Tell 5 reasons why your way is good

[com7fy8]

Anything really, whatever point of view you prefer. I didn't think about the definition of "good" too much.

I think we can keep discovering all that is really good. It is not limited to this world's abilities and not what evil can stop. But my own nature has a lot to do with what I can see and appreciate.

Just out of curiosity about definition: if spiritual things are defined to be fairytale material, but they keep happening to me in my real life, does that make me a fairytale character? If it does, no offence taken, I think it would be kind of cool definition.

If someone feels that spiritual things are fairytale, it might be that person is materialistic.

 

[JackofSpades]

To me, this would seem to be a prime example of how religion corrupts the intellect...

Yes, that might very well be the case. There is actually a recent picture of my brain, see those holes? Those are corruption caused by religion:

 

[Wryetui]

I'm somewhat skeptical of you having tested all the other banknotes, but suppose I give you the benefit of the doubt; how did you determine that all the other banknotes were counterfeit and that yours is the only legitimate theological currency?

It is quite simple. I will not put here the other religions of the world based on multiple gods (the ancient religions, but even the modern ones who are polytheistic), and I will compare here the two abrahamic religions: Islam, Judaism and Christianity. I have made my researches, and I found no reason to follow Mohammed instead of Christ. Mohammed was moraly weak man, he had multiple wives, he commited murder and other things. He was just another man who claimed He had a vision of an angel that dictated Him some stuff and started a new religion. I doubt that the angel Gabriel ever talked to him as he claims, because the same angel that 600 years ago at their time announced the Christ will come to the wourld, did He change His mind and brought another gospel? I think not. I think Mohammed was one of those false prophets that the Bible talks about, and his "angel" was no other than Satan trying to fool people. So we have God, from the Old Testament and the New Testament, the same one. Why would you trust the Bible instead of any other Holy Book? It is the only book that claims God to have appeared to people, talked to them, did wonders for them and made prophets to announce the coming of His Son, and then His Son came, making miracles again, being the most moral man ever existed, claiming to be God and rising from the death Himself, but not only that, announcing what will happen to us and that He is the way, the truth and the life So, why would you trust Jesus over the other "gods"? Again, because He is the only one that came to us, walked among us and died for us, who else would die for the people, so they can only get saved?
Ok, I'm christian already, but which church now? Easy, the Orthodox Church, for being the oldest christian denomination, claiming to be the One True Church and keeping the teachings and the doctrine of the apostles over the centuries and not changing like other churches, oh, and it happens that I was already a member of the Church so no conversion needed.

Of course, the problem is theologically deeper but I don't have the time to explain everything so I tried to shorten

 

[Archaeopteryx]

It is quite simple. I will not put here the other religions of the world based on multiple gods (the ancient religions, but even the modern ones who are polytheistic), and I will compare here the two abrahamic religions: Islam, Judaism and Christianity.

Why not? You said you tested all the banknotes, not just the Abrahamic ones.

I have made my researches, and I found no reason to follow Mohammed instead of Christ. Mohammed was moraly weak man, he had multiple wives, he commited murder and other things. He was just another man who claimed He had a vision of an angel that dictated Him some stuff and started a new religion. I doubt that the angel Gabriel ever talked to him as he claims, because the same angel that 600 years ago at their time announced the Christ will come to the wourld, did He change His mind and brought another gospel? I think not. I think Mohammed was one of those false prophets that the Bible talks about, and his "angel" was no other than Satan trying to fool people.

How did you determine this? Note that you didn't make any mention of how you determined that Judaism was counterfeit.

So we have God, from the Old Testament and the New Testament, the same one. Why would you trust the Bible instead of any other Holy Book?

Why trust any holy book?

It is the only book that claims God to have appeared to people, talked to them, did wonders for them and made prophets to announce the coming of His Son, and then His Son came, making miracles again, being the most moral man ever existed, claiming to be God and rising from the death Himself, but not only that, announcing what will happen to us and that He is the way, the truth and the life So, why would you trust Jesus over the other "gods"? Again, because He is the only one that came to us, walked among us and died for us, who else would die for the people, so they can only get saved?

With respect, you haven't really answered my question. You've just stated what you already believe, not how you know that it's true.

Ok, I'm christian already, but which church now? Easy, the Orthodox Church, for being the oldest christian denomination,

What does the longevity of an institution have to do with the truth of its claims?

claiming to be the One True Church and keeping the teachings and the doctrine of the apostles over the centuries and not changing like other churches,

It's not the only church or religious tradition to make this claim.

 

[Archaeopteryx]

Yes, that might very well be the case. There is actually a recent picture of my brain, see those holes? Those are corruption caused by religion:

That's some severe encephalopathy, or en-chesse-alopathy.

 

[True Scotsman]

I have, God did those wonders and miracles. You just don't accept that cause. There are thousands of wonders all over the world happening (you would be astonished to know what the orthodox monks hide in their monasteries), you just need faith.

In other words we need to imagine these things and then pretend that what we are imagining is real?

 

[Wryetui]

Why not? You said you tested all the banknotes, not just the Abrahamic ones.



