Is It Okay For a Non-Believer To Pick a Few Brains?

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livvit

Guest
#21
#21
Jennyyyyy said:
I'm so sorry for the long post, I hope this is what you were looking for:

I would say the most important thing Christianity says about God- well it's a multitude

1.) that He exists, is all-loving, ever -present, omnipotent, omniscient, and eternal. He is perfectly good, just, and righteous, and most importantly (I think) merciful.
2.)That He created the Universe, and the Heavens, and humanity in his image
3.)That He guides us, according to his plan- He has an individualized plan for every one of us on earth, and tries to keep us from straying.

These are his characteristics, or what Christians attribute to him. You can't really say it's one 'thing' in particular, because all of these things work in conjunction.

To answer who He is, you'd also have to consider what He does…

The biggest comfort to humanity- well
1.)God created what He created for us, and we are the pinnacle of His creation
2.)There is someone always looking out for you, watching your back, who wants you to succeed. (which means different things for everyone)
3.)There is someone who will listen to you, loves you unconditionally, so long as you embrace him.
4.)Death is not the end of life, and because God is good, the afterlife will be good. You can say your eternity has already started, and death is just kind of like, a transitional rite of passage into the next stage.

I may have missed some, but these are what I've managed to compile over the years of talking to people of many denominations of Christianity.
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Based on the above response I will rephrase my questions to you all:

What do all the tenets of Christianity say that God, the creator and sustainer of the universe, thinks is of utmost importance in this existence that we all share? What does he favor and reward above anything else? And what does that say about him? What is the greatest thing he has accomplished and what does that say about him?

Also, would you all agree that the greatest news we could ever receive in life or death is that Jesus has come to save us from our sins? Of so, what in your perception of the world, not your perception of what the Bible says about the world - what in your perception of the world, tells you that our situation is truly this dire and the stakes this high?

I have answers to these questions, I’m trying to gauge yours. I’m trying to cut through the Sunday School platitudes and get you to consider the bottom line about what you believe and about this God in whom you believe.

Thanks again. You’ve all been very helpful. And Jenny, I’m not picking on your response, this just got me thinking that your response is probably representative of the majority of responses I would get.
 
lookwhatthelordhasdone

lookwhatthelordhasdone

Senior Member
#22
Oct 11, 2012
1,026
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#22
lookwhatthelordhasdone said:
Now when I say 'I won't defend why I believe what I do', I mean by my own logic and reasoning. I use God's logic and reasoning, a.k.a. the Bible.

Like I said in my earlier post, even when Jesus was tempted by Satan, he quoted the Bible. That's what I use and its the only thing I need.
My way of thinking and reasoning is flawed, just like everyone else. If I use that, instead of the Bible, then I'm not doing any justice. All of the answers for any question in life is in that book.


Anyhow, I hope the questions you have can be answered! God bless.
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I added this before, which explains that I will not use my own logic and reasoning to defend what I believe, not that I won't defend at all.

Of course I post with emotion and sentiment. God is everything to me and I love him with all my heart! He washed my sins and saved my soul. He loves me despite being cloaked with sin. Think about your father, or a family member you love very much. The way you feel when you talk about them, is how I feel when I talk about my father!

As for the intellectual non-believers, most likely they have already studied the Bible as well as many others. They have looked and searched for hardcore evidence, as you have asked me to provide in such circumstance. If they haven't found it through their research, then how am I supposed to help them?

I don't search for hard evidence that my God is real, because I know he is. I understand that others may want the proof, but even if there is, which there is, it's still subjective.
Let's just say I had a video that showed Jesus was real and proved everything that the Bible talked about. Some people would still look at that and say, 'Well, how do I know that's really Jesus? How do I know those sick people just became well on their own, and it wasn't Jesus healing them? How do I know that was Jesus who rose from the dead, and not just some other guy who looked like him?'

There will always be questions and doubts when you are basing your choice on proof, logic, and reasoning. That is the reason why I say, if you want to believe, you will. Faith is the key.

Jesus answered them, “I assure you: If you have faith and do not doubt, you will not only do what was done to the fig tree, but even if you tell this mountain, ‘Be lifted up and thrown into the sea,’ it will be done. Matthew 21:21

For in it God’s righteousness is revealed from faith to faith, just as it is written: The righteous will live by faith. Romans 1:17


God gives you his word to read. He gives you the choice to believe in him or not. Although we are used as his vessels, we can not convince you. That has to come from inside of yourself. All that I, or any other christian can do, is let the holy spirit move within us, and say whatever God wants us to. In the end, the choice has to be yours.
 
lookwhatthelordhasdone

lookwhatthelordhasdone

Senior Member
#23
Oct 11, 2012
1,026
10
38
#23
livvit said:
I certainly have gotten a lot of responses, and I am grateful. I'd like to respond to lookwhatthelordhasdone first, if I may.

First of all...



…this isn't exactly what I am doing here.
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Oh, by the way, I thought I had explained that was for the person who had posted above me. I had scanned the thread and thought Jenny was the one who had started it. Once I had read it over, I realized that it was you and decided to post it anyway because it took a long time to type out. I must forgotten to take that part out.
 
L

livvit

Guest
#24
#24
Understood.

Thank you for answering my questions.
 
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