so god sacrificed his only begotten son so that we could have eternal life? when i pray tonight i will remind god that he is all powerful, he could just make another son and he doesnt need to give up anything because of our sins. or instead of giving up his own son, he could just snap his fingers and forgive our sins, and keep his son. sacrifice really isnt necessary when you are all-powerful. or just not care about our sins. not clear on why he cares.
Right, in the same sense that a man is arrogant enough to think that he can outsmart God simply because he can't visibly see or physically touch things that he doesn't comprehend. That came off a little mean. I should be nicer but I'm not. I apologize. :thumb:
NOW YOU'RE CATCHING ON!!!!!!!!!!! He "could" do exactly that. But it is not His way. He probably doesn't need you to remind Him, and I'm positive that He doesn't need your advice.:hihi: :hihi: :thumb:
Dude, it's martin. I wouldn't worry about it. :wink: :wink: :wink: :wink: :wink: Speak your mind here without apology. We are all pretty blunt about our opinions in FSA.
But what is your proof? You sure sound confident in your correctness, having never seen or spoken to god (prayer doesn't count- you've never heard god say "Hey Reb. How you doin' buddy?"). It seems the only standard of proof most Christians need is a book that was thrown together with a hodgepodge of different stories from different eras, by mostly mysterious authors, translated multiple times, manipulated by the early church, and full of contradictions and errors. Evidence like that would get tossed in a court of law.
which is my point. to say "I know" or to strictly adhere to a dogma absolutely is equivalent to "nan, nah,nah, oh yeah? sez who?????". i've never seen George Washington. i've heard stories about him, read books about him, sat through classes debating his leadership, but i've never seen him. some folks believe we've never been to the moon, some believe cows are sacred, some think the Kennedy assassination was a government conspiracy. to endlessly argue over "proof" is sort of like the chicken & the egg isn't it? no amount of "proof" will ever be sufficient for those who choose not to believe Christianity, just as those who choose to believe in Jesus Christ believe they are assured an eternal life. so, what's the point?
wow! i read most of this thread in one sitting. very interesting. just a few points. 1. the smart (and difficult) thing to do is to believe (or not) without any regard for what others believe or have done. is christianity any less valid because of swaggert, falwell, robertson, or that dude from dallas that would want you to put your hand on the tv screen? is islam any less valid because of terrorists? do their actions make it less true that mohammed wrote gods word? here's the big one---is christianity any more true because your father is a christian? is hinduism any less true because your mother isnt a hindu? 2. just because god is omni___, omni___ and omni____ doesnt mean he can do whatever he wants. god has a character and always acts within that character. just because you cant understand something doesnt mean it doesnt exist or isnt right? its a bit arrogant to think you can understand (rationalize) everything (martin). but arrogance is better than the opposite--believing in something because someone else wants you to, the latter being the category i would put the vast majority of religious people. 3. the bible has much more validity (historical facts) than most agnostics/atheists give it credit for (and im not referring to whether some city existed and where).
The previous apology was "tongue in cheek." If you are looking for "proof" as in something tangible that you can touch, I don't think you will find what you are looking for. I can tell by the feelings of my heart and contentment as I use my faith. I would be "very" leary of someone who told me God talked to him as in a personal conversation as you and I would have. Sometimes, when God "lays" something on my heart, it is kind of like my conscience and hard to tell the difference. You posted about "backwards masking" or the reverse of a record or tape played backwards. I remember people getting in an uproar about that about 25 yrs ago. I once heard a tape where some songs played backwards had "satanic" words etc. If I remember correctly, the one I remember most was ANOTHER ONE BITES THE DUST. Supposedly, it said something like, "I'ts fun to smoke marijuana." Some people were big time into that. Personally, it never occurred to me to play a record backwards, even if I had the capability. I kind of wrote that off. How do I know that it wasn't dubbed in there to give credibility to this new fad or faze? But I can see how it could have been really forced on you if your parents bought into it. Do I believe that it is possible? I guess. In the sixties, there was something that happened that finally became illegal. Drive-in movies was real popular back then. It was discovered that if a couple of frames was spliced into the film you were watching, that showed pictures of popcorn, fountain drinks, and hot dogs, that your sub-conscience picked that up and you suddenly wanted to visit the concession stand. Sometimes, they put too many frames in and for a split second, you realized that you had seen this. This was termed as "sub-linial(sp?) advertizing." The Bible tells us that Satan was God's most beautiful angel and was second in power only to God. I believe he controlls much of the world today. He is the prince of darkness. People go to a bar, but they don't want it to be real light in there. A man never meets a lady and says, "turn the lights on and let's have sex." Matter of fact, when I was young and single, I "really" wanted the lights OFF for several reasons.:rofl: So, could that really happen? I guess. I just kind of let the good Lord handle that. If that could happen on rock songs, then why couldn't it happen on southern gospel songs that I like? Maybe it could. Maybe God won't allow that. I just don't know.
I'll put it to you this way... If I'm wrong and there is no Jesus Christ then I am just like you. We will both die and turn to dust. End of Story. If I'm right and you are wrong I will go to heaven and see Christ while most likely you and many who are wrong won't go to heaven. End of Story. Hmmm... Which scenario is a no win situation and which is a no lose situation. If I'm wrong what does it happen to hurt? nothing If I need something for me to feel good about so be it, Christianity may be my alcohol or drug fix, it is much better and safer than drugs.:yelwink2: But I think I'm right for many reasons... Complexity of humans, DNA, other animals and planets. I don't believe all of this could happen by chance. Man thinks he knows so much about us, the world, the planets, etc. The truth is we no very little about anything and its proven time and time again every time a scientist revises or discovers something. We Can't even forcast the weather or hurricanes accurately. This goes for the man makes global warming thing as well btw.
