A few problems I have with Christianity.

[Sushimaru]

I'm sensing quite a lot of hostility from some of the members here. I have not been hateful, I have only been asking good and honest questions, and so far they haven't been answered logically. I will try to reply to as much as I can, but I am on mobile and cannot write very fast or add extra quotes in my posts.

We are called by God to become ontologically good persons, to renew our own being (feeling compassion is normal, is nothing extraordinary about it, we are humans, not beast, but we are asked to be more than that; God embraced the human nature (trough incarnation) so that we, in return, can become Godlike (by allowing Jesus Christ in our hearts). You don`t 'buy' Heaven with good works; we don`t make business with God.



Interesting that in your previous response you find believing in God 'irrational', but you don`t find irrational believing in a higher intelligence (which is like believing in God)... am I missing something?



Why do I keep on hearing this lie about God condoning rape?
Anyway, God punishes so that people weak up from their sleep of ignorance and so they change their ways.
I am not the best person to guide you to understand the OT. Maybe someone else will explain you. Sorry.



There are no pictural representations of God the Father (at least, not in my church); the only icon that revolutionaried the byzantin tradition was that of the Saint Trinity (painted by the russian monk Andrei Rubliov) which is represented by three young men (the Saint Trinity under the image of three angels) that came in the house of Abraham. The church had to make a reunion in order to decide whether such representation of God is permitted or not. If God sais about himself "I am that I am" or "I am the alpha and the omega" etc., than how could you possibly represent that? This is why God forbidden people to make idols from the sky (like stars, moon) or from below, because people have no idea what God is.

People weren`t that hysterical (and also weren`t familiar with the political correctness) back then and weren`t insulted by words like "father" or "he" in order to refer to God. And I am not talking only about the jews, but I am talking about the common archaical religious man that had much more important things to do than a profane modern man who moves in a pointless, industrialised society and asks insolently God "why are you who you are and not who I want you to be?".



I said it as a challenge, not as a flattery. Life is a miracle. Think about that.



The man, from the most ancient times, knew that this earthly life is only shadow and dream and was struggling to place himself into the real life, the ultimate reality (which the profane man fails to aknowledge and it should be no wonder for anyone, that the profane man will get exactly what he is getting himself into: the hell of non-sense, chaos and frustration). In christianity, Hell is a consequence of Lucifer`s rebellion aganist God. People create their own prisons when they refuse to open their eyes and hearts to God (the truth).



Well, that`s the point; there is no other sacred book that talks about the relation between God and people.
Also, the authors of the Bible may not have been perfect, like you say, but they have been inspired by the Holy Spirit; they write about things that God revealed to them (truths that they could have never penetrate with their carnal minds if it wasn`t God that spoke to them and through them).

There is a difference between feeling compassion and displaying it in an act that may inconvenience yourself for the benefit of another, Simona. And you haven't answered my first question, but based on the posts of others it seems that you still go to hell even if you're a good person but are a non-believer. You must be missing a few morals of your own to not have a problem with this.

There is a huge difference between a higher intelligence and THE highest intelligence, which I understand is what God has.

So the rape part is untrue, but the slavery, murder of children and flogging are all true. If God has done this, then - no matter how much you sugar coat it - he has done something evil. Unless you think that all these terrible things aren't evil, in which case I must repeat you have a serious moral deficiency.

Regarding the 'gender' of God, this another problem I have. Everyone tells me something different. All the different explainations I've heard can't be true. So what's the cause of it? The Bible and it's teachings are cryptic. Everyone has their own interpretations.

And I'm quite aware that wasn't flattery, I was being sarcastic. You still haven't answered my question about miracles. Is it a highly unlikely event caused by God, or an impossible event caused by God?

If God is infinitely powerful and has organized everything to be the way they are, why did he ever plan for Lucifer to rebell? Why did he plan for such a vile place to be created? God CHOSE to create hell, because he is responsible for everything.

I assume you know that God helped the writers of the Bible because it says so in the Bible, correct? You are using the Bible to prove the legitimacy of the Bible. That is circular logic, any rational mind can see that it makes no sense.

