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T
So, if I knew that you were going to be my child and that you would say you would love me, would that be pointless too?
It would be, if you knew exactly what I was going to say. My favorite story of God being a “corrupt” god is when he tells Abraham to sacrifice his son, Isaac. God knew, even before he told Abraham, that Abraham would listen to God till the very end, yet He told Abraham to do so. The only outcome out of that situation was putting a lot of stress on Abraham and probably scarring his and Isaac’s relationship for the rest of their lives (I know I sure would be angry at my father if he tied me down and tried to cut me open).
The pagans thought that by their many words they would get the attention of God.
Catholics (I’m not sure if the rest of Christians are included in this) copied the pagans when they created the Fatima prayer, the rosary, and the kind that repeats things over and over.
I do not talk to my dad every day because i don't live anywhere near him. I call him up about once a week or every two weeks to see how life is going for him and letting him know how mine is as well.
Hypothetically, if you lived with your dad you wouldn't just not talk to him every day.
I don’t think you quite understand what I mean. Do you say hi to your sibling(s)/parent(s) every time you walk past them in the house? Do you feel the need to talk to them every single chance you get? Of course not, you’ve gotten to know them so well that simply a smile says everything. When you get to truly know someone you no longer need to talk to them because the way they are carrying themselves and the vibe they put out says it all. Only when you aren’t completely comfortable with people is when you feel the need to talk to them whenever you can. Walking past friends in school for example and things of the sort, you just want to because until then you can’t truly love that person for who they are (because you don’t know who they truly are yet). Similarly with God, when you’re truly comfortable with him, there is no reason to say anything. A simple smile and his wondrous works will do.
What?
When I'm talking to God, I really do say "You are worthy to receive glory and might and honor and wealth and thanksgiving and blessing..." not because I'm trying to get something from Him but because I want to glorify Him. These were the first words I said to God - and it doesn't mean I'm better than anyone for saying them.
God is content with a child-like heart simply saying "I love you."
He is unhappy with one who says all of the above, yet has no heart in any of it.
Instead of rambling on (like the pagans) isn’t it easier and more to the point to say something to the effect of “you are my everything”?
Yep, When I watch movies again, even knowing what's going to happen, I don't get bored!
But it's not like "watching a movie" to God - it's interacting with and loving His creation.
You may not get bored watching a movie over a couple times (I’ve watched some of my favorites like 5-10 times without becoming bored yet either), but imagine being forced to watch the same movie, even your favorite one, over and over every single day for the rest of your life… and for the rest of eternity. After a while wouldn’t you regret that time of day when you had to wake up and watch it again? How is it not like a movie? Even when he interacts with his creation he had known from the beginning of time that he would be interacting with his creation at that exact moment in time, every time.
Well then, you must be deserving of heaven, am I correct?
I am nowhere near deserving of heaven, I’m just don’t like that God put me into this world to be forced into heaven or hell. He knew I was going to think this before he created me which means it would have been easier to have either never created me in the first place (showing that he’s at least a little bit more loving in the fact that he doesn’t need everyone to be tortured in hell), or to uncreate me after my death (which sadly I know is not going to happen after I die).
It's another thing to just accuse God of being, quite frankly, a mass murderer (what you wrote sounds more like a quote out of a Richard Dawkins book than something you would truly get from reading the Old Testament, but...), which He's not - unless, of course, burning children is okay for you, which it's not for God:
I don’t remember if I said this before, but I have read a lot of the old testament and know the killing God was directly involved in.
I never asked to be created. I never asked for anything, so if it's taken away from me i will not pout, i will not care, all i'm going to do is take advantage of the time that has been given to me. When you say "true worshipers" I get the feeling you will follow God to the very end no matter what without question which reminds me of Samurai's. I think you should watch a Samurai movie sometime to see an outside view of what you're like.
Well things are changing, if God really wants everyone to make it to heaven then he had better do something soon. Christianity is a slowly dying religion, the fastest growing is atheism.
What? XD Maybe in America, though that's no surprise to me.
I would agree that Atheism certainly is a religion, though. There certainly is one god they worship - themselves.
