sinning against an eternal and Holy God. It is an eternal crime and it merits an eternal punishment.

The evil and suffering in the world came from mans rebellion against God, it wasn't created this way. God created a paradise, and man ruined it. God gave man the free will to ruin it, this is true, but that is the price of free will; you have to live with the consequences of your actions.

You don't like the idea of ultimate accountability; no atheists do. Whether you like it or not though, you are accountable. But what you miss is the love of God. God sent His Son to die on the cross so that you could be forgiven and have eternal life. He doesn't want to punish you, so He gave you a way out. He cares for you.

The Holy Spirit predicted your response:

1 Corinthians 1:18

For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.

I understand how you feel because I used to be agnostic. Pray for revelation, that God will give you the faith to believe. He grants those sort of prayers. Seek Him out and He will open the door.

 

[mentalkitty789]

That doesn't solve the problem. If the choice never existed, then there is no affect on free will, if evil thoughts aren't possible, because they don't exist, there is no affect on anything resembling free will. To claim that he can't is to claim is that he isn't all powerful.
God had to create evil or the ability for it to exist, THEN not allow any evil options to take place, for that argument about free will to make any sense. So God must create evil or the concept of it, for it to even begin to exist, and therefore is responsible for its existence.

And the crime itself is finite, the deed that has been commited is finite. If it were possible for me to be eternally offended because someone committed a crime against me, does that give me the right to eternally punish them? No, because the crime was finite.

So God sent his son to be brutally killed for events he is responsible for in the first place? That doesn't sound benevolent, it sounds sadistic. If he cares so much about people being forgiven he could just forgive them. He wrote the law, he decided people would be tortured forever for sin.

I used to pray, I used to seek the answers from God, but no answers came. Now only more questions arise which make the christian god appear to be more and more absurd.

 

[thesunisout]

That doesn't solve the problem. If the choice never existed, then there is no affect on free will, if evil thoughts aren't possible, because they don't exist, there is no affect on anything resembling free will. To claim that he can't is to claim is that he isn't all powerful.

God had to create evil or the ability for it to exist, THEN not allow any evil options to take place, for that argument about free will to make any sense. So God must create evil or the concept of it, for it to even begin to exist, and therefore is responsible for its existence.

If you cannot disobey God, you don't have the possibility of a choice. If you do not have the possibility of a choice, you don't have free will. If He programmed you that way you would be nothing more than a robot.

God didn't create evil. God is perfectly good and does no evil. Evil came into the world when some of His creatures chose to sin and rebel against Him.

And the crime itself is finite, the deed that has been commited is finite. If it were possible for me to be eternally offended because someone committed a crime against me, does that give me the right to eternally punish them? No, because the crime was finite.

Sins are not finite crimes committed by finite beings. They are eternal crimes committed by beings with eternal spirits. Sins are eternal because God is eternal and your crimes are eternally before Him and against Him. You are trying to transfer your understanding of finite crimes and consequences and apply it to an eternal paradigm, but it doesn't work that way. That the material effects do not last forever has no bearing; the spiritual effects do last forever and that is why there is an eternal consequence to sin.

So God sent his son to be brutally killed for events he is responsible for in the first place? That doesn't sound benevolent, it sounds sadistic. If he cares so much about people being forgiven he could just forgive them. He wrote the law, he decided people would be tortured forever for sin.

He isn't responsible for sin, we are. He sent His Son to take our place in punishment out of love and mercy. He didn't have to do that, or even warn us about what He is going to do. Jesus went to the cross because He cares for us, and even if it were only you, He still would have done it.

God will forgive you, but not if you won't repent of your crimes and turn away from sin. God is a just judge and isn't going to forgive unrepentant sinners who rebel against Him. It would be like admitting your crime and then flipping the bird to the judge at your murder trial and then being outraged when he didn't dismiss your case.

I used to pray, I used to seek the answers from God, but no answers came. Now only more questions arise which make the christian god appear to be more and more absurd.

Your questions have answers. What's your background? Did you grow up Christian? What did you pray for?

 

[mentalkitty789]

If God didn't create it or the possibility of it then it wouldn't exist. Also how does free-will exist with an all-powerful all-knowing god to begin with. He knows the outcome of his creation before he even makes it, and he knows the outcome of every possible way he could make it. So he was aware that sin would come into being, and yet allowed it to happen. No matter what we are still 'robots' incredibly complex ones, but our choices were known and what caused us to make those choices were known before we even cam into being.

God set into motion the events that would create sin, fully aware that they would happen, so how is he not responsible? Also if Jesus really took our punishment shouldn't he be burning in Hell for eternity paying for the punishment of everyone who accepted his offer? If he isn't then why?

