Why does God not just show himself?

doveofthelord · Jan 23, 2007

if god showed him self then most people would covert.but god wants us to belive in him without him aperaing.also god does not have a physical body like us hes more like a sprit.jesus once said"blessed are those who do not see yet belive." ig god appeared.it would kinnda force us to think hes real.god dosent want zombie followers.

MikeMcK · Jan 23, 2007

doveofthelord said:
if god showed him self then most people would covert.

God showed Himself in the person of Jesus Christ. Very few converted.

AbelieverinGod · Jan 23, 2007

Jesus was not sent to "prove" anything. He was sent to save our souls from eternal death.
People are sinful and imperfect. If they want to rebel against God, they will do it no matter the consequences. See Sodom and Gomorrah, the Tower of Babel, and the flood, not to mention many, many other examples in the Bible. The Tower of Babel (Genesis 11:1 - 9) is an excellent example of people undermining God's power and authority. And like I said earlier, there IS a difference between knowing about God and actually believing in him and acccepting him into you heart. Most likely over time, continual disobedience led people to forget about the true God who loved them. Why does God not just tell non-believers his plan?
"However, as it is written:
'No eye has seen,
no ear has heard,
no mind has concieved
what God has prepared for those who love him'-
but God has revealed it to us by his spirit." - 1 Corinthians 2:9 - 10a
And non - believers do not have his spirit within them.

doveofthelord · Jan 24, 2007

well since you speak of this,you know the grreat flood story right?ok some were in the mediterranean sea i think next to italy or turkey.they found a sunken coast line possibly dating back from that time.

£amb · Jan 24, 2007

God did not send Jesus to prove that He existed. Jesus was sent to give His body as a sacrifice for our sin. Those people just like the people of today, choose not to believe. Think about it, if the world flooded today, would people yell out "yes, I believe in God now" or would they just see it as some bad rainstorm? Most likely people would then blame God for allowing it to flood and still not believe.

Just a thought.

rocklife · Jan 29, 2007

Ymeg said:
I am a very devoted atheist; burning bibles, killing kittens, eating children's souls etc,

please stop killing kittens and eating children's souls. and if you are just kidding, that is very disturbing imagery (and reading bibles rather than burning them will also be good too, I recommend New Testament first). and friendly reminder, this is not a debate forum.

and I have always wanted to know why your god does not just come out and say believe in me? Doing this he could get well over 98-99% of the population to change their beliefs. Not doing so would seem to be holding in the holy spirit which is a sin right?

God has raised the dead. He also is close to humble hearts, and He resists the proud. For us to boss God around is arrogant. try bossing your mom and dad around, do they take that from you? mine don't. even though sometimes they need it (I did call the police on dad last year, but he is abusive bully, the police almost arrested them both last year). well, good parents won't let you boss them around, and neither will police. and I do respect my parents when they aren't being abusive and breaking laws. I am serious.

anyway. If we don't believe God can raise the dead, we won't believe signs in the sky and big voices either. that seems to be the message of the bible. He gives us a book, and Holy Spirit, and testimony of many others. How many more signs does one need? He is answer to sin and death. A clean conscience also bears witness if you are sensitive to it. Jesus says not to put the Lord thy God to the test. God bless.

plmarquette · Jan 29, 2007

He does every day ....

Paul states that the complexity of creation declares the necessity of a creator ...

a cool breeze & some clouds on a hot day .... a kind word from a stranger ... a compliment on a bad day ...
unexpected overtime , expense money , before the washer , dryer , or ac unit goes down ( have the money to fix / replace )

a hug , compliment , solution , idea , break through ...
those little things we call luck , coincidence , good fortune .... are God working in the back ground to take care of all his children , those who know him and those who are about to meet him ..

KCDAD · Jan 29, 2007

Ymeg said:
I am a very devoted atheist; burning bibles, killing kittens, eating children's souls etc, and I have always wanted to know why your god does not just come out and say believe in me? Doing this he could get well over 98-99% of the population to change their beliefs. Not doing so would seem to be holding in the holy spirit which is a sin right?

Because God is not a person.

Confess · Jan 29, 2007

God shows himself to those who believe.

For those who do not believe, they cannot see, they are blind to him.

Zeena · Jan 29, 2007

They are servants, and not sons

seajoy · Jan 29, 2007

Ymeg said:
I am a very devoted atheist; burning bibles, killing kittens, eating children's souls etc, and I have always wanted to know why your god does not just come out and say believe in me? Doing this he could get well over 98-99% of the population to change their beliefs. Not doing so would seem to be holding in the holy spirit which is a sin right?

He did come and say "Here I Am," a couple thousand years ago.

He's is busy making a place for us in Heaven right now, because He came down here and said "I love you so much, I'll die for you." How much does God have to do for you to stand up, and take notice?

Sorry if my statements were covered already...I'm in on this one a little late.

Ymeg · Jan 30, 2007

seajoy said:
He did come and say "Here I Am," a couple thousand years ago.

He's is busy making a place for us in Heaven right now, because He came down here and said "I love you so much, I'll die for you." How much does God have to do for you to stand up, and take notice?