 

[Sushimaru]

There is a God. That is the only way you made to this place that you are at now. Yes God will forgive any thing that you have done no matter what you have done Jesus has such a forgiving spirit you just have to ask and you will recieve.
[h=3]Matthew 7:7[/h]
[h=3]Ask, Seek, Knock[/h][SUP]7 [/SUP]“Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.

Simply stating that does not make it true. What if I don't ask for forgiveness? I am then the worst scum of the Earth and am destined for eternal damnation. I would not want to pray to a God that would torture me forever just because I refuse to accept him. It goes against every fibre of my being.

 

[Simona25]

I'm sensing quite a lot of hostility from some of the members here. I have not been hateful, I have only been asking good and honest questions, and so far they haven't been answered logically. I will try to reply to as much as I can, but I am on mobile and cannot write very fast or add extra quotes in my posts.

I think it`s because of the way you ask the questions (which, if you don`t mind my remark, are not that good and honest; as for the logic behind it...the logic that expects to figure God out in two sentences is not only stupid, but also dangerous).

So, you shouldn`t be that surprise that you can`t get nothing valuable from people here if you block the dialogue with your lazy interogatory about God.

I hope you take my critic in a constructive way and next time you want to have a dialogue (I mean a dialogue that is alive), try to understand a christian`s faith and don`t reduce what you can`t understand to "irrational" and "evil". I mean, come with an open heart and with more humbleness if you want to get the best of people.

 

[Sushimaru]

Do good people go to hell?
- Hell was made for the devil, as stated before
- Good by whose definition? Yours? Mine? That of a saint? That of a serial killer?

Animals having souls?
The bible says man was made in Gods image. It does not say this about animals. The bible is clear though, that God cares for and sustains all creation.

God being evil?
- Again: Who is to make the definition of good and evil?
- I disagree with much of what happened in the OT, but that does not have to mean God is evil. He made us, he can end us.

God being male?
God is spirit, the bible is clear on this.

Why make hell?
As said, it was made for the devil

Trusting the bible?
Do you trust your history and science books to tell you the truth? If not, how do you know that the ideas you hold are true?

If hell was made for the devil and his followers, why would I go there for not believing in God? What if I don't believe in Satan either? Where do I go then? Why do I become a Satan follower for not believing in God? Why did God not convert Lucifer back into an angel? He has infinite power, so he should be able to, right?
And let's just say the Bible's definition of good and evil. My points remain.

God made us so he can end us? Does that only sound horrible to me? He can be a hypocrite and slaughter lives and it's ok? It's good you don't agree with much of the Old Testament. Shows you have morals. But you disagreeing with what happened in the OT is you disagreeing with God himself, seeing as he was responsible for all that happened.

Yes, God is a spirit, I know this. But if we were made after his image, he must look human. And for him to look human he must have a gender. Either male or female. And God is always reffered to as a he. So yes, God is a spiritual human male. Unless he is neither male or female, but I don't see many Christians agreeing with that.

History and science books are completely different. The Bible and Christians say "Just believe". History and science books have prooven information, the Bible does not. Rational minds accept evidence when they see it and irrational minds accept things without evidence.

 

[Tr]

The bible has these story's to show you that you are to obey and not act a fool. Obey or hell, obey or die, obey or be forsaken, obey or be whipped etc

you aren't suppose to question gods power or holyness. You are not suppose to test god by making strange prayers to have him display proof of himself etc

 

[Sushimaru]

I think it`s because of the way you ask the questions (which, if you don`t mind my remark, are not that good and honest; as for the logic behind it...the logic that expects to figure God out in two sentences is not only stupid, but also dangerous).

So, you shouldn`t be that surprise that you can`t get nothing valuable from people here if you block the dialogue with your lazy interogatory about God.

I hope you take my critic in a constructive way and next time you want to have a dialogue (I mean a dialogue that is alive), try to understand a christian`s faith and don`t reduce what you can`t understand to "irrational" and "evil". I mean, come with an open heart and with more humbleness if you want to get the best of people.

