Yes, but what if we are not wrong?

[bhsmte]

After all, faith is a gift, you can't own it by yourself, you have to ask to the Father in order to receive it. I doubt you were "trying to find God" or "been a christian X years", if you really were, you wouldn't be unbelievers now If you ever want to find God, just remember this:

"God opposes the proud but shows favor to the humble."

What you consider a gift, may not be considered as the same by someone else.

And of course, humility would involve, acknowledging this.

 

[Mediate]

Hello there guys. I am sure this have been discussed before in this forum, but I would like to know your point of view in my post here. What if, after all, the judeo-christian turns out to be the only one (as I believe He is), you die, but you realize you are perfectly conscious, you have your memories intact, but you are standing before Christ, before God, and it turns out that your entire life you have been denying Him. What now?

I don't want to debate the possibility of: yeah, but what if it's not true and you have been believing in a lie your whole life? I don't mind about that.

So, what if it turns out to be all true and you will most likely burn, not being able to assume God's love? (In this case, note that I do not have the knowledge to know who is going or not going to be in the state of hell).

Ultimately, this is probably the only reason most people follow the bible to begin with - fear that hell's a true place that the bad people go.

Honestly, Jesus wasn't ever that vindictive.

 

[YESLORDIWILL]

After all, faith is a gift, you can't own it by yourself, you have to ask to the Father in order to receive it. I doubt you were "trying to find God" or "been a christian X years", if you really were, you wouldn't be unbelievers now If you ever want to find God, just remember this:

"God opposes the proud but shows favor to the humble."

Amen, God resisteth the proud, and giveth grace to the humble. (James 4:6, 1 Peter 5:5)

 

[GrimKingGrim]

After all, faith is a gift, you can't own it by yourself, you have to ask to the Father in order to receive it.

Oh what? How does that work?

I doubt you were "trying to find God"

Sorry I don't convince you.

or "been a christian X years",

I was. No other words.

if you really were, you wouldn't be unbelievers now

You trying to NTS me dude?

If you ever want to find God, just remember this:

"God opposes the proud but shows favor to the humble."

This is just plain dumb.

 

[Freodin]

After all, faith is a gift, you can't own it by yourself, you have to ask to the Father in order to receive it. I doubt you were "trying to find God" or "been a christian X years", if you really were, you wouldn't be unbelievers now If you ever want to find God, just remember this:

"God opposes the proud but shows favor to the humble."

While that approach might just work with atheists (though the logic is as tortured as it can get), I wonder how you would justify that in regard to non-christian believers?

They clearly have faith. But they have faith in a different - sometimes very different! - deity.

How does that work? Does "the father" give them a different kind of faith... depending on which culture they were born into? Did a different god gave them faith?

 

[Davian]

I am getting tired of reading the "people with other religions" arguments. Of course they are, but we have to understand people. Yes, we all believe in God, Jews, Christians, Muslims or Dharma followers, but we believe in Him in different manners.

Why is it that you all cannot reconcile your beliefs? Is religion simply a matter of opinion?

This is because we are sinners and we get lost, we follow the wrong paths, when people get lost they find their own way, but there is only one exit: God!

No, there is always the option that all religionists are wrong, as that would correlate with their inability to demonstrate that g/God/s exist.

People trying to look for God is something very good, it is bad if they don't look for Him, every studied path or religion has it's own truth but blessed be the man who finds the fullness of the truth.

The "truth" being *your* particular religion, or course.

Atheists often argue with believers: "If you have so many faiths (even in Christianity) then it means there is no God because everyone sees Him in His own manner".

I have yet to see this argument made in these forums. However, it does have a point, for if there were one actual god behind all of these religions, you might think that there would be far less disagreement between religionists.

But they don't consider the fact that people looking for something always take different paths, they get to the right path only when they feel the proximity of That Whom they look for, if we feel God as we should then we will be on the right faith. I am very blessed of being an Estern Orthodox.

Of course, the one correct religion. Everyone else is wrong!

Every faith in this world show that we are trying to find an exit, a way out, that we are trying to find God, the fountain of life.

Allegedly.

Only the lack of faith, the atheism fails into trying to find the exit, the way out, because the lack of faith, atheism is a failure.

Atheism is not a truth claim.

A failure that means sorrow.

If there were no gods, would you be sad?

Atheists don't understand that sin is the supreme sadness and they die within this sin.

Or, "sin" is an entirely fabricated religious concept that has no basis in reality, and is nothing to worry about.

They try to find the way out, the exit but not from sin, but from secundary things: poverty, physical suffering, etc... Only because someone got away from poverty, for example, it doesn't mean they are happy, just look at most of the "superstars" today, they are lost in drugs, sex, alcohol, lust and poor behaviour, what kind of happiness is this?

What has that to do with gods actually existing or not?

No kind, this is eternal death, the true happiness is only at God.

I gather from this that you need for your "God" to exist, or you will be sad. Is this accurate?

