Philosophical discussion on Christianity

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1

1daniel

Guest
#1
#1
I have some questions about God and why people believe, as follows:

What is the main reason you believe?
Would you say your beliefs are reasonable, i.e. your faith is grounded in reason and you have good reason to believe?
What is your standard by which you judge things to be true or false?

Thanks in advance for any responses.

Note to mods: wasn't sure where the best place to post this was, so I chose the closes topic I could find.
 
nl

nl

Senior Member
#2
Jun 26, 2011
933
22
18
#2
You could do web searches in places like Google, YouTube, Amazon, GotQuestions.org with keywords like: Christian faith reasons to believe and find a variety of answers. But...you came here.

Personally, I think that Christian faith began in me as early as ages 3-7. Mother, grandmother and church were influences. By age 7, I was already aware of Christian concepts like:

* God knows all things.
* God can do all things.
* God is everywhere.
* There is an eternal heaven and hell
* Father, Son and Holy Spirit
* Good and evil
* Sin and righteousness
* Love and hatred
* Jesus spoke the Sermon on the Mount
* Jesus healed lame, deaf, blind and dead
* Ten Commandments
* Lord's Prayer: Our Father Who Art In Heaven
* Crucifixion of Jesus Christ
* Resurrection of Jesus Christ
* Ascension of Jesus Christ to heaven
* Prophesied Return of Jesus Christ
* God answers prayer
* There is a final judgement awaiting all
* There was a beginning to the earth and universe.
* There will be an end to the earth and universe.
* God knows all things; Nothing can be hidden from God
* It is appropriate to pray: Lord, have mercy.
* God requires us to show mercy to others.
* God cares for the sick, the poor, little children
* God is loving.
* God is righteous and holy.

I did some re-thinking and drifting after high school but then re-committed to Christ around 5 years later. To a significant degree, the concepts above have stayed with me.

Ultimately, Almighty God must change our inner being with his grace and Holy Spirit.

Experientially, the Christian should resonate with expressions like "The statutes of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart." (Psalm 19:8).

There is much interdependence in nature and ecology. Space, sun, sea, soil, rock, plants, animals, male, and female all have intricate relationships and dependencies with each other. I would find it unbelievable that such intricate order and relationships happened without a Designer, Creator and Sustainer. I would find it unjust and discouraging if there were no accountability and no justice in the end. Mercy is what I hope to inherit eternally rather than strict justice and recompense. The search for knowing God better is a joy and adventure without limits.

Since at least age 7, I have known these words of Jesus Christ from the Sermon on the Mount:

Ask and it will be given to you. Seek and you will find. Knock and the door will be opened unto you. (Matthew 7:7)
 
C

CWJ

Banned
#3
Jan 16, 2014
555
10
0
#3
1) What is the main reason you believe?

I believe that God is.
I believe the Bible is comprised of words which are in themselves divine in origin.
Believing both the above, it is not surprising that when I heard God's word I believed what it said.

The first words I heard with understanding was that all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. I believed it. I acknowledge that 'all' included me. I heard that the 'wages' of sin is death, and I believed it. I then heard that the Lord Jesus Christ, God's only begotten Son, came into the world to save 'sinners': and that if I believed on the efficacy of His sacrifice for sin, I would have my sins forgiven. I believed it. I also heard that although the wages of sin is death, that the gift of God is eternal life to all who place their trust in Him, and I did, by God's grace.

2) Would you say your beliefs are reasonable,
i.e. your faith is grounded in reason and you have good reason to believe?

My belief that God IS, is grounded not only upon the written Word of God, but also upon what my eyes see and my ears hear. In the wonders of His creation, for they truly are His handiwork.

My faith is based on God's facts, recorded in Scripture. As to the Bible being trustworthy, the prophecies of the Old Testament concerning the Lord Jesus Christ, His birth, the events of His life, the manner in which He died, His resurrection, were all accurately fulfilled to the letter, and recorded in the New Testament.


3) What is your standard by which you judge things to be true or false?

God's written Word is the standard by which I judge spiritual things: in regard to the things of the world; I use knowledge, both experiential and written, or by consulatation with others who have the knowledge or understanding I lack.