I was in fact asking good and honest questions. It's healthy for people to ask these questions, and if Christianity is accurate it should have no problem handling these questions. But it does. Many problems. My goal here was to challenge the Christian community with difficult questions, so that you could answer them and explain to me why I should believe. Only one of my questions have been answered, unfortunately. And that is non-believing good people go to hell. Amazing.

God and logic in the same cup don't mix? That means God is illogical. After reading these responses, I'm growing inclined to agree.

I had very valid reasons to say what I said, and I can very easily say that you blocked out MY dialogue with your devotion to religion.

I understand that you're defending your religion, but why are you doing it with spite? Is that really the Christian way?

You must understand that you are putting all your faith into believing the Bible, but why? Because you were brought up to? What about a Muslim who was brought up to fully believe in Islam, and never even heard of Christianity? That Muslim believes with all of his heart that Allah is the true God. He is going to the Christian hell because he never prayed to Jesus Christ. Do you see what I'm saying? To believe in a religion you have to be exposed to it. If a Muslim has never been exposed to Christianity, he will ignore all signs given to him by God because he already believes in Islam, and he likely won't even notice the signs.
Was that a part of God's plan? To allow this Muslim man to never be exposed to Christianty so that he will forever remain a sinner and go to hell? It is messed up.

Sorry for rambling, just had to get that off my chest.

 

[Sushimaru]

The bible has these story's to show you that you are to obey and not act a fool. Obey or hell, obey or die, obey or be forsaken, obey or be whipped etc

you aren't suppose to question gods power or holyness. You are not suppose to test god by making strange prayers to have him display proof of himself etc

So the Old Testament are only stories, not the truth? Are you calling God a liar? You're not supposed to question God, remember?

What your saying is that we should never question anything, because everything is of God's work. Which is funny because I've heard many Christians say that you should question things! You should question God, religion and the world. It's healthy. God can handle these questions because he is all-powerful.

What your saying is very foolish and insulting to both Christians and agnostics alike.

 

[Nautilus]

I'm sensing quite a lot of hostility from some of the members here. I have not been hateful, I have only been asking good and honest questions, and so far they haven't been answered logically. I will try to reply to as much as I can, but I am on mobile and cannot write very fast or add extra quotes in my posts.
I assume you know that God helped the writers of the Bible because it says so in the Bible, correct? You are using the Bible to prove the legitimacy of the Bible. That is circular logic, any rational mind can see that it makes no sense.

Oh surprise surprise. You feel hostility? Well maybe you shouldnt come to a christian site with your little atheist youth questions, trying to stir up trouble. Its rather obvious, because you all have the same backwards questions, so why should we bother? Better to scold you and hope you leave. Don't throw pearls before swine and all that good stuff.

 

[Tintin]

1. Yes, God's grace is scandalous to our humanity. It's His undeserved love. That's kind of the point. No-one is righteous enough to reach God's standard of holiness on their own. Christians also struggle with this belief but we believe it, because God's Word (the Bible) is Absolute Truth.

2. I'm not sure. There will be animals in the New Heaven and the New Earth (the final destination for all believers in Christ) but I'm not sure if our pets will be there. Only humans are made in the Image of God. Therefore, we are above all other creations, except for angels (but they're not made in God's image either). If we believe the Bible to be true, we must believe humanity were the crown of God's creation.

3. No, God has always been both full of wrath and full of grace. Humanity experiences more of his wrathful side in the OT, before Christ comes to earth as a man. God was adamant about keeping His people holy. Sometimes that required mass killings of pagan nations and his own people, when they abandoned their God.

4. God is Spirit, neither male nor female. Humans embody some of his character though, since we're made in his image. Christ Jesus was and is male though, but he was/is a Jew, born in the Middle East. It's likely he had dark, olive skin. Certainly not pale Caucasian skin.

5. A miracle is when God intervenes in his creation and sometimes changes the laws of physics etc. for the purposes of His Kingdom.