I don’t think you quite know how big Atheism is becoming. Europe is actually the strongest atheist/agnostic continent in the world, and I think Japan is the least religious country in the world, I’m not exactly sure on that one though. And whoops, I said that wrong; atheism is not a religion. Just as not playing a football does not count as a sport, not watching TV does not count as a hobby, not working out does not count as an exercise, and not listening to the radio is not a station. “Hey, what’s your favorite channel [religion]?” “I can’t stand TV [religion].” “What? Why would you like that station [religion]!?” – doesn’t make a whole lot of sense does it?
See Philippians 2:5-11.
Exodus 20:4-5
I've tried for the last 18 years of my life, but after thinking about the kind of God he is, it's very hard for me to accept him after reading the Bible and finding out exactly the kind of God he is, putting two and two together, puts me on the rocks with Him.
“Whoever acknowledges me before men, I will also acknowledge him before my Father in heaven. But whoever disowns me before men, I will disown him before my Father in heaven.” (Matthew 10:32-33)
Just pray, Thomas, that even through this period of doubting God that you are able to draw closer to Him.
I guess I just don't know what to say Thomas - it seems that you don't want to pray to God.
I don’t want to because I don’t want to worship a deity that allows so much suffering. He cannot get my full respect until he fixes all the problems in this world. I hate death, but pain and suffering even more. If you could choose between instant death or suffering unimaginably the rest of your life without any other consequences after it, which would you choose? I would never wish death upon even my worst enemies, but it would be even more psychotic to torture my enemies for having tried to shoot/kill me. Would I be a more “loving” psychopath if I had chained my enemy up to a wall and tortured him every day then forced him to eat and drink in order to stay alive so I could keep torturing him for the rest of his life, or would I be “nicer” by putting an end to his misery? God is doing the same thing to everyone he sends to hell. Would it be more loving of him to allow a person to eternal punishment or would it be better of him to uncreate them, thereby ending their suffering?
What I’m saying is that if I am kind enough to do everything in my power to keep people from suffering, and God isn’t (which he should be kinder than me because he is a God) then I’m putting my foot down and letting him know that what he’s doing is sick and I’m willing to be sent to hell if he will just stop allowing people to be tortured and at least uncreate them after their death.
It would be, if you knew exactly what I was going to say. My favorite story of God being a “corrupt” god is when he tells Abraham to sacrifice his son, Isaac. God knew, even before he told Abraham, that Abraham would listen to God till the very end, yet He told Abraham to do so. The only outcome out of that situation was putting a lot of stress on Abraham and probably scarring his and Isaac’s relationship for the rest of their lives (I know I sure would be angry at my father if he tied me down and tried to cut me open).
The pagans thought that by their many words they would get the attention of God.
Catholics (I’m not sure if the rest of Christians are included in this) copied the pagans when they created the Fatima prayer, the rosary, and the kind that repeats things over and over.
I do not talk to my dad every day because i don't live anywhere near him. I call him up about once a week or every two weeks to see how life is going for him and letting him know how mine is as well.
Hypothetically, if you lived with your dad you wouldn't just not talk to him every day.
I don’t think you quite understand what I mean. Do you say hi to your sibling(s)/parent(s) every time you walk past them in the house? Do you feel the need to talk to them every single chance you get? Of course not, you’ve gotten to know them so well that simply a smile says everything. When you get to truly know someone you no longer need to talk to them because the way they are carrying themselves and the vibe they put out says it all. Only when you aren’t completely comfortable with people is when you feel the need to talk to them whenever you can. Walking past friends in school for example and things of the sort, you just want to because until then you can’t truly love that person for who they are (because you don’t know who they truly are yet). Similarly with God, when you’re truly comfortable with him, there is no reason to say anything. A simple smile and his wondrous works will do.
What?
When I'm talking to God, I really do say "You are worthy to receive glory and might and honor and wealth and thanksgiving and blessing..." not because I'm trying to get something from Him but because I want to glorify Him. These were the first words I said to God - and it doesn't mean I'm better than anyone for saying them.
God is content with a child-like heart simply saying "I love you."
He is unhappy with one who says all of the above, yet has no heart in any of it.
Instead of rambling on (like the pagans) isn’t it easier and more to the point to say something to the effect of “you are my everything”?
Yep, When I watch movies again, even knowing what's going to happen, I don't get bored!
But it's not like "watching a movie" to God - it's interacting with and loving His creation.