Thank you for asking the questions.

In Christ Jesus
Chris
 
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1daniel

Guest
#4
#4
Thank you for your in depth reply.

I too find there is order & interdependence in reality, thought I am not sure how you have jumped to a creator which would require independent evidence that it is the cause of this order.

"I would find it unjust and discouraging if there were no accountability and no justice in the end."
Is what you hope for and what is true the same?
 
RedTent

RedTent

Banned
#5
Oct 31, 2011
8,200
182
0
#5
My first idea of true or false of God came before I had ever gone to church or knew about Jesus. I was about three, and I knew there was a God. People around me thought it was cute and funny.

I finally got to church, but it was all very strange. I read the bible, it was like reading Greek when I didn't know the language.
I still knew there was a God, I searched and searched for that God.

One day when I was 18, at 8:07 PM (I remember looking at the clock), while I was reading the sermon on the mount determined to understand, I could suddenly understand! Christ loved me and died for me.

I was a tiny baby in the Lord at 18, it has taken a lot of putting His word in my mind to grow. God is the real, the reality of what is true in our world and the carnal mind simply doesn't understand it.

I met a man who told me it seemed to him he "got it" all in one day. He went to church and found that Jesus knew all and he didn't, so he gave up everything to follow Christ. His lifestyle, his marriage, his job, everything changed on that day.
 
S

Spokenpassage

Guest
#6
#6
1daniel said:
I have some questions about God and why people believe, as follows:

What is the main reason you believe?
Would you say your beliefs are reasonable, i.e. your faith is grounded in reason and you have good reason to believe?
What is your standard by which you judge things to be true or false?

Thanks in advance for any responses.

Note to mods: wasn't sure where the best place to post this was, so I chose the closes topic I could find.
Click to expand...
1. Because the Word of God is true and being a guilty sinner I am in need of a Savior to escape the just punishment that I deserve.

2. My faith is grounded on truth, if that doesn't move you to truly believe then nothing will...

3. The Word of God.
 
JesusLives

JesusLives

Senior Member
#7
Oct 11, 2013
14,551
2,171
113
#7
As a very young child my Aunt Lois took me to church with her three children and I learned about God there. The bible makes a lot of sense to me. it tells me where I come from - created by God. It tells me how there came to be a 7 day week and also talks about times and seasons. It tells me how the earth was created and the heavens and the seas and fish and animals and birds and vegetation.

The bible explains how sin entered the world and the plan that God had to reconcile men back to Himself by the sacrifice of His Son Jesus who would die on a cross to pay for that sin and the bible tells me that someday Jesus will return and there will be an end to sin and evil and that we will once again live with God as He intended when Adam and Eve could walk and talk with Him in the Garden of Eden. I look forward and long for the day when the earth is made new and we will dwell with God.
 
C

chubbena

Guest
#8
#8
Because Romans 1:20 says
For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse?
Just me...
 
J

jdbear

Banned
#9
May 14, 2014
611
4
0
#9
1daniel said:
I have some questions about God and why people believe, as follows:

What is the main reason you believe?
Would you say your beliefs are reasonable, i.e. your faith is grounded in reason and you have good reason to believe?
What is your standard by which you judge things to be true or false?

Thanks in advance for any responses.

Note to mods: wasn't sure where the best place to post this was, so I chose the closes topic I could find.
Click to expand...
Hi 1 daniel. My answer is God's word and yes, I believe it's reasonable.
 
B

Butch5

Banned
#10
May 2, 2014
1,060
12
0
#10
1daniel said:
I have some questions about God and why people believe, as follows:

What is the main reason you believe?
Would you say your beliefs are reasonable, i.e. your faith is grounded in reason and you have good reason to believe?
What is your standard by which you judge things to be true or false?

Thanks in advance for any responses.

Note to mods: wasn't sure where the best place to post this was, so I chose the closes topic I could find.
Click to expand...
God has given prophecy as proof that He exists. This is one reason I believe.

Concerning what is true and false I believe is determined from sound exegesis of the Scriptures.
 