6. Hell was originally created for Satan and his demons. Those who don't believe and trust in God and make sacrifices to Him in payment for their sins (OT times) and believe and trust in the living sacrifice that was Christ Jesus (NT times), don't go to live with their Creator. We're all destined for Hell, but Christ is our Saviour and only hope. Also, why would non-believers want to live forever with a God they don't believe it, but still often hate?

7. This has already been answered. Also, the Holy Spirit (the third person of the Trinity - God in three persons, being one God), gave the Bible writers the message to write, while letting them use their own writing style and voice to communicate God's Truth to His people.

 

[Nuns_n_roses]

Hello Sushimaru.

I think we all need to take a deep breath here and remember we are all searching for significance. Some search in synagogues or temples or nature.

I apologize for all this hostility Sushimaru! You came seeking answers to questions we all ask at some point.

I would love to answer these questions via PM with you and we can discuss these questions. I hope you decide to so we can go through each question one by one.

Also wanted to note (concerning the last few posts) that my own personal belief is that people are not condemned in ignorance. The gospel is becoming common knowledge, and every faith believes they have the key. So what makes Christianity different? I can help you figure that out if you desire.

I do hope you PM me. If nothing else we have dissenting opinions and a nice theological chat.

God bless!

 

[Simona25]

If a Muslim has never been exposed to Christianity, he will ignore all signs given to him by God because he already believes in Islam, and he likely won't even notice the signs.
Was that a part of God's plan? To allow this Muslim man to never be exposed to Christianty so that he will forever remain a sinner and go to hell? It is messed up.

Since the Quran presents the reflections that Muhamad made regarding the judeo-christians writings and teachings, it is very unlikely that a muslim person had never heard of God and Jesus Christ.

 

[Tintin]

All pagan religions (man-made ones) are corruptions of the one true God and his nature, as revealed in the Bible. The early writings of Genesis describe the scattering of nations after the Tower of Babel incident. Naturally, all began with a belief in the one true God, but either early on or over time, nations rejected their Creator. So all began with a belief in God, but not all believe in God. Everyone has a need to worship something, someone greater than themselves, and that One is God. The spreading of the Good News is reminding the lost of what their ancestors knew and rejected and what is written on their hearts about their Creator.

 

[biscuit]

I have some problems with Christianity, which is why I'm unsure of God's existance. I'll ask some questions, get these ironed out, and hopefully I can make a decision. Keep in mind I'm only 16, so go easy on me

1. Does a good person go to hell if they don't accept God? It seems very unjust for a criminal to pray for forgiveness and go to heaven, while a good person goes to hell if they don't.

2. Why do Christians believe animals don't have souls? Just because humans are more intelligent and have an understanding of God? What if aliens are discovered, who are more intelligent and have a better understanding of God? Do we no longer have souls then?

3. Was God once evil? In the old testament he caused much death and suffering, more than any human (obviously more creation, too). How can God be all loving, caring and forgiving if he was capable of such atrocities?

4. Why is God typically a white male? Shouldn't God - who is loving of everyone, and inspires love and tolerance in everyone for everyone - be gender-less and race-less?

5. What is a miracle? A highly unlikely event caused by God, or an impossible event caused by God?

6. Why would God - who is loving, and also responsible for everything that ever has or ever will exist - create hell, or sins that lure people into hell? It sounds twisted.

7. Why do Christians believe the Bible? How do they know that it truly contains God's words, if the quill holder was a sinful man?

Those are some of the questions and concerns I have. I may have more later. Please understand that I am not hating, these are genuine questions that I wish to be answered peacefully and intelligently. I very much want God to be real, but I even more so want the truth. Also, please no "You just have to accept your lord Jesus Christ, and you'll know the truth". How can I accept him if I don't fully believe in him?

Thank you to who ever takes the time to answer my questions Peace.