You may not get bored watching a movie over a couple times (I’ve watched some of my favorites like 5-10 times without becoming bored yet either), but imagine being forced to watch the same movie, even your favorite one, over and over every single day for the rest of your life… and for the rest of eternity. After a while wouldn’t you regret that time of day when you had to wake up and watch it again? How is it not like a movie? Even when he interacts with his creation he had known from the beginning of time that he would be interacting with his creation at that exact moment in time, every time.
Well then, you must be deserving of heaven, am I correct?
I am nowhere near deserving of heaven, I’m just don’t like that God put me into this world to be forced into heaven or hell. He knew I was going to think this before he created me which means it would have been easier to have either never created me in the first place (showing that he’s at least a little bit more loving in the fact that he doesn’t need everyone to be tortured in hell), or to uncreate me after my death (which sadly I know is not going to happen after I die).
It's another thing to just accuse God of being, quite frankly, a mass murderer (what you wrote sounds more like a quote out of a Richard Dawkins book than something you would truly get from reading the Old Testament, but...), which He's not - unless, of course, burning children is okay for you, which it's not for God:
I don’t remember if I said this before, but I have read a lot of the old testament and know the killing God was directly involved in.
I never asked to be created. I never asked for anything, so if it's taken away from me i will not pout, i will not care, all i'm going to do is take advantage of the time that has been given to me. When you say "true worshipers" I get the feeling you will follow God to the very end no matter what without question which reminds me of Samurai's. I think you should watch a Samurai movie sometime to see an outside view of what you're like.
Well things are changing, if God really wants everyone to make it to heaven then he had better do something soon. Christianity is a slowly dying religion, the fastest growing is atheism.
What? XD Maybe in America, though that's no surprise to me.
I would agree that Atheism certainly is a religion, though. There certainly is one god they worship - themselves.
I don’t think you quite know how big Atheism is becoming. Europe is actually the strongest atheist/agnostic continent in the world, and I think Japan is the least religious country in the world, I’m not exactly sure on that one though. And whoops, I said that wrong; atheism is not a religion. Just as not playing a football does not count as a sport, not watching TV does not count as a hobby, not working out does not count as an exercise, and not listening to the radio is not a station. “Hey, what’s your favorite channel [religion]?” “I can’t stand TV [religion].” “What? Why would you like that station [religion]!?” – doesn’t make a whole lot of sense does it?
See Philippians 2:5-11.
Exodus 20:4-5
I've tried for the last 18 years of my life, but after thinking about the kind of God he is, it's very hard for me to accept him after reading the Bible and finding out exactly the kind of God he is, putting two and two together, puts me on the rocks with Him.
“Whoever acknowledges me before men, I will also acknowledge him before my Father in heaven. But whoever disowns me before men, I will disown him before my Father in heaven.” (Matthew 10:32-33)
Just pray, Thomas, that even through this period of doubting God that you are able to draw closer to Him.
I guess I just don't know what to say Thomas - it seems that you don't want to pray to God.
I don’t want to because I don’t want to worship a deity that allows so much suffering. He cannot get my full respect until he fixes all the problems in this world. I hate death, but pain and suffering even more. If you could choose between instant death or suffering unimaginably the rest of your life without any other consequences after it, which would you choose? I would never wish death upon even my worst enemies, but it would be even more psychotic to torture my enemies for having tried to shoot/kill me. Would I be a more “loving” psychopath if I had chained my enemy up to a wall and tortured him every day then forced him to eat and drink in order to stay alive so I could keep torturing him for the rest of his life, or would I be “nicer” by putting an end to his misery? God is doing the same thing to everyone he sends to hell. Would it be more loving of him to allow a person to eternal punishment or would it be better of him to uncreate them, thereby ending their suffering?
What I’m saying is that if I am kind enough to do everything in my power to keep people from suffering, and God isn’t (which he should be kinder than me because he is a God) then I’m putting my foot down and letting him know that what he’s doing is sick and I’m willing to be sent to hell if he will just stop allowing people to be tortured and at least uncreate them after their death.
Z
So, if I knew that you were going to be my child and that you would say you would love me, would that be pointless too?
