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Mat 12:38 Some Pharisees and teachers of the Law of Moses said, "Teacher, we want you to show us a sign from heaven." But Jesus replied: You want a sign because you are evil and won't believe! But the only sign you will get is the sign of the prophet Jonah. He was in the stomach of a big fish for three days and nights, just as the Son of Man will be deep in the earth for three days and nights. On the day of judgment the people of Nineveh will stand there with you and condemn you. They turned to God when Jonah preached, and yet here is something far greater than Jonah.
John 10:30 I and my Father are one.
John 10:30 I and my Father are one.
One of the major problems with atheism is its inability to think through what it claims. It seems to rely on "gotcha" claims which when put under the microscope are silly in the extreme.
An example is Dawkins saying there is no good and evil. If that is the case, then we should not have tried the Nazi war criminals at Nuremberg. Murder should not be illegal because there is no good or evil so that means murder just is. Sexually molesting children should be OK. You could go on for a few hundred paragraphs to prove the stupidity of his statement but as the media in particular believe that atheists are the darlings of rational thought, they never challenge them about their nonsensical claims.
An example is Dawkins saying there is no good and evil. If that is the case, then we should not have tried the Nazi war criminals at Nuremberg. Murder should not be illegal because there is no good or evil so that means murder just is. Sexually molesting children should be OK. You could go on for a few hundred paragraphs to prove the stupidity of his statement but as the media in particular believe that atheists are the darlings of rational thought, they never challenge them about their nonsensical claims.
Sin caused the separation in the relationship between God and human individuals. As in the beginning, sin continues to be an expression of unbelief and disobedience towards God. If you subscribe to a doctrine of original sin (as I have), then we are born sinful and start lif that way as part of a ruined race.
In the story of the Prodigal Son (Luke 15), there is seeking done by both the prodigal son and the father.
The prodigal son decided to acknowledge his sin to the father (v.18).
Then, he journeyed from a far country and came to the father.
But when he was yet a great way off, his father saw him and had compassion and ran and fell on his neck and kissed him (v.20).
May the Heavenly Father have compassion on you.
.
In the story of the Prodigal Son (Luke 15), there is seeking done by both the prodigal son and the father.
The prodigal son decided to acknowledge his sin to the father (v.18).
Then, he journeyed from a far country and came to the father.
But when he was yet a great way off, his father saw him and had compassion and ran and fell on his neck and kissed him (v.20).
May the Heavenly Father have compassion on you.
.
S
I don't think we are in disagreement. The one time that I thought I "heard" Gods voice I was't even really asking for it....or maybe the spirit in me was but I didn't know it. At any rate, I was at the lake and I decided that I was going to put my tent in a certain spot. Immediately I heard, do not put your tent there, put it over there as my gazed was turned to a spot not far from where I intended to set up camp. I pretty much went, okay, and proceeded to put my tent where I was told. The next morning, the place where I wanted to put my tent was covered by 8" of water. I make no presumption as to whether that was the voice of God but what I can say is at that ripe age of 21 or so, I was very in tune and in love with Jesus. I prayed continually without ceasing. It is a time in my life that I look back on with great fondness.
My relationship with God is different now. I could get into all the reasons and ways that it is, but in the interest of not boring everyone to death,,,,a lot of life has happened since then, I am a father now, I have made many mistakes and suffered some pretty heavy loss. I am more seasoned and I am learning to rely more fully on the promises God has made to me thru His word, not in some tangible sign. In a sense, God has brought me to the place like a cadet goes thru in the marine corp......the stripping down of everything I thought I was, and thought I knew, to build me anew in His image and on His foundation. The foundation of my my childhood was bad and as I type this, a sense of gratefulness washes over me because, my father in heaven has been so gracious to me, in that He has always given me a little more than I can handle (but not so much to crush me) so I learn to rely on Him. He really has taken baby steps with me and that my friends is a gracious father.
My relationship with God is different now. I could get into all the reasons and ways that it is, but in the interest of not boring everyone to death,,,,a lot of life has happened since then, I am a father now, I have made many mistakes and suffered some pretty heavy loss. I am more seasoned and I am learning to rely more fully on the promises God has made to me thru His word, not in some tangible sign. In a sense, God has brought me to the place like a cadet goes thru in the marine corp......the stripping down of everything I thought I was, and thought I knew, to build me anew in His image and on His foundation. The foundation of my my childhood was bad and as I type this, a sense of gratefulness washes over me because, my father in heaven has been so gracious to me, in that He has always given me a little more than I can handle (but not so much to crush me) so I learn to rely on Him. He really has taken baby steps with me and that my friends is a gracious father.