I have a vaguely Catholic upbringing when I was around my mother's side when I was little, and a Jewish one when around my father's side of the family when I was little. I started asking questions around 10, and gave up on the faith based methods of finding them, like praying, at 13, because no answers came. I still hopped that those answers would come, but by the time I was probably like half-way through highschool, start of my junior year I started calling myself an Atheist. I'm half way through my last year of highschool right now.

 

[thesunisout]

If God didn't create it or the possibility of it then it wouldn't exist. Also how does free-will exist with an all-powerful all-knowing god to begin with. He knows the outcome of his creation before he even makes it, and he knows the outcome of every possible way he could make it. So he was aware that sin would come into being, and yet allowed it to happen. No matter what we are still 'robots' incredibly complex ones, but our choices were known and what caused us to make those choices were known before we even cam into being.

God set into motion the events that would create sin, fully aware that they would happen, so how is he not responsible? Also if Jesus really took our punishment shouldn't he be burning in Hell for eternity paying for the punishment of everyone who accepted his offer? If he isn't then why?

Let's say I offer you a choice of two candybars, one I know you like and one I know you don't like. I know that you're going to pick the one that you like, and you do. Did my foreknowledge of what you would choose remove the possibility of you making a different choice? The answer is no, you still had a choice. The same goes for Gods foreknowledge. Just because He knows what you are going to do doesn't mean you didn't have the choice to do something else.

Jesus never sinned so He didn't deserve to go to hell. He was crucified for our sins. Think about the author of life being mocked and tortured by His own creations as a man, and then being sent to the cross to die. God, an eternal and Holy being, died a criminals death for our crimes.

I have a vaguely Catholic upbringing when I was around my mother's side when I was little, and a Jewish one when around my father's side of the family when I was little. I started asking questions around 10, and gave up on the faith based methods of finding them, like praying, at 13, because no answers came. I still hopped that those answers would come, but by the time I was probably like half-way through highschool, start of my junior year I started calling myself an Atheist. I'm half way through my last year of highschool right now.

God builds us up in different ways. Sometimes we have to learn the wrong way to learn the right way. He may have answered your prayers in ways you don't understand right now. It also sounds like you had a tiny bit of exposure to the gospel but you weren't born again.

To know God is to know Him personally. Knowing God isn't going to church, or doing good deeds, or reading your bible; it's a personal and experiential relationship with the Creator of the Universe. God wants you to know Him personally, and it sounds like you tried to get to know Him, but that you got frustrated when God didn't answer back in a way you understood, so you turned to atheism. I can understand that. God doesn't always give us what we want, but He always gives us what we need.

So, it sounds like if God does exist, you would want to know Him. I will be praying for you for God to give you a sign. I know that you gave up praying awhile ago but try praying to Jesus again and invite Him into your life. Say to Him that if He exists you want to know about it, and you will turn away from your sin and accept Him as Lord. If you mean that from your heart, you will get an answer.

 

[mentalkitty789]

Let's say I offer you a choice of two candybars, one I know you like and one I know you don't like. I know that you're going to pick the one that you like, and you do. Did my foreknowledge of what you would choose remove the possibility of you making a different choice? The answer is no, you still had a choice. The same goes for Gods foreknowledge. Just because He knows what you are going to do doesn't mean you didn't have the choice to do something else.

Jesus never sinned so He didn't deserve to go to hell. He was crucified for our sins. Think about the author of life being mocked and tortured by His own creations as a man, and then being sent to the cross to die. God, an eternal and Holy being, died a criminals death for our crimes.



God builds us up in different ways. Sometimes we have to learn the wrong way to learn the right way. He may have answered your prayers in ways you don't understand right now. It also sounds like you had a tiny bit of exposure to the gospel but you weren't born again.

To know God is to know Him personally. Knowing God isn't going to church, or doing good deeds, or reading your bible; it's a personal and experiential relationship with the Creator of the Universe. God wants you to know Him personally, and it sounds like you tried to get to know Him, but that you got frustrated when God didn't answer back in a way you understood, so you turned to atheism. I can understand that. God doesn't always give us what we want, but He always gives us what we need.

So, it sounds like if God does exist, you would want to know Him. I will be praying for you for God to give you a sign. I know that you gave up praying awhile ago but try praying to Jesus again and invite Him into your life. Say to Him that if He exists you want to know about it, and you will turn away from your sin and accept Him as Lord. If you mean that from your heart, you will get an answer.

