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M*W: Jim, I respect your beliefs, but have you ever given any thought to the mystery of Jesus? I was a christian once. I gave a lot of thought to christianity. I was a hard core christian, in fact. I am grateful that I believed as I did, for that led me to where I am now. Can you conceive life without the control of a sentinent being? I hope you are intelligent enough to do so. At one time, I gave my life to a person called 'Jesus.' He didn't really exist, but I found that out later. I raised my children by his teachings, and today they are still confused. I realized after all of my coercing that he didn't exist, and that I had lied to my children. I will regret that til the day I die. Are you really that sure that you believe in a mythological character? That was the worst mistake of my life. I believed in Jesus, but he didn't exist. I'm still trying to live that one down. It hurts me everyday that I lied to my children. I taught them right from wrong, but I lied to them about their salvation! I ended up being a damaging parent, all in the name of the lord! Had I known the truth at the time, I would have saved my children from the agony they are going through right now!
Hey M*W! Thanks for taking the time to tell me about yourself. I appreciate your sincerity.
I would just like to begin by saying my life was not controlled by the Spirit in the beginning. I became convinced without a shadow of a doubt that I needed a Savior of my soul. I will die that is a fact. Something or nothing happens to you after you die, but why would I risk my destiny with myself? I don't know what will happen to me in a week, or a month, or a year, how am I to guess the destiny of my soul? No science can provide observable, measurable or empirical evidence for that. I will not rely on myself or religion (Muslims, Judaism, Catholics, Hindu) as this is a bunch of rituals invented by man. But I will trust the universal Truths of the Bible. It has been proven throughout history. Jesus gave us the Bible so we could have eternal life. I'd rather be a believer than a doubter. It isn't going to hurt you to believe. It is better to believe than to doubt.
"These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life, and that you may continue to believe in the name of the Son of God." 1 John 5:13
Sincerity doesn't determine truth, however. One can be sincerely convinced of the truth—and be sincerely wrong. For example, many evil men such as Hitler were very sincere in their beliefs. God judges people based on truth, not opinions—and that truth is Jesus Christ.
May I ask what evidence you have that Jesus does not exist? Most scientists would even argue that Jesus did in fact exist from the overwhelming evidence--but people just say He was a good man. I guess at one point in your statement you said that you were grateful for believing what you did, but then you say that it was the worst mistake of your life.
I hope you forgive me for being completely open and honest, but the Bible does speak of false conversion, in which a stony ground hearer receives the Word with joy and gladness. Then in time of tribulation, temptation, and persecution, falls away. Did you know the Lord?
"Atheism—the belief that there is no God—can become a crutch for those addicted to a lifestyle contrary to God's standards of morality."
I see much contradiction in the bible. I see much animosity in the believers. When I read messages like you post, it actually makes me cry. You believe what you believe, but in the end it is not real. Have you ever wanted or had an inkling to totally give up your belief? I know it must be hard, but if you sincerely want to believe the truth, you would have to give up christianity! I know it would be a difficult thing to do, but you would be wiser in the long run. Christianity is evil. It breaks my heart to see a man like you believe in something so vile.
Seeming contradictions are in the Bible only to confound the proud. Would you mind giving me some examples?
I have only wanted to give up my beliefs to allow myself to indulge in wickedness. But when I am patient I see that it was better that I didn't give it up for that. I would have to die and be resurrected to recant my beliefs. What we do have, interestingly enough, is the historical accounts of the eyewitness to Christ's resurrection. He experienced death and resurrected and the apostles wrote about it.
Can truth be discovered outside of Christianity? God gave us universal truths in the Bible to live our lives. He is so fair these truths apply to anyone--rich or poor, beautiful and ugly, smart and dumb, black and white, living in any culture or time period! He is so fair.
I would ask you to think about your beliefs. Search your soul. Is there any part of christianity that you could prove to be true? This is the argument that we go over so many times on sciforums.
Because the Bible is God's Word and God cannot lie (Isaiah 55:10-11; John 17:17; Titus 1:2; Hebrews 4:12), it's totally trustworthy, free from any error. God's Word is described as "the word of truth" (2 Corinthians 6:7; Colossians 1:5; 2 Timothy 2:15; James 1:18). Inerrancy isn't a theory about the Bible; it's the teaching of the Bible itself.
What most people claim as errors in the Bible aren't errors but difficulties. People think they've stumbled upon apparent inconsistencies when they haven't taken the time to find out all the facts, or made an in-depth study of the passage. Many Bible questions have been answered as new discoveries have been made in fields such as language, history, archeology, and other sciences.
Regardless of the kind of difficulty found, not a single irreconcilable error can be found in the Bible's pages.
God has given us a whole life of Bible to gain wisdom of His character. I must tell you it is completely amazing for God to reveal truths to you! I still have so much to discover and I just can't wait!
I feel so relieved that I know the truth! I came to sciforums a believer, and I found out the hard way that Jesus didn't exist. I implore you to look at what I'm telling you. I hope you will wake up someday and see that christianity is a lie. Yes, I thought it was real and true when I came here. I wanted so much to believe, but I found out the truth. I hope you do too.
When people say I wanted so much to believe, it really saddens me. Because the promise of God is "so that they should seek the Lord, in the hope that they might grope for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us;" Acts 17:27
Let me remind you of the Law of God. Remember the Ten Commandments? Judge yourself according to these commandments. Ask yourself, Have I ever told a lie? If you have that makes you a liar. Have I ever stolen something? That would make you a thief. Have you ever looked at someone with lust? The Bible says this is adultery of the heart. Now if God were to judge you according to these commandments, would you be found innocent or guilty?
You know, as do most people in the world, if you were to die tonight where you would go if you were judged by God. Christians simply act as witnesses to these truths and remind the world to repent.
Jesus is saving lives today as He has throughout all of history. It was the perfect plan of redemption. He was the ultimate sacrifice and paid for the sin of humanity. This is why we don't sacrifice animals as they did in the Old Testament. Jesus paid the complete sacrifice.
"So when Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, “It is finished!” And bowing His head, He gave up His spirit." John 19:30
I'm so glad you came to sciforums! You made the perfect choice! We can show you the error of your religion. We can show you how you are not saved! You have made the wisest choice of your life! Don't be afraid, Jim. You are on the right track. We will help you to see the light... literally... the light!
Thanks for the invite!! I believe it was of a divine nature for me to be in this forum. I guess I would just like to ask you if you would stake your life on the beliefs you hold now, because in reality you are.
I will be answering some of your questions on your other post I believe as well. Thanks for taking the time to talk--I hope that I haven't written so much as to overwhelm you. Would you mind talking more via private messages? It would be easier to discuss that way. ttyl