The story of atheism is one of lies v the truth. They have this strange notion that you create your own truth. Jesus said "For this I came into the world, to TESTIFY TO THE TRUTH. Everyone on the side of truth LISTENS TO ME."
Which means that if you are not on the side of truth you do not listen to Jesus. In fact you oppose him.
Apparently there is an innate sense of what is right and wrong and that this law is written on the heart. One Harvard scholar has discovered that the brain contains "a circuit specialised for recognising certain problems as morally relevant." The brain incorporates, he says, a "universal moral grammar, a tool kit for building specific moral systems."
With an inbuilt truth recognition system, to create your own truth is to block off that which your brain does and that is probably why atheists are all over the place when it comes to truth.
The professor, though an agnostic, concludes that morality is grounded in our biology or as the bible puts it, the law is written on our hearts Romans 2;14-15.
So creating your own truth is in fact denying your inner self and creating something like trying to cross the Atlantic ocean in a canoe or as the Bible says "A double minded man is unstable in all his ways." James 1:8.
This would explain why atheism says one thing one day and another thing the next day. They are trying to subdue the "universal moral grammar" in them for what they consider is moral according to their ideology which is a formulation of the lies of satan who as we know will say whatever he wants to gain the advantage and being the father of lies, he doesn't care that what he says is a pack of lies and who gets hurt.
At the same time it creates problems for Dawkins claim that there is no good or evil.
Which means that if you are not on the side of truth you do not listen to Jesus. In fact you oppose him.
Apparently there is an innate sense of what is right and wrong and that this law is written on the heart. One Harvard scholar has discovered that the brain contains "a circuit specialised for recognising certain problems as morally relevant." The brain incorporates, he says, a "universal moral grammar, a tool kit for building specific moral systems."
With an inbuilt truth recognition system, to create your own truth is to block off that which your brain does and that is probably why atheists are all over the place when it comes to truth.
The professor, though an agnostic, concludes that morality is grounded in our biology or as the bible puts it, the law is written on our hearts Romans 2;14-15.
So creating your own truth is in fact denying your inner self and creating something like trying to cross the Atlantic ocean in a canoe or as the Bible says "A double minded man is unstable in all his ways." James 1:8.
This would explain why atheism says one thing one day and another thing the next day. They are trying to subdue the "universal moral grammar" in them for what they consider is moral according to their ideology which is a formulation of the lies of satan who as we know will say whatever he wants to gain the advantage and being the father of lies, he doesn't care that what he says is a pack of lies and who gets hurt.
At the same time it creates problems for Dawkins claim that there is no good or evil.
It has often been suggested that God did speak to me, but that I failed to hear him. I would suggest, however, that if God truly wanted me to hear him, I would certainly have heard. Scripture says that Yahweh addressed Moses from the midst of a burning bush (Exodus 3:1-22). Presumably he wanted to make sure he was not overlooked while Moses tended his father-in-law's flock of sheep. So God could have presented himself in many obvious ways that could not have been dismissed or overlooked by myself, had he wished. Consider too, that I was searching for God. I was not predisposed to overlook him.
It is one thing for God to remain silent when a strong believer prays, but quite another matter if that believer is going through a crisis of faith.
It is one thing for God to remain silent when a strong believer prays, but quite another matter if that believer is going through a crisis of faith.
A lie is a story someone tells that they know is false, and their intention is to deceive.
As a member of this forum, as an atheist, I have not told any lies. Everything I have said I believe can be verified, but I will not, and I have not claimed, that I can prove God does not exist. I will say I have never found evidence that God exists and for me that is enough.
Have you heard of Aristotle? Did you know he formulated the theory of spontaneous generation and did you also know that this notion was not finally refuted till the 19th century when Louis Pasteur formulated modern germ theory? Good thing we come up with our own truths, wouldn’t you say?
What did Jesus say about germ theory? “Then Jesus was approached by a group of Pharisees... from Jerusalem, with the question: ‘Why do your disciples break the ancient tradition? They do not wash their hands before meals.’ ” (Matthew 15:2-3). Jesus told them, “Listen to me, and understand this: a man is not defiled by what goes into his mouth....” (Matthew 15:11). Oops! Jesus didn’t know about germs, did he. He was only concerned with ritual cleanliness, and as he downplayed ritual cleanliness as an unnecessary Jewish ritual, so he did not think it was necessary, therefore, to wash ones hands before eating. At least this is how he is portrayed in Matthew.
I think the author, however, may be putting Paul’s words into Jesus’ mouth; but that is separate matter. It is enough to point out that Jesus is portrayed as not being aware of the importance of washing hands before eating.