It would be, if you knew exactly what I was going to say. My favorite story of God being a “corrupt” god is when he tells Abraham to sacrifice his son, Isaac. God knew, even before he told Abraham, that Abraham would listen to God till the very end, yet He told Abraham to do so. The only outcome out of that situation was putting a lot of stress on Abraham and probably scarring his and Isaac’s relationship for the rest of their lives (I know I sure would be angry at my father if he tied me down and tried to cut me open).
Again, this isn't for this thread. Open up another thread if you want to discuss this - this thread is about prayer.
The pagans thought that by their many words they would get the attention of God.
Catholics (I’m not sure if the rest of Christians are included in this) copied the pagans when they created the Fatima prayer, the rosary, and the kind that repeats things over and over.
Well, a Catholic would have to respond to you there - I'm protestant.
I do not talk to my dad every day because i don't live anywhere near him. I call him up about once a week or every two weeks to see how life is going for him and letting him know how mine is as well.
Hypothetically, if you lived with your dad you wouldn't just not talk to him every day.
I don’t think you quite understand what I mean. Do you say hi to your sibling(s)/parent(s) every time you walk past them in the house? Do you feel the need to talk to them every single chance you get? Of course not, you’ve gotten to know them so well that simply a smile says everything. When you get to truly know someone you no longer need to talk to them because the way they are carrying themselves and the vibe they put out says it all. Only when you aren’t completely comfortable with people is when you feel the need to talk to them whenever you can. Walking past friends in school for example and things of the sort, you just want to because until then you can’t truly love that person for who they are (because you don’t know who they truly are yet). Similarly with God, when you’re truly comfortable with him, there is no reason to say anything. A simple smile and his wondrous works will do.
From what I understand, you aren't even Christian, so how could you know what it means to have a relationship with Him? I'm not trying to be harsh - but that's like me telling you that I know your parents personally, even though I've never talked to them or met them before.
And correct me if I'm wrong on that - just the fact that you seem to have an angst against God and the fact that you call yourself a "non-christian" seems to just suggest this.
What?
When I'm talking to God, I really do say "You are worthy to receive glory and might and honor and wealth and thanksgiving and blessing..." not because I'm trying to get something from Him but because I want to glorify Him. These were the first words I said to God - and it doesn't mean I'm better than anyone for saying them.
God is content with a child-like heart simply saying "I love you."
He is unhappy with one who says all of the above, yet has no heart in any of it.
Instead of rambling on (like the pagans) isn’t it easier and more to the point to say something to the effect of “you are my everything”?
Sure- would you even say that to God though, Thomas?
Yep, When I watch movies again, even knowing what's going to happen, I don't get bored!
But it's not like "watching a movie" to God - it's interacting with and loving His creation.
You may not get bored watching a movie over a couple times (I’ve watched some of my favorites like 5-10 times without becoming bored yet either), but imagine being forced to watch the same movie, even your favorite one, over and over every single day for the rest of your life… and for the rest of eternity. After a while wouldn’t you regret that time of day when you had to wake up and watch it again? How is it not like a movie? Even when he interacts with his creation he had known from the beginning of time that he would be interacting with his creation at that exact moment in time, every time.
God's not constantly rewinding time then changing events - He knows the future. He doesn't get bored with us, but we get bored with Him - do you not remember that we're fallen beings?
Well then, you must be deserving of heaven, am I correct?
I am nowhere near deserving of heaven, I’m just don’t like that God put me into this world to be forced into heaven or hell. He knew I was going to think this before he created me which means it would have been easier to have either never created me in the first place (showing that he’s at least a little bit more loving in the fact that he doesn’t need everyone to be tortured in hell), or to uncreate me after my death (which sadly I know is not going to happen after I die).
Right - He could have. The fact that you know that should prompt you to run into His arms. We're saved from God's wrath by embracing His mercy on us - He gives us grace every day by just letting us live. This is the time to jump into the arms of Christ.
It's another thing to just accuse God of being, quite frankly, a mass murderer (what you wrote sounds more like a quote out of a Richard Dawkins book than something you would truly get from reading the Old Testament, but...), which He's not - unless, of course, burning children is okay for you, which it's not for God:
I don’t remember if I said this before, but I have read a lot of the old testament and know the killing God was directly involved in.
Okay - again, this is more suitable for another thread. Maybe title it "Murder in the Old Testament" or something along those lines.