How did you determine this? Note that you didn't make any mention of how you determined Judaism was counterfeit.



Why trust any holy book?



With respect, you haven't really answered my question. You've just stated what you already believe, not how you know that it's true.



What does the longevity of an institution have to do with the truth of its claims?



It's not the only church or religious tradition to make this claim.

Because the Abrahamic ones are the closest to the true God, closest than the other ones. We have the old european religions, they were not based on any ultimate revelation like the abrahamic ones, but they appear to be most likely human inventions, we have there gods for everything, so they just took their human weaknesses and strenghts and turned them into "divine". The same with Hinduism and other dharma-based religions. They are split into more than 30 million gods, and they do not have a clear doctrine, everyone following them by their teachings.

I didn't mention Judaism because from Judaism comes Christianity, and because their God is our God too, so there is no difference, it is just that they don't see God as He really is, the Trinity, because they don't accept Christ as the Messiah that was meant to come, and them, ignoring Christ, they ignore the truth, so that's why Judaism is an incomplete religion, waiting for something that already came, not accepting what is true.

The Bible is the way God chose to reveal Himself to us. Why to trust the Bible? Everything is there, what it whas, what it is and what it will be, it is a book that makes perfectly sense and is the written story of God. How could have God reach to us if it wasn't by the testaments of more than fourty people that wrote the Bible? Does it means that Jesus had to come every century in front of every country to do His sacrifice? How could we have know about Him without it beeing written somewhere?

I am stating why I think what I have is true, this is enough for me to consider it being truth, it is your problem if you prefer to don't believe it.

Yes, it is important, contrary to what you think. The protestant churches were founded by man, but the Orthodox Church (among with some others) were founded by the apostles of Christ, people who knew Him and His teachings personally and settling them into a Church. It is important to follow a Church that has been there from the beggining and that has preserved the teachings from that very beggining.

 

[Archaeopteryx]

Because the Abrahamic ones are the closest to the true God, closest than the other ones.

On what do you base this conclusion?

We have the old european religions, they were not based on any ultimate revelation like the abrahamic ones, but they appear to be most likely human inventions, we have there gods for everything, so they just took their human weaknesses and strenghts and turned them into "divine". The same with Hinduism and other dharma-based religions. They are split into more than 30 million gods, and they do not have a clear doctrine, everyone following them by their teachings.

How does one distinguish between manmade religions and divinely inspired ones?

I didn't mention Judaism because from Judaism comes Christianity, and because their God is our God too, so there is no difference, it is just that they don't see God as He really is, the Trinity, because they don't accept Christ as the Messiah that was meant to come, and them, ignoring Christ, they ignore the truth, so that's why Judaism is an incomplete religion, waiting for something that already came, not accepting what is true.

Again, you're simply articulating what you believe, which isn't the question at hand.

The Bible is the way God chose to reveal Himself to us. Why to trust the Bible? Everything is there, what it whas, what it is and what it will be, it is a book that makes perfectly sense and is the written story of God. How could have God reach to us if it wasn't by the testaments of more than fourty people that wrote the Bible? Does it means that Jesus had to come every century in front of every country to do His sacrifice? How could we have know about Him without it beeing written somewhere?

You're just piling claims upon claims. How do you know that "the Bible is the way God chose to reveal himself to us"?

I am stating why I think what I have is true, this is enough for me to consider it being truth, it is your problem if you prefer to don't believe it.

No, you're stating what you believe. I asked you how you know it to be true. Remember, you made an analogy to counterfeit currency, and I asked you how you know that yours is the only legitimate theological currency and that all others are counterfeits. You haven't answered this question.

Yes, it is important, contrary to what you think. The protestant churches were founded by man, but the Orthodox Church (among with some others) were founded by the apostles of Christ, people who knew Him and His teachings personally and settling them into a Church. It is important to follow a Church that has been there from the beggining and that has preserved the teachings from that very beggining.

It seems to me that the Orthodox Church is no different, having been founded by men also, and claiming (like the Catholic Church) to have preserved the teachings in their original form.

 

[Wryetui]

On what do you base this conclusion?



How does one distinguish between manmade religions and divinely inspired ones?



Again, you're simply articulating what you believe, which isn't the question at hand.



You're just piling claims upon claims. How do you know that "the Bible is the way God chose to reveal himself to us"?



No, you're stating what you believe. I asked you how you know it to be true. Remember, you made an analogy to counterfeit currency, and I asked you how you know that yours is the only legitimate theological currency and that all others are counterfeits. You haven't answered this question.



It seems to me that the Orthodox Church is no different, having been founded by men also, and claiming (like the Catholic Church) to have preserved the teachings in their original form.

I have already told you what I believe and why do I believe it, I was not trying to convince you of anything. It is my belief and I accept these things by faith. Your attitude seems for me to be a little bit of a desperate "question everything!" and not trusting anyone or anything. It may be a virtue sometimes, but you will spend your whole lifetime questioning everything... Until it is too late.