As a member of this forum, as an atheist, I have not told any lies. Everything I have said I believe can be verified, but I will not, and I have not claimed, that I can prove God does not exist. I will say I have never found evidence that God exists and for me that is enough.
Have you heard of Aristotle? Did you know he formulated the theory of spontaneous generation and did you also know that this notion was not finally refuted till the 19th century when Louis Pasteur formulated modern germ theory? Good thing we come up with our own truths, wouldn’t you say?
What did Jesus say about germ theory? “Then Jesus was approached by a group of Pharisees... from Jerusalem, with the question: ‘Why do your disciples break the ancient tradition? They do not wash their hands before meals.’ ” (Matthew 15:2-3). Jesus told them, “Listen to me, and understand this: a man is not defiled by what goes into his mouth....” (Matthew 15:11). Oops! Jesus didn’t know about germs, did he. He was only concerned with ritual cleanliness, and as he downplayed ritual cleanliness as an unnecessary Jewish ritual, so he did not think it was necessary, therefore, to wash ones hands before eating. At least this is how he is portrayed in Matthew.
I think the author, however, may be putting Paul’s words into Jesus’ mouth; but that is separate matter. It is enough to point out that Jesus is portrayed as not being aware of the importance of washing hands before eating.
interestingly enough germs were addressed in the earliest books of the bible, Jesus was way beyond that when He was teaching a spiritual truth.
The OT has many verses that address "germs" and "quarantine"
Here is 1
Leviticus 14:8 And he that is to be cleansed shall wash his clothes, and shave off all his hair, and wash himself in water, that he may be clean: and after that he shall come into the camp, and shall tarry abroad out of his tent seven days.
The OT has many verses that address "germs" and "quarantine"
Here is 1
Leviticus 14:8 And he that is to be cleansed shall wash his clothes, and shave off all his hair, and wash himself in water, that he may be clean: and after that he shall come into the camp, and shall tarry abroad out of his tent seven days.
So this discusion on Acts wouldn't get lost I started a new thread:
http://christianchat.com/bible-discussion-forum/90326-historicity-acts.html
http://christianchat.com/bible-discussion-forum/90326-historicity-acts.html
One of the easiest ways to know there is a God, and He is in control, is to see the 100% accuracy of His prophecies. How does an atheist explain away the specificity of the whole mark of the beast!? How could a 1st century man predict that there would be a cashless society using a "mark" to buy and sell? You would have to be a fool not to believe that is exactly where we're almost at:
[video]http://media.theage.com.au/technology/tech-talk/human-microchips-5354618.html[/video]
[video]http://media.theage.com.au/technology/tech-talk/human-microchips-5354618.html[/video]
in the matter of "is there such a thing as an atheist?",,i have to say "yes i think there is"(not to bicker with different levels of what some would say is actually an atheist,i suppose they have their own doctrine as well as there are different ideas of Christianity),,,
across my life Ive seen many who said they were atheist and did not believe in any type of god. i noticed if i watched them some would say this but if you watched them over a period of time they lived among the other people as if they would be held accountable at some time,to some higher creator.
I worked with a member of "a" family(i say "a" because Ive mentioned a member of the same family in another post but I'm trying to not give their personal imfo),,,this family(i worked with one of their family members) were taught by i think by the grand-parents before them(?) that is the entire family claimed to be atheist.
after watching this family over years i believe they were "atheist",that is their actions toward one another and to others(in public) were as if they had no remorse for their actions. i ask the one i worked with different questions about this as time went on and was told by him and other family members that to them there is no judgment that i "thought that way because i believed in god,and that since they did not they think and live their life according to the way they believed",,
over the years one of their sons robbed a bank,was caught,served his time in prison,was paroled and robbed another bank and is still in prison. his parents response was there is only this one life and so they encouraged their children to become wealthy(legal or illegal), they were only bothered that he got caught.
the family separated and the other son lived with her,he went to work one day and when he went home his mother had put his clothes in a pile in the living-room and pawned all his belongings(t.v.,stereo,computer,furniture ect.) and left and has never been seen since. this was the question i ask was regarding her actions toward her own children,her father and mother was who gave the answer to me,they said when we butcher a chicken we don't think we will ever see it again or be held responsible for eating it. the same they said is the way they live they thought when they die it was the absolute end of them so to them all is fare game.
i learned the hard way to keep my personal belongings away from them(at work),,at first i invited them to my house(being christian i thought i could have an impact),learned i need to lock my garage and only sit in lawn chairs out side instead,then finally stopped inviting them. the husband(the one i worked with) said to me "you don't invite us over any more",,i told him maybe sometimes i would but was busy,,he grinned and said "no,you wanted to tell us about Christianity and we told you about atheism"
across my life Ive seen many who said they were atheist and did not believe in any type of god. i noticed if i watched them some would say this but if you watched them over a period of time they lived among the other people as if they would be held accountable at some time,to some higher creator.
