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According to Christian belief Jesus was God. He didn't have to prove himself to himself. I don't see how this applies to my situation.
Wait a minute, it just occurred to me. Satan presumably knew Jesus was God, right? Why would he offer the world to God?
Then the devil, taking Him up on a high mountain, showed Him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. 6 And the devil said to Him, “All this authority I will give You, and their glory; for this has been delivered to me, and I give it to whomever I wish. 7 Therefore, if You will worship before me, all will be Yours (Luke 4:5-7).
You see, I think the author of the Gospel of Luke does not see Jesus as God. The son of God, yes, but not God. Why else would he have the devil tempt Jesus by offering him the kingdoms of all the world? This only makes sense if the author does not think Jesus is God.
Wait a minute, it just occurred to me. Satan presumably knew Jesus was God, right? Why would he offer the world to God?
Then the devil, taking Him up on a high mountain, showed Him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. 6 And the devil said to Him, “All this authority I will give You, and their glory; for this has been delivered to me, and I give it to whomever I wish. 7 Therefore, if You will worship before me, all will be Yours (Luke 4:5-7).
You see, I think the author of the Gospel of Luke does not see Jesus as God. The son of God, yes, but not God. Why else would he have the devil tempt Jesus by offering him the kingdoms of all the world? This only makes sense if the author does not think Jesus is God.
His timing was too late to save my faith. Forty plus years have passed and I still haven't heard from him.
God goes in search of his lost sheep. At least that is the claim, but it seems not to be true. Also, the that all one need do is knock and the door will open also seems in error. I tried to believe. I truly did.
These are all excuses for why God does not show himself. I am not the first person to become an atheist because God did not show himself. This sort of thing happens time after time. There are too many excuses for why God will not show himself to nonbelievers. The difficult part of it is that most of us nonbelievers sought God openly back when we still believed, but still he wouldn't show himself!
Have you heard of Dan Barker? He is a former evangelical preacher who became an atheist. The transition period from conservative Christian to atheist took years with him. Barker also prayed to God to restore his faith. His prayers, like mine, went unanswered. Read his book Godless. You will see that God does not always answer prayers, to the detriment of Christian belief.
God goes in search of his lost sheep. At least that is the claim, but it seems not to be true. Also, the that all one need do is knock and the door will open also seems in error. I tried to believe. I truly did.
These are all excuses for why God does not show himself. I am not the first person to become an atheist because God did not show himself. This sort of thing happens time after time. There are too many excuses for why God will not show himself to nonbelievers. The difficult part of it is that most of us nonbelievers sought God openly back when we still believed, but still he wouldn't show himself!
Have you heard of Dan Barker? He is a former evangelical preacher who became an atheist. The transition period from conservative Christian to atheist took years with him. Barker also prayed to God to restore his faith. His prayers, like mine, went unanswered. Read his book Godless. You will see that God does not always answer prayers, to the detriment of Christian belief.
K
To answer the question so that maybe just maybe this thread will end. Yes, there is such a thing as an atheist, now can we move on. If they love devil so much then let them get what they deserve. Jesus spoke in parables so that the pharisees and Sadducee could not understand, ( but to His disciples He explained) unless they put their flesh aside and accepted Him. Next.
Just so you are aware, many biblical scholars would not hold this view. I don't see anything "scientifically testable" about the New Testament. I don't know where you are even getting this notion from. I have never seen any author make this claim. I would also say it is not historically accurate. Many biblical scholars assert, for instance, that Acts cannot be trusted.
K
If the book of Acts can't be trusted, then the bible can't be trusted and from a nonbelievers point of view that makes since, But having lived through events that are the same as the book of acts and the words that Jesus and the Apostles taught come to fruition, I cannot deny them and must hold them up as truth and I cannot find real truth anyplace else.
Age has it's benefits meaning that I don't feel as though I always have to be right anymore or really defend to the death that I felt at a younger age I had to. Now I look at it more as though I am a representative for God and many times I really ask myself how would Jesus respond to this? With force or with love and kindness? I do truly try to err or the side of love and kindness.
I have been on CC since October last year 2013 and just two weeks after joining I was being labeled as a Judaizer and I did not even know what the term meant. It hurt my feelings to be called a name and at that moment I wanted to defend and protect myself. But then I felt that God wanted me to step back and respond in a different way and not take everything so personally. After all if someone is attacking us they are really attacking God as we are His children.
So I just try to be kind and loving and let God take care of the injustice in His timing. There is a statement out there that says Love conquers all and I look forward to that day, but for now I chat in the chat rooms and try to be kind and loving and be a good representative for the God who loved me and the rest of the world with His life.
I have been on CC since October last year 2013 and just two weeks after joining I was being labeled as a Judaizer and I did not even know what the term meant. It hurt my feelings to be called a name and at that moment I wanted to defend and protect myself. But then I felt that God wanted me to step back and respond in a different way and not take everything so personally. After all if someone is attacking us they are really attacking God as we are His children.
So I just try to be kind and loving and let God take care of the injustice in His timing. There is a statement out there that says Love conquers all and I look forward to that day, but for now I chat in the chat rooms and try to be kind and loving and be a good representative for the God who loved me and the rest of the world with His life.
Actually, you are mistaken in this belief. Let me ask you, do you accept the Nebular Hypothesis?
Nebular hypothesis - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
If you do then you don't need God to account for the existence of stars or planets.
Nebular hypothesis - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
If you do then you don't need God to account for the existence of stars or planets.
God loves you Cycel - as a Christian God wants me to be His hand to help those I see that need help, He wants me to be His mouth and tell others of His love for them, He wants me to use my heart to feel and reach out to those who are looking for Him to help encourage and show the way back to our Father in Heaven. It has been said to me that Christians/I may be the only bible some one reads. I just hope that my life can reflect that of Jesus and God's love back to all those I come into contact with.
You should feel special as I know there are several folks including myself that are praying for you and others on this thread to be able to believe and have a renewed faith that you feel you have lost. Greetings to you and your family from sunny Florida. May God continue to bless you.
Judaizers - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Judaizers is predominantly a Christian term, derived from the Greek verb ioudaïzō (ἰουδαΐζω "live according to Jewish customs", see Ioudaios). This term is most widely known from its single use in the Greek New Testament (Galatians 2:14)[SUP][1][/SUP] where Paul publicly challenges Peter for compelling gentile converts to Early Christianity to "judaize",[SUP][2][/SUP] also known as the Incident at Antioch.
Judaizers is predominantly a Christian term, derived from the Greek verb ioudaïzō (ἰουδαΐζω "live according to Jewish customs", see Ioudaios). This term is most widely known from its single use in the Greek New Testament (Galatians 2:14)[SUP][1][/SUP] where Paul publicly challenges Peter for compelling gentile converts to Early Christianity to "judaize",[SUP][2][/SUP] also known as the Incident at Antioch.