You assumed I would choose the candy bar I liked based on your knowledge of my preference. There is not much of a real choice, which the mechanisms behind it are incredibly complex it is cause and effect. Every cause creates and affect. God is the first cause, then he is responsible for every affect that comes after it. Even more so because he is AWARE of what would happen and all the pain and suffering it would cause.
Change the circumstances, say I have a friend who likes the other kind of candy bar you present me with and I owe them for something they did for me, depending on how your brain is wired, I could take the other candy bar and give it to them to pay them back.
Again, we are incredibly complex robots, but robots none the less with an all-powerful, all-knowing god that can dictate anything, with or without our knowledge.

I have to ask... Why would god answer in a way I WOULDN'T understand? He is all-powerful and all-knowing. He knows what it would take for me to believe and is able to do it, so why wouldn't he send me a message I wouldn't confuse for something else? Unless it is a cheap excuse to intentionally damn people to hell, or there is no god sending a reply at all.
I would also ask why when I was a child and something bad happened to me, and I asked for god's help, he would wait for me to break down and give up on the hope of that answer coming from god.
I don't see the harm in praying again, it hasn't worked for the past 10 years, so I sadly doubt it will change now. As much as I want to know, I can't pray with sincerity though, because I don't believe it works.

 

[thesunisout]

You assumed I would choose the candy bar I liked based on your knowledge of my preference. There is not much of a real choice, which the mechanisms behind it are incredibly complex it is cause and effect. Every cause creates and affect. God is the first cause, then he is responsible for every affect that comes after it. Even more so because he is AWARE of what would happen and all the pain and suffering it would cause.
Change the circumstances, say I have a friend who likes the other kind of candy bar you present me with and I owe them for something they did for me, depending on how your brain is wired, I could take the other candy bar and give it to them to pay them back.

Again, we are incredibly complex robots, but robots none the less with an all-powerful, all-knowing god that can dictate anything, with or without our knowledge.

We would only be robots if we had no actual choices. That means, having no choice but to obey God which rules out real love. God isn't interested in robots, otherwise He would have programmed us to always do His will. It's only that we have a choice not to obey God that we could have a loving relationship with Him.

If He created us with the equal and fair opportunity to choose good or evil, and we choose evil, how is He to blame if He knew what the choice would be? He didn't cause you to make that choice, He only foreknew it. What He caused was for you to have an opportunity to make a choice, and to allow you to decide which choice you preferred. Ultimately, it was your decision.

I have to ask... Why would god answer in a way I WOULDN'T understand? He is all-powerful and all-knowing. He knows what it would take for me to believe and is able to do it, so why wouldn't he send me a message I wouldn't confuse for something else? Unless it is a cheap excuse to intentionally damn people to hell, or there is no god sending a reply at all.

I would also ask why when I was a child and something bad happened to me, and I asked for god's help, he would wait for me to break down and give up on the hope of that answer coming from god.

I didn't believe in God when I was a child, but one time there was something I really wanted and I prayed to God for it. I didn't get it, and it really disappointed me. Yet, 3 or 4 years later I did get what I wanted, except it was far better than what I had asked for. I didn't make the connection at the time, so I didn't give Him any credit for it. I didn't realize He had answered my prayer. It was only many years later that I made the connection.

I'm 35 years old now and God didn't actually save me until September of 2010. Now that I know God, I can look back on my life and see very clearly that God has always been in my life. He was always taking care of me, making things happen for me, protecting me, encouraging me, but I didn't see it. I guarantee He is doing the same for you too. You may not have seen it or understood it but He was there with you even through the bad times. Why now instead of then? Perhaps there were lessons you needed to learn and this is the way He wanted to teach you. We don't know what we need, and God is looking at our entire life, not just our immediate future. He acts on a grander scale than we are used to looking at.

I don't see the harm in praying again, it hasn't worked for the past 10 years, so I sadly doubt it will change now. As much as I want to know, I can't pray with sincerity though, because I don't believe it works.

Well, take a leap of faith.

Revelation 3:20

Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.

He is knocking at your door right now. Open it up and let Him in.

 

[mentalkitty789]

We would only be robots if we had no actual choices. That means, having no choice but to obey God which rules out real love. God isn't interested in robots, otherwise He would have programmed us to always do His will. It's only that we have a choice not to obey God that we could have a loving relationship with Him.

If He created us with the equal and fair opportunity to choose good or evil, and we choose evil, how is He to blame if He knew what the choice would be? He didn't cause you to make that choice, He only foreknew it. What He caused was for you to have an opportunity to make a choice, and to allow you to decide which choice you preferred. Ultimately, it was your decision.



