Your Core Belief(s)!

[Tinker Grey]

For me it is a desire that there be some purpose to life.

Why not make your own purpose?

 

[2PhiloVoid]

Are any of you believers game here? Below are the eight methodologies in which I see believers coming to God. If you have any more, please indulge:

1) A felt thought, or intrusion, that seems not to have been your own; but from an 'external force'
2) Having an innate awareness, or a seemingly 'sixth sense'
3) Feeling(s) of intense euphoria, feeling overcome by an 'external force'
4) Actually hearing audible voices 'from God'
5) A burning in the bosom
6) Ability to all of a sudden speak in tongues, the angel's language, as the spirit takes you over
7) Receiving 'external' messages, which could only have been provided by an 'external source' of seemingly higher knowledge.
8) Answered prayer(s)

None of the above

 

[Par5]

For me it is a desire that there be some purpose to life.

By saying that are you implying that a nonbeliever's life is a life without purpose?
If that is what you believe, then I really do wonder what I have been doing for the past 75 years.

 

[ChetSinger]

You came to Jesus by reading his words. I can see the attraction. He seems like a pretty good guy, who cares about people, someone who wants to help the poor, the sick, and the needy.
I often think that Christians who say they have accepted Christ by reading the gospels seem to overlook another important figure in this relationship, his father.
Did they not also read in that same book what fate his father had in store for him? Torture and murder by crucifixion. I would be asking what kind of father would allow such a thing to happen to his son, and on reading, it was to take the punishment for the wickedness of others, alarm bell would be ringing even louder.
How on earth could anyone imagine a human sacrifice would achieve anything? That was the sort of barbarism that primitive cultures practiced in order to appease their gods...

The Father never forced Jesus go to the cross. He had twelve legions of angels on standby should Jesus decide not to go through with it:

Do you think that I cannot appeal to my Father, and he will at once send me more than twelve legions of angels? - Matthew 26:53​

Jesus was willing to go ahead with it because of the joy he hoped to gain afterward:

Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God. - Hebrews 12:1-2​

 

[cloudyday2]

By saying that are you implying that a nonbeliever's life is a life without purpose?
If that is what you believe, then I really do wonder what I have been doing for the past 75 years.

No, either all lives have purpose or no lives have purpose. If there is a God then hopefully everything in the universe has a purpose including people who don't believe God exists.

 

[cloudyday2]

Why not make your own purpose?

That only gets you so far.

 

[Par5]

That only gets you so far.

My purpose in life is my family. To receive their love and give mine in return.
That purpose is something that is with me every day of my life, and that is far enough for me!

 

[Halbhh]

Sure, and it does not comply with the request of post #1.

Re-examine your own question in the OP:

Below are the eight methodologies in which I see believers coming to God. If you have any more, please indulge

(italics and underlining added)

Please see post #2 for one particular instance of one of various "any more" ways.

 

[cvanwey]

Re-examine your own question in the OP:

(italics and underlining added)

Please see post #2 for one particular instance of one of various "any more" ways.

I tried to 're-examine.' You refuse to answer the question I posed to you 7 or 8 times. Does God deem you a "sheep or a goat?"

I would hasten to wager you do not follow such implied rules. Hence, you are not really following His rules, as your test

And furthermore, what if I were to follow Confucius's rules, and they 'work' for me. Does this make him divine?

 

[Halbhh]

I tried to 're-examine.' You refuse to answer the question I posed to you 7 or 8 times. Does God deem you a "sheep or a goat?"

I would hasten to wager you do not follow such implied rules. Hence, you are not really following His rules, as your test

And furthermore, what if I were to follow Confucius's rules, and they 'work' for me. Does this make him divine?

Instead of trying to guess/imagine about me differently than what I answered, might not it be more profitable for you to try to figure which of your own viewpoint assumptions is mistaken?

 

[Tinker Grey]

That only gets you so far.

How far do you want to get?

 

[cvanwey]

Instead of trying to guess/imagine about me differently than what I answered, might not it be more profitable for you to try to figure which of your own viewpoint assumptions is mistaken?

In post #188, you stated:

"Please see post #2 for one particular instance of one of various "any more" ways".

I did this. You just moved the goal post.

 

[cloudyday2]

How far do you want to get?

Far enough that I have a good rebuttal to my depression. I don't particularly care about an afterlife, but I would like to believe that my temporary existence serves some purpose greater than the purposes that human society provides (success, money, friendships, etc.). Those purposes are unattainable for me, so I search and hope for something else.