I never asked to be created. I never asked for anything, so if it's taken away from me i will not pout, i will not care, all i'm going to do is take advantage of the time that has been given to me. When you say "true worshipers" I get the feeling you will follow God to the very end no matter what without question which reminds me of Samurai's. I think you should watch a Samurai movie sometime to see an outside view of what you're like.
I answered this one before (look above).
Well things are changing, if God really wants everyone to make it to heaven then he had better do something soon. Christianity is a slowly dying religion, the fastest growing is atheism.
What? XD Maybe in America, though that's no surprise to me.
I would agree that Atheism certainly is a religion, though. There certainly is one god they worship - themselves.
I don’t think you quite know how big Atheism is becoming. Europe is actually the strongest atheist/agnostic continent in the world, and I think Japan is the least religious country in the world, I’m not exactly sure on that one though. And whoops, I said that wrong; atheism is not a religion. Just as not playing a football does not count as a sport, not watching TV does not count as a hobby, not working out does not count as an exercise, and not listening to the radio is not a station. “Hey, what’s your favorite channel [religion]?” “I can’t stand TV [religion].” “What? Why would you like that station [religion]!?” – doesn’t make a whole lot of sense does it?
That may be true about Europe - but I don't understand how that's relevant to anything. If 99% of the people in the world told you to jump off a 200 foot cliff, knowing that there certainly isn't a big pillow at the bottom, would you do it? Of course not.
In the same way, just because Atheism is growing doesn't mean it's right.
Again, this is more suitable to another topic.
See Philippians 2:5-11.
Exodus 20:4-5
You shall not make for yourself an idol, or any likeness of what is in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the water under the earth. 5 You shall not worship them or serve them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children, on the third and the fourth generations of those who hate Me
Good verse.
Oh, and you left out the next verse by the "hateful" God: ...but showing lovingkindness to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments. (Exodus 20:6)
Again, make another thread please.
I've tried for the last 18 years of my life, but after thinking about the kind of God he is, it's very hard for me to accept him after reading the Bible and finding out exactly the kind of God he is, putting two and two together, puts me on the rocks with Him.
“Whoever acknowledges me before men, I will also acknowledge him before my Father in heaven. But whoever disowns me before men, I will disown him before my Father in heaven.” (Matthew 10:32-33)
Just pray, Thomas, that even through this period of doubting God that you are able to draw closer to Him.
I guess I just don't know what to say Thomas - it seems that you don't want to pray to God.
I don’t want to because I don’t want to worship a deity that allows so much suffering. He cannot get my full respect until he fixes all the problems in this world. I hate death, but pain and suffering even more. If you could choose between instant death or suffering unimaginably the rest of your life without any other consequences after it, which would you choose? I would never wish death upon even my worst enemies, but it would be even more psychotic to torture my enemies for having tried to shoot/kill me. Would I be a more “loving” psychopath if I had chained my enemy up to a wall and tortured him every day then forced him to eat and drink in order to stay alive so I could keep torturing him for the rest of his life, or would I be “nicer” by putting an end to his misery? God is doing the same thing to everyone he sends to hell. Would it be more loving of him to allow a person to eternal punishment or would it be better of him to uncreate them, thereby ending their suffering?
Thomas, I sincerely hope that you do come to Him in saying this - but, pain will certainly end. When will it end? When Christ comes back. What will happen to those who don't believe in Him? They will become eternally separated from God.
If you're truly willing to give up your life defending a faulty view of God, then that's your choice. I will choose to follow Christ, my Lord and Saviour and God, for He is my Life.
Yes, God is a wrathful God - He's a judge. He's also a loving God, with a love like no other being in existence. You can't leave out one or the other.
What I’m saying is that if I am kind enough to do everything in my power to keep people from suffering, and God isn’t (which he should be kinder than me because he is a God) then I’m putting my foot down and letting him know that what he’s doing is sick and I’m willing to be sent to hell if he will just stop allowing people to be tortured and at least uncreate them after their death.
You can rebel forever Thomas, but that isn't going to draw you any closer to God. If you would run into His arms instead of throwing them off, then you would see that He does have a purpose for all of this.
I would love to talk about this more on another thread, but not here - unless you have more questions about prayer.