I didn't believe in God when I was a child, but one time there was something I really wanted and I prayed to God for it. I didn't get it, and it really disappointed me. Yet, 3 or 4 years later I did get what I wanted, except it was far better than what I had asked for. I didn't make the connection at the time, so I didn't give Him any credit for it. I didn't realize He had answered my prayer. It was only many years later that I made the connection.

I'm 35 years old now and God didn't actually save me until September of 2010. Now that I know God, I can look back on my life and see very clearly that God has always been in my life. He was always taking care of me, making things happen for me, protecting me, encouraging me, but I didn't see it. I guarantee He is doing the same for you too. You may not have seen it or understood it but He was there with you even through the bad times. Why now instead of then? Perhaps there were lessons you needed to learn and this is the way He wanted to teach you. We don't know what we need, and God is looking at our entire life, not just our immediate future. He acts on a grander scale than we are used to looking at.



Well, take a leap of faith.

Revelation 3:20

Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.

He is knocking at your door right now. Open it up and let Him in.

I'm saying even in this situation we are 'still robots'. If god only knew everything, then no he would not be responsible for our choices, but he controls everything too.
God knew from the beginning we would fall, no matter what he is decided everything from the start, we might be unbelievable complex 'robots' but if there is an all-powerful all-knowing God, this is still the case. With both qualities it is impossible to say we have free will. Without one of those qualities, god is not god.
So I have to hold God responsible for sin, he is monstrous to not prevent its creation, just like it would be monstrous for me to not stop a murder that I could prevent with no one being harmed.

That is a lovely story, I'm happy it convinced you, but instead of leaving you in doubt, confusion, and on the road to damnation (Or whatever state you were in at the time). Why didn't god save you immediately? That seems kind of horrible really.

As for a leap of faith, I can't. I have too much doubt, a simply painful amount. So, sorry, it isn't in me to take a leap of faith.

 

[thesunisout]

I'm saying even in this situation we are 'still robots'. If god only knew everything, then no he would not be responsible for our choices, but he controls everything too.

God knew from the beginning we would fall, no matter what he is decided everything from the start, we might be unbelievable complex 'robots' but if there is an all-powerful all-knowing God, this is still the case. With both qualities it is impossible to say we have free will. Without one of those qualities, god is not god.

You should watch the video again because it is not impossible. You don't believe an all powerful, all knowing God is capable of granting free will to His creatures? All powerful means He can create creatures that have a fair choice between good and evil. All knowing means He knows what is going to happen but that doesn't contradict His omnipotent power of giving you free will. In any case, you're looking at this from a temporal perspective. What you need to realize is that God exists in eternity. He is outside of time. So, when we speak of Gods foreknowledge you have to realize that past present and future don't apply to God. It's not something that anyone can easily comprehend, and this goes a little deeper than the black and white way you are looking at it.

So I have to hold God responsible for sin, he is monstrous to not prevent its creation, just like it would be monstrous for me to not stop a murder that I could prevent with no one being harmed.

I understand you would like to hold Him responsible, but don't you see that this is simply an excuse? You seem to want to make God responsible for your sin so then you don't have to be responsible to Him. That's what I see all of this as being about.

That is a lovely story, I'm happy it convinced you, but instead of leaving you in doubt, confusion, and on the road to damnation (Or whatever state you were in at the time). Why didn't god save you immediately? That seems kind of horrible really.

Let's say He did save me at that time, but I wasn't emotionally mature enough to keep a steady faith, and I ended up abandoning my faith in a tough time and never coming back. Would that be better than Him waiting a few years for me to become a bit more mature? Perhaps He wanted to show me some things in the secular world that I wouldn't have seen had I been a Christian. It wasn't horrible. I'm glad He did it the way He did, because I had some very valuable experiences that prepared me to be a Christian. I can also see that He was always with me, and always preparing me for that day.

As for a leap of faith, I can't. I have too much doubt, a simply painful amount. So, sorry, it isn't in me to take a leap of faith.

I understand. It sounds like you have had some pain in your life and that is causing you to doubt God very much. What I am here to tell you is that God is the only one who can take that pain away and make it right. So pray for faith. Faith itself is a gift from God. Pray that God would give you the faith and signs to believe. Tell Him that you would like to believe, but you need His help and see what happens.

 

[StickwithJesus]

I understand you would like to hold Him responsible, but don't you see that this is simply an excuse? You seem to want to make God responsible for your sin so then you don't have to be responsible to Him. That's what I see all of this as being about.

This is brilliant. I've never anyone put it like this before.

(Ignore me; I find this answer incredible)

 

[mentalkitty789]

This is brilliant. I've never anyone put it like this before.