Hi Sushimaru,

You are asking some complex questions that will require so serious reading & research on your part for you to truly understand from our perspective. You must understand that we are God's creation, and He can do whatever He wants when we decide to go against His will. He has given us free will and we basically can do what we want, but we will have to pay for our missteps that we call sins. God has given us so much and ask for so little in return. He even gave His only begotten Son to pay for our sins. I call that PURE LOVE!!! How many people do you know at this moment who are willing to die for your mistakes(sins). The best step in learning more about our loving Father is just to start reading the Bible and rent Christian DVD's on various topics related to the Bible. What make God/Jesus such a incredible Savior is that He has told us for the last 2000 years what we need & must do to stay out of hell and spend eternal life with Him.

 

[sc81]

4. God is Spirit, neither male nor female. Humans embody some of his character though, since we're made in his image. Christ Jesus was and is male though, but he was/is a Jew, born in the Middle East. It's likely he had dark, olive skin. Certainly not pale Caucasian skin.

people keep repeating this "dark skinned" myth.

jews are generally very light skinned, as light as any white person.

like bar refaeli, a jewish model, blue eyes, light hair/skin



so you either need to accept that either Jesus could have easily been light skinned, or the jews nowdays aren't the same people.

He wasn't black though which i've seen some groups claim for their own reasons


God isn't genderless either, he's described in masculine characteristics

 

[biscuit]

people keep repeating this "dark skinned" myth.

jews are generally very light skinned, as light as any white person.

like bar refaeli, a jewish model, blue eyes, light hair/skin

View attachment 70957

so you either need to accept that either Jesus could have easily been light skinned, or the jews nowdays aren't the same people.

He wasn't black though which i've seen some groups claim for their own reasons


God isn't genderless either, he's described in masculine characteristics

Sorry, but Tintin is correct. When the Jews were forced out of their homeland, most were scattered into Europe and the USA. And many of them married into the Caucasian culture, which accounts for their lighter shade of skin color.

 

[sc81]

Sorry, but Tintin is correct. When the Jews were forced out of their homeland, most were scattered into Europe and the USA. And many of them married into the Caucasian culture, which accounts for their lighter shade of skin color.

then they cannot be jews then if they are mixed

also show me proof of their skin colour in you are so sure.

 

[biscuit]

then they cannot be jews then if they are mixed

also show me proof of their skin colour in you are so sure.

I will answer the first question for you. What makes a person a Jew? Faith in God and it has nothing to do with one's skin color. A significant number of Moses' followers out of Eygpt were Black. At least one of Moses' wives was Black. A large number of Ethiopians were flown out of their country by the Israel government because they were members of the twelves tribes of Israel. If that is not proof of skin color , then I don't know what is.

 

[biscuit]

If both man and woman are Jewish, they can marry regardless of race. You may want to read the story of Ruth, who worshipped a pagan god and sacrifice children before turning to the Jewish faith. She married Boaz who was a wealthy Jewish landowner.

This post is for sc81

 

[AgeofKnowledge]

I normally don't respond to long lists of questions because the back and forth discussion on all the various questions can become very confusing. Let's look at question number one (1.) first.

The human person possesses intellect, emotion, will, and conscience. They are capable of thinking, feeling, and choosing. They have the moral capacity to know right from wrong. As such, humans are morally responsible to Creator God the Moral Lawgiver.

While God is responsible for the fact of freedom (which made evil possible), people are responsible for their acts of freedom (which make evil actual). God gave the power of choice, and instead of choosing to obey and follow the good, they disobeyed and exercised free choice for sin. Hence, evil arose from the free will of the good creatures that God made.

The result was that sin marred God's unblemished creation leaving humanity humanly (but not divinely) irreparable. When this fallen condition is viewed in the light of God's abolutely perfect nature, the ultimate standard of purity and holiness, the stark contrast reveals a horrible picture of human depravity.

Sin extends to every part of human nature, including body and soul, mind, will, and emotion. No facet of our being is immune to sin's pervasive influence. Sin affects the human race overall and each individual (Rom. 3:23) making the entire human race fallen and irredeemable except by God's grace (Titus 3:5-7; Eph. 2:8-9). Each individual is a fallen person including their mind, emotions, will, and body.