Grace and Love in Christ
It would be, if you knew exactly what I was going to say. My favorite story of God being a “corrupt” god is when he tells Abraham to sacrifice his son, Isaac. God knew, even before he told Abraham, that Abraham would listen to God till the very end, yet He told Abraham to do so. The only outcome out of that situation was putting a lot of stress on Abraham and probably scarring his and Isaac’s relationship for the rest of their lives (I know I sure would be angry at my father if he tied me down and tried to cut me open).
Again, this isn't for this thread. Open up another thread if you want to discuss this - this thread is about prayer.
The pagans thought that by their many words they would get the attention of God.
Catholics (I’m not sure if the rest of Christians are included in this) copied the pagans when they created the Fatima prayer, the rosary, and the kind that repeats things over and over.
Well, a Catholic would have to respond to you there - I'm protestant.
I do not talk to my dad every day because i don't live anywhere near him. I call him up about once a week or every two weeks to see how life is going for him and letting him know how mine is as well.
Hypothetically, if you lived with your dad you wouldn't just not talk to him every day.
I don’t think you quite understand what I mean. Do you say hi to your sibling(s)/parent(s) every time you walk past them in the house? Do you feel the need to talk to them every single chance you get? Of course not, you’ve gotten to know them so well that simply a smile says everything. When you get to truly know someone you no longer need to talk to them because the way they are carrying themselves and the vibe they put out says it all. Only when you aren’t completely comfortable with people is when you feel the need to talk to them whenever you can. Walking past friends in school for example and things of the sort, you just want to because until then you can’t truly love that person for who they are (because you don’t know who they truly are yet). Similarly with God, when you’re truly comfortable with him, there is no reason to say anything. A simple smile and his wondrous works will do.
From what I understand, you aren't even Christian, so how could you know what it means to have a relationship with Him? I'm not trying to be harsh - but that's like me telling you that I know your parents personally, even though I've never talked to them or met them before.
And correct me if I'm wrong on that - just the fact that you seem to have an angst against God and the fact that you call yourself a "non-christian" seems to just suggest this.
What?
When I'm talking to God, I really do say "You are worthy to receive glory and might and honor and wealth and thanksgiving and blessing..." not because I'm trying to get something from Him but because I want to glorify Him. These were the first words I said to God - and it doesn't mean I'm better than anyone for saying them.
God is content with a child-like heart simply saying "I love you."
He is unhappy with one who says all of the above, yet has no heart in any of it.
Instead of rambling on (like the pagans) isn’t it easier and more to the point to say something to the effect of “you are my everything”?
Sure- would you even say that to God though, Thomas?
Yep, When I watch movies again, even knowing what's going to happen, I don't get bored!
But it's not like "watching a movie" to God - it's interacting with and loving His creation.
You may not get bored watching a movie over a couple times (I’ve watched some of my favorites like 5-10 times without becoming bored yet either), but imagine being forced to watch the same movie, even your favorite one, over and over every single day for the rest of your life… and for the rest of eternity. After a while wouldn’t you regret that time of day when you had to wake up and watch it again? How is it not like a movie? Even when he interacts with his creation he had known from the beginning of time that he would be interacting with his creation at that exact moment in time, every time.
God's not constantly rewinding time then changing events - He knows the future. He doesn't get bored with us, but we get bored with Him - do you not remember that we're fallen beings?
Well then, you must be deserving of heaven, am I correct?
I am nowhere near deserving of heaven, I’m just don’t like that God put me into this world to be forced into heaven or hell. He knew I was going to think this before he created me which means it would have been easier to have either never created me in the first place (showing that he’s at least a little bit more loving in the fact that he doesn’t need everyone to be tortured in hell), or to uncreate me after my death (which sadly I know is not going to happen after I die).
Right - He could have. The fact that you know that should prompt you to run into His arms. We're saved from God's wrath by embracing His mercy on us - He gives us grace every day by just letting us live. This is the time to jump into the arms of Christ.
It's another thing to just accuse God of being, quite frankly, a mass murderer (what you wrote sounds more like a quote out of a Richard Dawkins book than something you would truly get from reading the Old Testament, but...), which He's not - unless, of course, burning children is okay for you, which it's not for God:
I don’t remember if I said this before, but I have read a lot of the old testament and know the killing God was directly involved in.
Okay - again, this is more suitable for another thread. Maybe title it "Murder in the Old Testament" or something along those lines.