(Ignore me; I find this answer incredible)

It would be if it were true, if I believed in God. Since I don't believe in God to begin with I don't truly hold him accountable. It would be like blaming Santa for me killing someone.
I am accountable for my own actions, because there is no all-knowing all-powerful god that fated me to do wrong.
So while it would be brilliant, if I believed that said god was real, I don't.

 

[StickwithJesus]

It would be if it were true, if I believed in God.

Your typing indicates that you believe in him; just that you don't believe He is a good God.

Since I don't believe in God to begin with I don't truly hold him accountable.

I find it very interesting that you communication in relation to God as I mentioned above indicates that you consider him real. If you would like to avoid this mis-understanding then perhaps you should describe him in a way which is not personable.

I am accountable for my own actions,

How are you accountable for your own actions if there isn't a God? Isn't it the reverse; the only person you are directly responsible to in an Atheist mind-view is the person directly affected by your actions. If the person isn't any the wiser of your actions then you are not doing anything wrong.

Unless you consider self-preservation to be a bad thing; because you are not taking full advantage of your belief system. There is nothing stopping you from doing something "wrong" from a Christian perspective

because there is no all-knowing all-powerful god that fated me to do wrong.

In your opinion; today I experienced another act of God which yet improves my faith in him. You would consider it lucky or fortunate; but as I explained in another topic; I'm not that lucky.

God bless you.

By the way; the Skype invitation you offered me might not work out because of the time difference and the fact that when you seem to be on my family is at home. I don't wish to disturb them; so unless you can wake up earlier or go to bed later I'm afraid it won't happen.

 

[mentalkitty789]

Your typing indicates that you believe in him; just that you don't believe He is a good God.



I find it very interesting that you communication in relation to God as I mentioned above indicates that you consider him real. If you would like to avoid this mis-understanding then perhaps you should describe him in a way which is not personable.



How are you accountable for your own actions if there isn't a God? Isn't it the reverse; the only person you are directly responsible to in an Atheist mind-view is the person directly affected by your actions. If the person isn't any the wiser of your actions then you are not doing anything wrong.

Unless you consider self-preservation to be a bad thing; because you are not taking full advantage of your belief system. There is nothing stopping you from doing something "wrong" from a Christian perspective



In your opinion; today I experienced another act of God which yet improves my faith in him. You would consider it lucky or fortunate; but as I explained in another topic; I'm not that lucky.

God bless you.

By the way; the Skype invitation you offered me might not work out because of the time difference and the fact that when you seem to be on my family is at home. I don't wish to disturb them; so unless you can wake up earlier or go to bed later I'm afraid it won't happen.

Well one, who are you to say what I do and don't believe? I am giving my thoughts on a situation if I were to make the assumption that a God exists. It has nothing to do with my actual beliefs, because I would have stopped at the fact there is no strong evidence for the christian god, that isn't also being claimed by another religion. I am allowing the point for the sake of the discussion.

Why am I accountable for my own actions? Well one, I'm not a sociopath, I can imagine the suffering that others would undergo and I care about that. I am accountable to myself and the people around me.
Generally where my morals come from has never been an issue for me, because I care about the suffering of other people, and understand that cooperation and supporting each other help the survive of the individual and the species far better than selfishness can.

As for a conversation on skype. We both appear to be on at this moment, you could simply send me a friend request on there and we could chat when we both happen to be on. I have a crazy schedule though, so we would be bound to run into each other.
Edit: Ok, never mind, we aren't both on at this moment.

 

[Lynxxus]

I don't see how this is correct...
First of all, I'm a high school student. I spend 7 hours a day thinking of mathematics, german, public speaking and journalism. I spend 1 hour with God. Does this make school my idol?
If I enjoy reading books all day, for perhaps...5 hours and then only spend an hour reading the bible. Does that make books my idols?
I'm not quite sure where you're coming from with this.

 

[thesunisout]

I don't see how this is correct...
First of all, I'm a high school student. I spend 7 hours a day thinking of mathematics, german, public speaking and journalism. I spend 1 hour with God. Does this make school my idol?
If I enjoy reading books all day, for perhaps...5 hours and then only spend an hour reading the bible. Does that make books my idols?
I'm not quite sure where you're coming from with this.

Hey Lynxxus. This isn't to say that your job, or your schooling, is an idol, although it certainly can become one. It depends on how you are following the first commandment. Are you putting God first in all areas of your life? You can do that at school and you can do that at work. The question is, who is in the drivers seat of your life, you or God? Does God get the first fruits of everything, or the leftovers?