Of course, while this depravity does not mean that everyone is as evil as they are able to be, it does mean that they are not as good as they need to be. Hence, God's grace is the only force in the universe that can overcome the natural irredeemability of human beings and God Himself within a person overcome the vast and devastating effects of sin (Titus 2:ll-13).

This is why Jesus said, "No one is good except God alone." Jesus’ lesson there is that goodness flows not from a man’s deeds, but rather from God Himself. Jesus is drawing a distinction between humanity’s standard of goodness and God’s standard.

The Imago Dei (e.g. image of God) in humanity has been marred by sin but not erased. People are still capable, under the pervasive influence of the Holy Spirit, of accepting the gospel and being saved. God created only good creatures, but He permitted freewill which resulted in evil and He acted to ultimately conquer evil forever. The defeat of sin will one day be complete and final.

Salvation originates with God and is based in an unconditional act of His boundless love and unmerited grace. Even before we are saved, God is at work in grace and conviction. When one receives the initial act of salvation (justification), at that very instant he or she is sealed by the Holy Spirit, baptized into the body of Christ, redeemed, regenerated, born again, adopted into God's family, reconciled to God, and forgiven of sin based on the mediation and atonement of Christ.
All of these saving acts are made possible only because of the substitutionary death of Jesus on behalf of our sins, whereby the Just died for the unjust in order that God's justice may be satisfied and His mercy justify the unjust.

Are you beginning to understand how a "good" person who rejects God's atonement never is born again and able to enter the kingdom of God while a "bad" person who genuinely repents (e.g. from their heart) and in faith accepts God's atonement (justification) and is born again into the kingdom of God and able to enter heaven?

And note that salvation does not end with a single act of justification. This is only the first stage by which one is saved from the penalty of sin. Salvation also involves a lifelong process of sanctification by which we are purified and saved from the power of sin over us. This culminates at death when our redemption climaxes with an act of glorification delivering us from the very presence of sin and lose the desire to ever sin again. We will see God face-to-face (in the Beatific Vision) having come full circle with Imago Dei completely restored.

I have some problems with Christianity, which is why I'm unsure of God's existance. I'll ask some questions, get these ironed out, and hopefully I can make a decision. Keep in mind I'm only 16, so go easy on me

1. Does a good person go to hell if they don't accept God? It seems very unjust for a criminal to pray for forgiveness and go to heaven, while a good person goes to hell if they don't.

2. Why do Christians believe animals don't have souls? Just because humans are more intelligent and have an understanding of God? What if aliens are discovered, who are more intelligent and have a better understanding of God? Do we no longer have souls then?

3. Was God once evil? In the old testament he caused much death and suffering, more than any human (obviously more creation, too). How can God be all loving, caring and forgiving if he was capable of such atrocities?

4. Why is God typically a white male? Shouldn't God - who is loving of everyone, and inspires love and tolerance in everyone for everyone - be gender-less and race-less?

5. What is a miracle? A highly unlikely event caused by God, or an impossible event caused by God?

6. Why would God - who is loving, and also responsible for everything that ever has or ever will exist - create hell, or sins that lure people into hell? It sounds twisted.

7. Why do Christians believe the Bible? How do they know that it truly contains God's words, if the quill holder was a sinful man?

Those are some of the questions and concerns I have. I may have more later. Please understand that I am not hating, these are genuine questions that I wish to be answered peacefully and intelligently. I very much want God to be real, but I even more so want the truth. Also, please no "You just have to accept your lord Jesus Christ, and you'll know the truth". How can I accept him if I don't fully believe in him?

Thank you to who ever takes the time to answer my questions Peace.

 

[LovelyU]

Hi Sushimaru, I really liked your questions so I thought I'd try to answer them to the best of my knowledge, sorry I put this all in a quote cos' I'm not sure how to separate all the questions, they're just my beliefs but I hope this helps

1. Does a good person go to hell if they don't accept God? It seems very unjust for a criminal to pray for forgiveness and go to heaven, while a good person goes to hell if they don't.