 

[Archaeopteryx]

I have already told you what I believe and why do I believe it, I was not trying to convince you of anything. It is my belief and I accept these things by faith. Your attitude seems for me to be a little bit of a desperate "question everything!" and not trusting anyone or anything. It may be a virtue sometimes, but you will spend your whole lifetime questioning everything... Until it is too late.

Is it unreasonable to ask someone who claims to know something how they know it? You claimed to have examined all of the banknotes. You claimed to know that all other banknotes are counterfeit. Yet when I ask you how you know this you can't give me anything resembling an answer. What am I to conclude from this?

 

[Wryetui]

I did give you a good answer, it was actually the best I could even if I didn't have enought time. It was what I felt from what I have been studying the religions of the world, those were the conclusions of my research and I showed them to you, I showed to you what I believe but you still don't have that "answer" you still claim, I can't make you believe in God, if that's what you want.

 

[Archaeopteryx]

I did give you a good answer, it was actually the best I could even if I didn't have enought time. It was what I felt from what I have been studying the religions of the world, those were the conclusions of my research and I showed them to you, I showed to you what I believe but you still don't have that "answer" you still claim, I can't make you believe in God, if that's what you want.

Yes, you showed me what you believe, which isn't what I asked for. I didn't ask you about your beliefs. I asked you to show how you know that all the other religions' are counterfeits. You claimed to have examined them closely, so you should, in principle, be able to outline the reasoning that led you to this conclusion. If I claimed that the banknote you had in your wallet was a counterfeit, you would expect me to be able to demonstrate that it is a counterfeit, not simply repeat the claim over and over.

 

[Wryetui]

That is simple. Because Christianity is the closest religion to us. Our God showed Himself to people hundreds of times in the Old Testament and He became flesh and dwelt among us in the New Testament, dying for our sins, dying so we can be saved. Isn't that worth believing? Is the only God that has showed to us, people saw Him, touched Him, killed Him, so I would rather trust in Him than in every other Hindu god which existence hasn't been proven (historically) or in the muslim Allah, the only God that did something for us, the greatest sacrifice, was Christ.

 

[agua]

Yes, that might very well be the case. There is actually a recent picture of my brain, see those holes? Those are corruption caused by religion:

I'd have that seen to Jack

 

[bhsmte]

That is simple. Because Christianity is the closest religion to us. Our God showed Himself to people hundreds of times in the Old Testament and He became flesh and dwelt among us in the New Testament, dying for our sins, dying so we can be saved. Isn't that worth believing? Is the only God that has showed to us, people saw Him, touched Him, killed Him, so I would rather trust in Him than in every other Hindu god which existence hasn't been proven (historically) or in the muslim Allah, the only God that did something for us, the greatest sacrifice, was Christ.

If this is the case, why do 2/3 of the world's population disagree with you?

 

[Wryetui]

If this is the case, why do 2/3 of the world's population disagree with you?

Ask them.

 

[bhsmte]

Ask them.

You have never given any thought to why 2/3 of the worlds population are not Christians?

 

[Wryetui]

Regarding other people's opinions and feelings I cannot make statements because I am not in the position to know their hearts and feelings. I can just guess, so here is my opinion. Let's talk about continents, it is not the problem with Europe and the Americas, Northern Africa and Middle East have something called "Islam", their bias and hate against christianity made them impossible to evangelize, so did their laws, so you have there people who think they don't need christianity and hate it, what can Christ do to them? Go there and appear by force making them believe in Him? I think not. Then we have the far East, the hinduists are about the same way like muslims, either they think they are pretty fine with their gods or that Jesus is just another god over there so they don't give it the importance Christ needs, same with Buddhism, I cannot make a clear statemenet so I am showing my opinions, which may or may not be true. China has been into communism for a lot of time, and people either are atheists and religion is almost banned or they have to gather in secret as they actually do. In Japan they are closed to "occidental things" and when it comes to spirituality they think shinto and buddhism are fine, that and the fact that most of them think religion is a historical thing of the past and the new age of tehnology is upon us.

 

[TillICollapse]

That's some severe encephalopathy, or en-chesse-alopathy.

Thought I would quote this again, in que-so(mebody) missed it

 

[bhsmte]

Regarding other people's opinions and feelings I cannot make statements because I am not in the position to know their hearts and feelings. I can just guess, so here is my opinion. Let's talk about continents, it is not the problem with Europe and the Americas, Northern Africa and Middle East have something called "Islam", their bias and hate against christianity made them impossible to evangelize, so did their laws, so you have there people who think they don't need christianity and hate it, what can Christ do to them? Go there and appear by force making them believe in Him? I think not. Then we have the far East, the hinduists are about the same way like muslims, either they think they are pretty fine with their gods or that Jesus is just another god over there so they don't give it the importance Christ needs, same with Buddhism, I cannot make a clear statemenet so I am showing my opinions, which may or may not be true. China has been into communism for a lot of time, and people either are atheists and religion is almost banned or they have to gather in secret as they actually do. In Japan they are closed to "occidental things" and when it comes to spirituality they think shinto and buddhism are fine, that and the fact that most of them think religion is a historical thing of the past and the new age of tehnology is upon us.

You do realize, people of other religions and or beliefs, say the same thing about you?