1

1daniel

Guest
#11
#11
Chris

"My belief that God IS, ... also upon what my eyes see and my ears hear." What do you see that makes you draw that conclusion because a lot of people see the world around them and reach a different conclusion.
 
1

1daniel

Guest
#12
#12
Butch5 said:
God has given prophecy as proof that He exists.
Click to expand...
Hey Butch, a couple of points on what you said:

Do you have good reason to believe these prophecies are factual; it is one thing to show they are factual and another to prove their causation.
Do you apply the same standard of evidence to all prophecy claims, regardless of religion?
 
1

1daniel

Guest
#13
#13
chubbena said:
Because Romans 1:20 says
For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse?
Just me...
Click to expand...
Hey chubbena,

Is there a reason you only take the words of the Bible on faith along, but do not apply the same standard to Holy books of other religions and take them on faith as well?
 
dcontroversal

dcontroversal

Banned
#14
Dec 12, 2013
46,515
20,395
113
#14
I believe because I have seen it work in my life....I have had prayers answered to a t and maybe once or twice you could say (coincidence), but when you have dozens upon dozens there is no way that it can be coincidence....The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob is real, I trust his words and for those who have seen him work in their lives there will be no way to convince them that He is not!
 
B

Butch5

Banned
#16
May 2, 2014
1,060
12
0
#16
1daniel said:
Hey Butch, a couple of points on what you said:

Do you have good reason to believe these prophecies are factual; it is one thing to show they are factual and another to prove their causation.
Do you apply the same standard of evidence to all prophecy claims, regardless of religion?
Click to expand...
The standard is the same, can it be proven? Take for instance the prophecies of Christ in Isaiah, we can see that many are historically true. With the discovery of the Dead Sea scrolls and their being dated several hundred years before Christ it can be proven that they were written before Christ came. There is also the case of Cyrus the great. God prophesied what he would would do long before he was born. One can check secular history and verify that he did those things.
 
3

3Scoreand10

Guest
#17
#17
dcontroversal said:
I believe because I have seen it work in my life....I have had prayers answered to a t and maybe once or twice you could say (coincidence), but when you have dozens upon dozens there is no way that it can be coincidence....The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob is real, I trust his words and for those who have seen him work in their lives there will be no way to convince them that He is not!
Click to expand...
ME TOO BROTHER!
 
Billyd

Billyd

Senior Member
#19
May 8, 2014
5,044
1,485
113
#19
Why do I believe? At my darkest hours, he has always been there to get me through. At 14, a very disturbed young boy (me) was minutes from suicide. I opened the New Testament that my grandparents had given me when I started to high school (I usually kept in in my pocket). John 14:6 (Jesus said to him, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me") had been underlined on page I opened it to. The rest of the day that verse ran through my mind. That evening I gave my heart and life to Jesus. My desire to live was never stronger.

Are my beliefs reasonable? Absolutely.

I believe that by "true or false" you want to know how do I discern right from wrong? Someone labeled it as my "Sin Sense". I believe that God gave man the ability to know that what he is doing is wrong. When I'm outside God's Will, I can't rest. I go the scriptures to argue my case, but I lose.

I have a question for you. Are you trying to convince yourself that there is no God or that something in your life is not wrong? If so, you already know the answer. If there were no God, you wouldn't have to convince yourself. I that thing in your life were not wrong, again, you wouldn't have to convince yourself.

God Bless you. I hope that you find what you are looking for.
 
J

jdbear

Banned
#20
May 14, 2014
611
4
0
#20
1daniel said:


Simply, what are you reasons that make your belief reasonable?
Click to expand...
Fulfilled prophecy is reasonable. I think it was amazing that these Hebrew Prophets from their tiny country would (under the assumption of God speaking through them) be able to predict future events:

I the LORD have called thee in righteousness, and will hold thine hand, and will keep thee, and give thee for a covenant of the people, for a light of the Gentiles. Is.42:6

I've noticed you've mentioned other holy books. Do an unbiased study comparing them to the Bible and you'll find how inferior they are.
 
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