All judgement will be fair and just

2. Why do Christians believe animals don't have souls? Just because humans are more intelligent and have an understanding of God? What if aliens are discovered, who are more intelligent and have a better understanding of God? Do we no longer have souls then?

The truth is nobody knows, personally I would believe they would have some sort of soul because of the different natures and characteristics

3. Was God once evil? In the old testament he caused much death and suffering, more than any human (obviously more creation, too). How can God be all loving, caring and forgiving if he was capable of such atrocities?

To believe in God is to believe in the Living Spirit, we live after death. Some may have suffered for their sins but others may have been taken swiftly with no suffering, and then there is life still so dying is not the end, it is only the end here on earth. Perhaps they were taken from a terrible existence? Whatever the reason you must remember that God is loving, caring and forgiving, capable of such atrocities - yes! They are seen as atrocities to us but only because we can't see past the end of our lives in flesh.

4. Why is God typically a white male? Shouldn't God - who is loving of everyone, and inspires love and tolerance in everyone for everyone - be gender-less and race-less?

What matters is he made us in his image, the colours of our skin doesn't matter to God, in his eyes we are made in his image that is all. He IS race-less. WE are the ones who created racism by skin colour, WE have been the ones colour matters to when it shouldn't so his skin colour just doesn't matter. Is God Male or Female, or both? Or is gender completely different from us? We were made in his image, but we weren't made exactly alike, our sexual organs are more alike animals, weather or not they are the same for God we don't know, there is much much more to learn and understand in heaven, more than we could imagine. We are flesh, our spirits may resemble ourselves but what organs would a spirit require?

5. What is a miracle? A highly unlikely event caused by God, or an impossible event caused by God?

A miracle is an extraordinary and welcome event that is not explicable by natural or scientific laws and is therefore attributed to a divine agency, so basically an impossible event. But we can only know possibilities, not outcomes and because we can't foresee weather or not something WOULD have happened or wouldn't have some may be seen as just highly unlikely events when they are/were in-fact impossible events but how are we to know? We seem to call those with the highest possibilities of a terrible outcome miracles or the obvious impossible events definite miracles.

6. Why would God - who is loving, and also responsible for everything that ever has or ever will exist - create hell, or sins that lure people into hell? It sounds twisted.

God didn't create Hell to "lure" people into Hell. God created Hell to hold Satan. It is our own free will which lures us into Hell. We can choose to go to Hell, or choose to go to Heaven by our actions or hearts intentions and God will judge us and put us in our places accordingly. There are bad/evil spirits which we call demons working for Satan to try to persuade or lure us to Hell but there are also good ones who try to persuade us to seek God and Jesus Christ. As there are people too who do these things. It's not really as twisted as it sounds, it's just a choice, there are actually people who would knowingly choose Hell, and for those who have no choice God will know exactly what to do with them because he sees a souls intentions. The decision will be to his discretion.


7. Why do Christians believe the Bible? How do they know that it truly contains God's words, if the quill holder was a sinful man?

For myself my Bible is a book of testimony's from people who have encountered the Living Spirit of Christ and the experiences they've had with him themselves to show or tell of God and Jesus Christ, how real they are and how we should trust in him, pray to him, follow him and why. It also tells of things to come according to God and things we should take example from. Things we should and shouldn't do to be certain we will go to heaven that have been made clear to those who tell their stories in the Bible. The real truth though you will only find when the Holy Spirit fills you, when you introduce yourself to God and ask Jesus Christ into your heart, believing in him will bring you the truth and you'll know when you find it. Until then, I hope this helps you to understand a little more.

"You just have to accept your lord Jesus Christ, and you'll know the truth". How can I accept him if I don't fully believe in him?

With complete trust and confidence in him, that he will come. Faith.

Well I tried my best to answer your questions. Before any other members criticise my answers, these are only MY answers, it is up to the reader to decide weather they make sense for them or not and if not maybe you have better answers or ways to understand or different understandings. Much love to you and Sushimaru I hope you find what you're looking for.