How is faith in God attained?
- Thread starter nds1
- Start date
You can figure it out from all we've written, I'm sure, why don't you give it a try and we'll critique it.
You asked us for a paragraph.
That's pretty good so far, but we can act out the will of God, to some degree, after we become His children, we do about as well as children who are growing to adulthood.
Of course, Godless, you were aware that I was talking about spiritual growth?
Ice,
When does doing the will of God apply in life?
Obviously, choosing what to eat for dinner, choosing types of furniture for a house, choosing what type of pen to write with, or choosing what brand of cereal we want are not guided by the Holy Spirit, or do not apply to the will of God.
So is it only in major decisions in life where the will of God applies?
When does doing the will of God apply in life?
Obviously, choosing what to eat for dinner, choosing types of furniture for a house, choosing what type of pen to write with, or choosing what brand of cereal we want are not guided by the Holy Spirit, or do not apply to the will of God.
So is it only in major decisions in life where the will of God applies?
No.
The story of Hercules is matter of record too.
" He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him." - John 3:36
Love God, Love your neighbor.
An essential element of Love is trust. You can't truly love someone if trust is not part and parcel of the relationship. Indeed no relationship is possible without trust. To love is not only to trust, but also to risk...so, being instructed to love, we are therefore instructed to risk. Contemplating risk, one encounters fear...however, John states "God is Love"...he also states "there is no fear in love" and "love casts out fear"... When contemplating the risk, contemplate God and your fear will disappear, being replaced with love for Him in return for His love toward you.
Love (Trust) God and your neighbor by believing their testimony concerning the love God has for you demonstrated by Christ...written in the New Testament.
For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. God did not send his Son into the world to condemn it, but to save it.
"There is no judgment awaiting those who trust Him. But those who do not trust Him have already been judged for not believing in the only Son of God. Their judgment is based on this fact: The Light from heaven (Christ) came into the world, but they loved the darkness more than the Light, for their actions were evil.
They hate the Light because they want to sin in the darkness. They stay away from the Light for fear their sins will be exposed and they will be punished.
But those who do what is right come to the Light (Christ) gladly, so everyone can see that they are doing what God wants."
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I have no intention to switch to hinduisim. What is the point of even posting that to me?
All Praise The Ancient Of Days
Most people believing in a religion do not bother to question their belief in their entire lives. They take what their church, mosque, synagogue teaches them, what their parents teach them. Believing in a God and afterlife is comfortable. Why bother to read/listen some silly atheists say?
Many -if not most- of people questioning their beliefs end up being atheists btw.
Many -if not most- of people questioning their beliefs end up being atheists btw.
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Ok then, so all atheists are doomed. What strikes me as odd is how the religious seem to almost orgasm on the idea. Here's the thing, and I ask that you pay attention..
I want to do an experiment on you quickly:
Convince your mind right now, beyond any possible hesitation that leprechauns exist.
You'll find that regardless to how much you squeeze, you just can't do it. Hopefully now you'll understand the predicament of many atheists. I cannot, no matter how much I squeeze, have belief in gods. All it takes is for those gods to come and show me themselves, but I cannot force my brain to believe in something that is not evident. It's not choice, it's inevitable - and this is where most theists go wrong. You, (a general you), ignorantly think that we sit down and choose not to believe in gods. That's not how it is. If we were given the chance that the ancient jews were to actually witness god in the flesh as it were then we too would be believers, (knowers), and not damned to hell. The only reason we don't is that our brains were not 'created' that way. The fault therefore does not lie with us, and I resent the notion that I am destined to burn because of something I cannot change. I face the "wrath" of god because he created me with an inability to believe in things without evidence. I have absolutely no say on what my brain does or does not believe, I merely know what it requires to have that belief. The creation of my brain had nothing to do with me and everything to do with a being with unjustified wrath considering the circumstances. All this from an "all-loving" being no less.
Now, you cannot convince yourself that leprechauns exist. It stands to reason that the only way you'll believe leprechauns exist is to see them with your own eyes, (and even then you might be doubtful). Once you understand why it is impossible to convince yourself of their existence, how you are simply incapable of considering the truth of their existence yada yada, then you will finally understand my position and see the inherent problem with burning because of it.
With me it is probable you couldn't give a shit. What difference does it make in your life if I burn forever? None really.. Now, just for the sake of argument.. What if your daughter has the same problem? Your mother perhaps? Be honest, will you be ok with the knowledge that your child/mother is burning forever and ever because they didn't do something that they were simply unable to do? Kindly don't deny the timescale here.. In 100000000000000000000000000000000000000000 years your child/mother will still be burning. If that doesn't send the shits up your spine then you're not much of a parent/son. All of this because of an "all-loving" god... Do me a lemon.
While I'm not an atheist, you do touch on many of the things that I find disturbing(very) about the abrahamic portrayal of God. It does seem too that many christians almost seem to relish the day they can see non believers in eternal hell...unbelievable!
Personally, I am not willing to throw out my basic morals of right and wrong just to "get saved". How could I love(let alone even like) a god that would send a relative or for that matter anyone to an "eternal " hell.
I'm not that selfish ..just so I can save my butt and live in paradise....faced with the alternative...well, in that case I would give Yahweh a four letter barage and then slip on my thermal bathing trunks for the lake of fire. At least throughout an eternity of torment I would know I rejected the epitome of evil!
You touch on something very interesting.. Through everything said and it's not "satan" that threatens you with eternal torment, it's god. It's not "satan" that strikes you down, demands others kill you, has bears maul you, sulhpur bombs you or drowns you.. it's god. Satan says nothing and does nothing.. Every single instance where mankind suffers it's god with his finger on the trigger.
Right now I could almost see a bunch of theists telling me that I must be a "satan worshiper", but there's the thing.. I don't worship satan, and he doesn't ask me to.. He makes no threats and offers no rewards. god on the other hand demands that I worship him or suffer the cruelest of fates. Sorry, I'm getting confused.. which one's the bad guy?
This is where Hinduism seems way more logically sound to me than Christianity. The Christian God is very harsh. If you fail here, he will burn you and torture you for eternity. The Hindu God just says, "Hey, you fucked up. Now you will be an Emu for a few years, then a Gorilla, then you can give it another go as a human."
Listen, if someone wrongs me, or really pisses me off, I feel no desire to torture them for eternity. I just want them to get the hell out of my face and go on their way. If someone forced me to physically or mentally torture someone else, I wouldn't do it because it's evil and sick to torture another being no matter how they may have wronged you.
Christianity teaches us to take on the nature of God. The nature of God? So we should be extremely hot tempered and instill our wrath on everyone who doesn't do as we wish? So we should torture people if they piss us off or ignore us? Is this the nature we should take on?
Well I'm Italian, so I'm all set in that area.
Listen, if someone wrongs me, or really pisses me off, I feel no desire to torture them for eternity. I just want them to get the hell out of my face and go on their way. If someone forced me to physically or mentally torture someone else, I wouldn't do it because it's evil and sick to torture another being no matter how they may have wronged you.
Christianity teaches us to take on the nature of God. The nature of God? So we should be extremely hot tempered and instill our wrath on everyone who doesn't do as we wish? So we should torture people if they piss us off or ignore us? Is this the nature we should take on?
Well I'm Italian, so I'm all set in that area.