 

[GrimKingGrim]

Wryetui says things that seem so surreal. I can only imagine him praying before eating a bowl of frosted flakes or repenting after watching Walking Dead. Gotta wonder that.

 

[ananda]

Ultimately, this is probably the only reason most people follow the bible to begin with - fear that hell's a true place that the bad people go.

It doesn't explain why they specifically follow the Bible ... other religions also teach about hells, and to choose the god of the Bible means rejecting the gods of the other religions ... which may lead one to their hells.

 

[GrimKingGrim]

If I remember correctly we can thank Dante Alighieri for the common modern depictions of Hell. A place of tortuous fire. And most Christians I know confuse it with the lake of fire.

 

[Archaeopteryx]

After all, faith is a gift, you can't own it by yourself, you have to ask to the Father in order to receive it. I doubt you were "trying to find God" or "been a christian X years", if you really were, you wouldn't be unbelievers now If you ever want to find God, just remember this:

Why do you think that not being a believer anymore means that I was never a believer?

"God opposes the proud but shows favor to the humble."

Is there anything humble in confidently asserting that everyone else's money is counterfeit but then refusing to back up that claim?

 

[yesyoushould]

So, what if it turns out to be all true and you will most likely burn, not being able to assume God's love?

Your professing to want to know God?
Sincerely believe in God and trust in Him. That is a good start.

 

[yesyoushould]

I can only imagine him praying before eating a bowl of frosted flakes or repenting after watching Walking Dead. Gotta wonder that.

That may be intended as a joke. To be honest though, there is nothing wrong with watching The Walking Dead.

 

[Mediate]

It doesn't explain why they specifically follow the Bible ... other religions also teach about hells, and to choose the god of the Bible means rejecting the gods of the other religions ... which may lead one to their hells.

Well Ananda, in the sky there is no distinction of East or of West. People creat distinctions from their own mind and then believe them to be true.

 

[Wryetui]

Why do you think that not being a believer anymore means that I was never a believer?



Is there anything humble in confidently asserting that everyone else's money is counterfeit but then refusing to back up that claim?

I backed up that claim very well, it's your problem if you have a hard time getting it.

Why would I believe in man-made gods or other "hells"? I believe in Christ, God made flesh that came among us, I have no proofs of the other gods because they never did what Christ did, Christ came within us and did something incredible for us, and the OT tells us about idolatry and what it really is, so, if we take away idolatry, which religions we have in the world? The Abrahamic ones.

 

[Mediate]

I backed up that claim very well, it's your problem if you have a hard time getting it.

Why would I believe in man-made gods or other "hells"? I believe in Christ, God made flesh that came among us, I have no proofs of the other gods because they never did what Christ did, Christ came within us and did something incredible for us, and the OT tells us about idolatry and what it really is, so, if we take away idolatry, which religions we have in the world? The Abrahamic ones.

You have no discernible proof of any God at all, nor of what Jesus did or didn't do. You rely on belief that it happened, not knowledge that it happened.

If you were to be Hindu, you'd believe in stories of prophets long before Christ who did miraculous things. Makes more logical sense to believe in those, IMO. They're older prophets, and are attributed things just as miraculous as Jesus.

By the same standards of proof, Hinduism is the logical choice. Why aren't you Hindu?

It's because you weren't brought up in a Hindu environment, you were brought up in a Christian one. Conditioning and circumstance.

 

[Archaeopteryx]

I backed up that claim very well, it's your problem if you have a hard time getting it.

No, you didn't, which is why I'm still waiting for your answer.

 

[Wryetui]

Needing proofs for your faith is calling yourself a non-believer. That's the point, that's what rationalism did to your culture and your christianity, rationalism and scholastics... You keep seeking proofs of God's existence instead of asking for Divine Revelation, instead of fasting, praying and being humble before God and begging Him to help you.

 

[Eudaimonist]

Needing proofs for your faith is calling yourself a non-believer. That's the point, that's what rationalism did to your culture and your christianity, rationalism and scholastics... You keep seeking proofs of God's existence instead of asking for Divine Revelation, instead of fasting, praying and being humble before God and begging Him to help you.

Making reason pointless. The brain as an unneeded organ. Religion as mindlessness. Truth as an arbitrary choice of religious views.


eudaimonia,

Mark

 

[Archaeopteryx]

Needing proofs for your faith is calling yourself a non-believer. That's the point, that's what rationalism did to your culture and your christianity, rationalism and scholastics... You keep seeking proofs of God's existence instead of asking for Divine Revelation, instead of fasting, praying and being humble before God and begging Him to help you.

Now you're going off on a tangent again. I asked you how you know that everyone else has counterfeit currency. Several pages later and we are no closer to an answer.

 

[Freodin]

Needing proofs for your faith is calling yourself a non-believer. That's the point, that's what rationalism did to your culture and your christianity, rationalism and scholastics... You keep seeking proofs of God's existence instead of asking for Divine Revelation, instead of fasting, praying and being humble before God and begging Him to help you.

Hm... I did ask for Divine Revelation... and I got a Divine Revelation that is completely different from yours.

How do you think this is possible?