I never asked to be created. I never asked for anything, so if it's taken away from me i will not pout, i will not care, all i'm going to do is take advantage of the time that has been given to me. When you say "true worshipers" I get the feeling you will follow God to the very end no matter what without question which reminds me of Samurai's. I think you should watch a Samurai movie sometime to see an outside view of what you're like.
I answered this one before (look above).
Well things are changing, if God really wants everyone to make it to heaven then he had better do something soon. Christianity is a slowly dying religion, the fastest growing is atheism.
What? XD Maybe in America, though that's no surprise to me.
I would agree that Atheism certainly is a religion, though. There certainly is one god they worship - themselves.
I don’t think you quite know how big Atheism is becoming. Europe is actually the strongest atheist/agnostic continent in the world, and I think Japan is the least religious country in the world, I’m not exactly sure on that one though. And whoops, I said that wrong; atheism is not a religion. Just as not playing a football does not count as a sport, not watching TV does not count as a hobby, not working out does not count as an exercise, and not listening to the radio is not a station. “Hey, what’s your favorite channel [religion]?” “I can’t stand TV [religion].” “What? Why would you like that station [religion]!?” – doesn’t make a whole lot of sense does it?
That may be true about Europe - but I don't understand how that's relevant to anything. If 99% of the people in the world told you to jump off a 200 foot cliff, knowing that there certainly isn't a big pillow at the bottom, would you do it? Of course not.
In the same way, just because Atheism is growing doesn't mean it's right.
Again, this is more suitable to another topic.
See Philippians 2:5-11.
Exodus 20:4-5
You shall not make for yourself an idol, or any likeness of what is in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the water under the earth. 5 You shall not worship them or serve them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children, on the third and the fourth generations of those who hate Me
Good verse.
Oh, and you left out the next verse by the "hateful" God: ...but showing lovingkindness to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments. (Exodus 20:6)
Again, make another thread please.
I've tried for the last 18 years of my life, but after thinking about the kind of God he is, it's very hard for me to accept him after reading the Bible and finding out exactly the kind of God he is, putting two and two together, puts me on the rocks with Him.
“Whoever acknowledges me before men, I will also acknowledge him before my Father in heaven. But whoever disowns me before men, I will disown him before my Father in heaven.” (Matthew 10:32-33)
Just pray, Thomas, that even through this period of doubting God that you are able to draw closer to Him.
I guess I just don't know what to say Thomas - it seems that you don't want to pray to God.
I don’t want to because I don’t want to worship a deity that allows so much suffering. He cannot get my full respect until he fixes all the problems in this world. I hate death, but pain and suffering even more. If you could choose between instant death or suffering unimaginably the rest of your life without any other consequences after it, which would you choose? I would never wish death upon even my worst enemies, but it would be even more psychotic to torture my enemies for having tried to shoot/kill me. Would I be a more “loving” psychopath if I had chained my enemy up to a wall and tortured him every day then forced him to eat and drink in order to stay alive so I could keep torturing him for the rest of his life, or would I be “nicer” by putting an end to his misery? God is doing the same thing to everyone he sends to hell. Would it be more loving of him to allow a person to eternal punishment or would it be better of him to uncreate them, thereby ending their suffering?
Thomas, I sincerely hope that you do come to Him in saying this - but, pain will certainly end. When will it end? When Christ comes back. What will happen to those who don't believe in Him? They will become eternally separated from God.
If you're truly willing to give up your life defending a faulty view of God, then that's your choice. I will choose to follow Christ, my Lord and Saviour and God, for He is my Life.
Yes, God is a wrathful God - He's a judge. He's also a loving God, with a love like no other being in existence. You can't leave out one or the other.
What I’m saying is that if I am kind enough to do everything in my power to keep people from suffering, and God isn’t (which he should be kinder than me because he is a God) then I’m putting my foot down and letting him know that what he’s doing is sick and I’m willing to be sent to hell if he will just stop allowing people to be tortured and at least uncreate them after their death.
You can rebel forever Thomas, but that isn't going to draw you any closer to God. If you would run into His arms instead of throwing them off, then you would see that He does have a purpose for all of this.
I would love to talk about this more on another thread, but not here - unless you have more questions about prayer.
Grace and Love in Christ