Sorry if my statements were covered already...I'm in on this one a little late.

If god created the universe, rose from the dead, cured blind ect. I'm sure he could come down and tell me he is real. That would be nothing for him.

Zeena · Jan 30, 2007

Ymeg said:
If god created the universe, rose from the dead, cured blind ect. I'm sure he could come down and tell me he is real. That would be nothing for him.

But you'd no longer be blessed!

John 20:29
Jesus saith unto him, Thomas, because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed: blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed.

You'll notice, the gospel of Thomas is not in the cannon of Scripture..

Matthew 12:38
Then certain of the scribes and of the Pharisees answered, saying, Master, we would see a sign from thee. But he answered and said unto them, An evil and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given to it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas: For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale's belly; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.

Jesus rose from the dead friend!

And many witness's bore witness to that fact..

davedjy · Jan 30, 2007

ymeg said:
Doing this he could get well over 98-99% of the population to change their beliefs

Actually, it wouldn't. The Bible makes it clear that many don't believe and/or fall away because they don't have the love of the truth, even if they know about it. Even if people "saw" God...that still would not mean they would follow Him (which is truly believing)....Satan is the best example of that.

Zeena · Jan 30, 2007

bobbylovesjesus said:
have you met these witnesses?

The witness's brought me to Christ,

Now that I've met Jesus, I am a witness!

Calminian · Jan 30, 2007

visionary said:
Yes, He does need to prepare a people before showing himself in all His glory. This is where the work of the Holy Spirit come in. He does promise in Rev 3:20 that if you hear His voice and open up your heart, He will come in and talk with you and you can talk with Him. He just needs you to work with Him in preparing you for the experience, after all you are going to be meeting a Holy God.

Good points visionary.

Heb. 3:15 As has just been said: Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as you did in the rebellion.

Calminian · Jan 30, 2007

MikeMcK said:
doveofthelord said:

if god showed him self then most people would covert.

Click to expand...

God showed Himself in the person of Jesus Christ. Very few converted.

Just a couple of thoughts to ponder. Yes Jesus did show Himself, but He also hid Himself at times. He spoke in parables and simply hardened hearts at times.

John 12:37 But though He had performed so many signs before them, yet they were not believing in Him; 38 that the word of Isaiah the prophet might be fulfilled, which he spoke, Lord, who has believed our report? And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed? 39 For this cause they could not believe, for Isaiah said again, 40 He has blinded their eyes, and He hardened their heart; lest they see with their eyes, and perceive with their heart, and be converted, and I heal them.

There's two aspects to this. Showing and enlightening. These are only effective together. You can show a blind man something numerous times and he'll never see it. And a man with 20/20 will never see what he is not shown. I think doveofthelord has a point in that God could reveal Himself to an extent that would be undeniable even to the most stubborn. But this would render seeking pointless. Seems to be a balance. We are commanded to seek.

Calminian · Jan 30, 2007

Ymeg said:
If god created the universe, rose from the dead, cured blind ect. I'm sure he could come down and tell me he is real. That would be nothing for him.

Yes He could, Ymeg. Yet He desires us to search. There are two extremes to avoid. One is blind faith, the other is laziness. God does not want us to believe in (trust, rely on) Him blindly apart from any rational reasoning. But He also does not want us to sit back and not seek. The evidence is there, but it must be found by those willing to seek it.

Many atheists simply sit back and refuse to believe unless God takes them and hangs them over the actual literal fires of hell. But God will leave room for doubt if it is your desire not to believe. The heavens declare His glory, but that truth can be suppressed. As Paul put it,

Romans 1:18 The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness, 19 since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. 20 For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities — his eternal power and divine nature — have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse. 21 For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened. 22 Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools 23 and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like mortal man and birds and animals and reptiles. 24 Therefore God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one another. 25 They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator — who is forever praised. Amen. .....28 Furthermore, since they did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, he gave them over to a depraved mind, to do what ought not to be done. ..... 32 Although they know God’s righteous decree that those who do such things deserve death, they not only continue to do these very things but also approve of those who practice them.

Matt. 7:7 [wash my mouth][wash my mouth] “Ask, and it shall be given to you; seek, and you shall find; knock, and it shall be opened to you.

Acts 17:26 and He made from one, every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined their appointed times, and the boundaries of their habitation, 27 that they should seek God, if perhaps they might grope for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us; 28 for in Him we live and move and exist, as even some of your own poets have said, ‘For we also are His offspring.’ 29 “Being then the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Divine Nature is like gold or silver or stone, an image formed by the art and thought of man. 30 “Therefore having overlooked the times of ignorance, God is now declaring to men that all everywhere should repent, 31 because He has fixed a day in which He will judge the world in righteousness through a Man whom He has appointed, having furnished proof to all men by raising Him from the dead.”

christsblood · Jan 30, 2007

Mocking other Christians is against Christ. Hope you all feel better about yourselves and have a reason for it when you apppear in front of your maker.

Zeena · Jan 30, 2007

God relies on us?!? :LAUGH:

Why does God not just show himself?

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