 

[cvanwey]

might not it be more profitable for you to try to figure which of your own viewpoint assumptions is mistaken?

And to answer your goal post shifting remark...

I happily admit that had I felt I received revelation, I might be a believer too. But then moving forward, if I wanted to critically challenge my own core belief(s), my 'viewpoint' leads me to acknowledge the topic of EWS, as stated in post #1. Meaning, was my contact actually from God, verses anything else?

Thus, my 'viewpoint' here WOULD be challenged, had I concluded I believe in God because of revelation. But I don't. So no, let's now get back to you.

But in your case, we can still go to the beginning of post #1, where I state:

"whenever the topic heads towards the core reason(s) for their belief that Christianity is true, I often times sense push-back, or even retreat from the interlocutor prior to getting to the 'heart' of the matter? It seems as though many do not want their true and core belief thoroughly challenged.?.?.?"

You obviously have no intent on answering my repeated question, about the 'sheep and the goat', which is also explained in post #156.

But as it stands, your 'reason' for your core believe does not look to jive with consistent rationale. Why?

You state in post #2:

"I tried doing what Christ said to do, to see if I could gain anything, and His instructions for living work far better than other ways of doing things, I learned by experience."

So if I were to always follow what Confucius says to do, and it works for me, over and over and over again, is he divine?

 

[Tone]

I search and hope for something else.

This is very good my friend.

In all your searching and hoping may you find that there was no one else who wanted this more than Him.

Shalom.

 

[cvanwey]

Far enough that I have a good rebuttal to my depression. I don't particularly care about an afterlife, but I would like to believe that my temporary existence serves some purpose greater than the purposes that human society provides (success, money, friendships, etc.). Those purposes are unattainable for me, so I search and hope for something else.

Below are not hard/fast rules...

- If an afterlife does not exist, many will [value] their one known life more.

- If an afterlife does exist, many may [waste] this life away, in waiting for the next.

But as @Tinker Grey has already pointed out, all we seem to know for sure, if we are in a shared reality, is that we are in this life. We create our own meaning(s).

For many, seems as though they require a God to have any meaning...?

Does a God necessarily NEED to exist to have 'meaning'? If so, why?

Alternatively, if life has no meaning, then what?

And lastly, do we care about what is actually true, or instead what comforts?

 

[NBB]

Below are not hard/fast rules...

- If an afterlife does not exist, many will [value] their one known life more.

- If an afterlife does exist, many may [waste] this life away, in waiting for the next.

But as @Tinker Grey has already pointed out, all we seem to know for sure, if we are in a shared reality, is that we are in this life. We create our own meaning(s).

For many, seems as though they require a God to have any meaning...?

Does a God necessarily NEED to exist to have 'meaning'? If so, why?

Alternatively, if life has no meaning, then what?

And lastly, do we care about what is actually true, or instead what comforts?

The gospel has all the 'big questions' of people answered and to make things 'worse' for you it's true that Jesus exists and we can reach him, i have lived things with God, can't prove scientifically any of it though, you may take this as a witness testimony for what it worth. And someone who is 'cantando las cuarenta' to you

 

[cvanwey]

we can reach him

How? I tried for decades, and came up blank apparently. And if I, all of a sudden, discerned that I authentically DID receive contact from God, is there any way to confirm it was the Holy Spirit, verses not?

 

[NBB]

How? I tried for decades, and came up blank apparently. And if I, all of a sudden, discerned that I authentically DID receive contact from God, is there any way to confirm it was the Holy Spirit, verses not?

You can notice when God does something to you, its not probably going to be vague at all in some ocassions, i'm not God to tell whats going on, i'm worried though, 'those who seek shall find'. 'all who come to me i don't reject' 'knock and i will answer' it says, 'and i will come and have dinner' dinner is not talking about literal dinner with Jesus, but more of an ocassion of something happening.

 

[cvanwey]

You can notice when God does something to you, its not probably going to be vague at all in some ocassions, i'm not God to tell whats going on, i'm worried though, 'those who seek shall find'. 'all who come to me i don't reject' 'knock and i will answer' it says, 'and i will come and have dinner' dinner is not talking about literal dinner with Jesus, but more of an ocassion of something happening.

I was a follower for decades. I do not feel I received such contact? If the Bible states "'all who come to me I don't reject', 'knock and I will answer' and 'I will come and have dinner'', isn't the Bible wrong in my case?

Can also you give me a specific example of a non-vague event, for which you discerned as being from God, verses anything else?