I worked with a member of "a" family(i say "a" because Ive mentioned a member of the same family in another post but I'm trying to not give their personal imfo),,,this family(i worked with one of their family members) were taught by i think by the grand-parents before them(?) that is the entire family claimed to be atheist.
after watching this family over years i believe they were "atheist",that is their actions toward one another and to others(in public) were as if they had no remorse for their actions. i ask the one i worked with different questions about this as time went on and was told by him and other family members that to them there is no judgment that i "thought that way because i believed in god,and that since they did not they think and live their life according to the way they believed",,
over the years one of their sons robbed a bank,was caught,served his time in prison,was paroled and robbed another bank and is still in prison. his parents response was there is only this one life and so they encouraged their children to become wealthy(legal or illegal), they were only bothered that he got caught.
the family separated and the other son lived with her,he went to work one day and when he went home his mother had put his clothes in a pile in the living-room and pawned all his belongings(t.v.,stereo,computer,furniture ect.) and left and has never been seen since. this was the question i ask was regarding her actions toward her own children,her father and mother was who gave the answer to me,they said when we butcher a chicken we don't think we will ever see it again or be held responsible for eating it. the same they said is the way they live they thought when they die it was the absolute end of them so to them all is fare game.
i learned the hard way to keep my personal belongings away from them(at work),,at first i invited them to my house(being christian i thought i could have an impact),learned i need to lock my garage and only sit in lawn chairs out side instead,then finally stopped inviting them. the husband(the one i worked with) said to me "you don't invite us over any more",,i told him maybe sometimes i would but was busy,,he grinned and said "no,you wanted to tell us about Christianity and we told you about atheism"
Quarantines took place throughout history, all without the least understanding of germ theory. The two ideas are not connected.
There is no evidence in the Bible of germ theory. There is evidence from the New Testament that Jesus attributed illness to demon possession.
Did you actually read Leviticus 14?
The Lord said to Moses, “These are the regulations for the diseased person at the time of his ceremonial cleansing, when he is brought to the priest: 3 The priest is to go outside the camp and examine him. If the person has been healed of his infectious skin disease 4 the priest shall order that two live clean birds and some cedar wood, scarlet yarn and hyssop be brought for the one to be cleansed. 5 Then the priest shall order that one of the birds be killed over fresh water in a clay pot. 6 He is then to take the live bird and dip it, together with the cedar wood, the scarlet yarn and the hyssop, into the blood of the bird that was killed over the fresh water. 7 Seven times he shall sprinkle the one to be cleansed of the infectious disease and pronounce him clean. Then he is to release the live bird in the open fields....”
This is religious ritual that looks like rank superstition. There is no awareness of germ theory here.
There is no evidence in the Bible of germ theory. There is evidence from the New Testament that Jesus attributed illness to demon possession.
Did you actually read Leviticus 14?
The Lord said to Moses, “These are the regulations for the diseased person at the time of his ceremonial cleansing, when he is brought to the priest: 3 The priest is to go outside the camp and examine him. If the person has been healed of his infectious skin disease 4 the priest shall order that two live clean birds and some cedar wood, scarlet yarn and hyssop be brought for the one to be cleansed. 5 Then the priest shall order that one of the birds be killed over fresh water in a clay pot. 6 He is then to take the live bird and dip it, together with the cedar wood, the scarlet yarn and the hyssop, into the blood of the bird that was killed over the fresh water. 7 Seven times he shall sprinkle the one to be cleansed of the infectious disease and pronounce him clean. Then he is to release the live bird in the open fields....”
This is religious ritual that looks like rank superstition. There is no awareness of germ theory here.
yes, if the man is healed make a sacrifice to God. It's the bible, yes God gets the glory and sacrifice was a shadow of the sacrifice to be fulfilled by the blood of Jesus Christ. Just like the Passover blood of the lamb.
You can't take away from the fact that the bible is explicitly clear about shaving the hair, cleaning the clothes, staying away from people, not going back into the tent and even dwelling outside of the city. Any person can see clearly that the bible is addressing the containment of contagious illnesses.
As far as illnesses being demon possessions I am one of those who believe some are. The bible doesn't say all are demons but it does directly address epilepsy.
You can't take away from the fact that the bible is explicitly clear about shaving the hair, cleaning the clothes, staying away from people, not going back into the tent and even dwelling outside of the city. Any person can see clearly that the bible is addressing the containment of contagious illnesses.
As far as illnesses being demon possessions I am one of those who believe some are. The bible doesn't say all are demons but it does directly address epilepsy.