Is there really a god?

[wizdom]

your conversation is pretty interesting. someone asked the question what did Jesus do? He died just like many other gods have yes, Jesus is the only one who rose from the dead. WHY would you want to serve a dead God? also their gods weren't the Son of God and they were not born of a virgin either. If you take a look at your human body study how ever thing works together so perfectly. Do you think we as human's evolved? It's impossible. and if we did who created the atoms that " evolved" someone higher than them right? SO if we have concluded that we have not evolved and a Higher power ( God) created us, could He not also impregnated someone without the use of a man? Jesus came to earth through Mary as God in the flesh. Just like we are three parts ( body,soul, and spirit) so is God the Father, Jesus the Son(body) Holy Spirit (Spirit). Jesus came to this earth to be the sinless sacrifice for us so that we could escape death. Because of my savior I now have a choice of where I am going to spend enternity. Someone said something about I think God would be a littel nicer when they were talking about hell. How much more nicer can he be? He gave his only Son to die for us. Even if you knew your Son would raise from the dead would you want him to suffer the horrible beaten and ridicule that Jesus did. I sure nuff wouldn't. no matter if you want the burden the choice is now yours. Adam and eve messed it up for us. But Jesus Christ redeemed us and now we are free from the curse of the law.

also yes you are going to sin it is impossible even things we think that we might not even know are sins. we are supposed to strive to be like Jesus he was are physical example. The more you are one with the Holy SPirit the more you act, talk, walk like Jesus. I will never be perfect until i reach heaven God said it already so i will never claim to be perfect. He searches your heart and he knows who is whole heartedly searching for him and striving to know him. We can fool other people but we can't fool God.

[wizdom]

Christians that look down there nose at unbelivers are not true christians at all. We all have sinned and come short of the Glory of God. It is not our place to judge you. It is our place to share the truth with you without prejedice. to be perfectly honest with you i am a christian and i have had a child out of marriage and yes it was a sin. Did God forgive me yes he did. To be honest sex outside of marriage is a sin and i have been guilty of that. The great thing about Jesus is that he is a forgiven God and if you truly repent from your sin he will forgive you and he doesn't even remember your sin agian. it is when you habitually do that sin that your in danger.

[wizdom]

konfused your name fits you well. there actual historical documents that prove that Jesus Christ was real. They even mention Jesus in you high school History books. or are they fiction as well. We have all the men who wrote the Bible they were real people who walked, talked, and lived with Jesus. Or can we not count them as real either. I think you just want to argue you not really searching for truth b/c if you were you would look at the greek and hebrew writings there are many accounts of Jesus Christ and his miracles. Even the Jews know that Jesus was real and healed many people they just don't believe he is the messiah although he fulfills all the prophecy's that they are looking for. go figure i guess they are just as konfused as you.

[Apex]

konfused your name fits you well. there actual historical documents that prove that Jesus Christ was real. They even mention Jesus in you high school History books.

There is archaeological evidence.

[wizdom]

it;s evidence even the jews make reference to Jesus. You just don't want to believe the proof that is right in front of you. That's fine for you, you can never say when you stand on judgement day that you were never told. ( no scare tactics intended) just real truth

[Admiral Thrawn]

10 REASONS TO BELIEVE: CHRIST ROSE FROM THE DEAD.

 

1) A PUBLIC EXECUTION ASSURED HIS DEATH.

 

During the Jewish Feast of Passover, Jesus was swept away by an angry crowd into a Roman hall of justice. As He stood before Pilate, the governor of Judea, religious leaders accused Jesus of claiming to be the king of the Jews. The crowd demanded His execution death. Jesus was beaten, whipped, and sentenced to a public execution. On a hill outside of Jerusalem, He was crucified between two criminals. Brokenhearted friends and mocking enemies shared in His deathwatch. As the Sabbath neared, Roman soldiers were sent to finish the execution. To quicken death, they broke the legs of the two criminals. But when they came to Jesus they did not break His legs, because from experience they knew He was already dead. As a final precaution, however, they thrust a spear into His side. It would take more than resuscitation for Him to ever trouble them again.

 

2) A HIGH OFFICIAL SECURED THE GRAVESITE.

 

The next day, religious leaders again met with Pilate. They said Jesus had predicted He would rise in 3 days. To assure the disciples could not conspire in a ressurrection hoax, Pilate ordered the official seal of Rome to be attached to the tomb to put graverobbers on notice. To enforce the order, soldiers stood guard. Any disciple who wanted to tamper with the body would have had to get by them, which wouln't have been easy. The Roman guards had good reason for staying alert - the penalty for falling asleep while on watch was death.

 

3) IN SPITE OF GUARDS, THE GRAVE WAS FOUND EMPTY.

 

On the morning after the Sabbath, some of Jesus' followers went to the grave to annoint His body. But when they arrived, they were surprised at what they found. The huge stone thta had been rolled into place over the entrance to the tomb had been moved and Jesus' body was gone. As word got out, two disciples rushed to the burial site. The tomb was empty except for Jesus' burial wrappings, which were lying neatly in place. In the meantime, some of the guards had gone into Jerusalem to tell the Jewish officials that they had fainted in the presence of a supernatural being tht rolled the stone away. And when they woke up, the tomb was empty. The officials paid the guards a large sum of money to lie and say the disciples stole the body while the soldiers slept. They assured the guards that if the report of the missing body got back to the governer they would intercede on their behalf.

 

4) MANY PEOPLE CLAIMED TO HAVE SEEN HIM ALIVE.

 

About AD 55, the apostle Paul wrote that the resurrected Christ had been seen by Peter, the 12 apostles, more than 500 people (many of whom were still alive at the time of his writing), James, and himself (1 Cor 15:5-8). By making such a public statement, he gave critics a chance to check out his claims for themselves. In addition, the New Testament begins its history of the followers of Christ by saying that Jesus "presented Himself alive after HIs suffering by many infallible proofs, being seen by [the apostles] during forty days and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God" (Acts 1:3)

 

5) HIS APOSTLES WERE DRAMATICALLY CHANGED

 

When one of Jesus' inner circle defected and betrayed Him, the other apostles ran for their lives. Even Peter, who earlier had insisted that he was ready to die for his teacher, lost heart and denied that he even knew Jesus. But the apostles went through a dramatic change. Within a few weks, they were standing face to face with the ones who had crucified their leader. Their spirit was like iron. They became unstopable in their determination to sacrifice everything for the one they called Savior and Lord. Even after they were impreisoned, threatened, and forbidden to speak in the name of Jesus, the apostles said to the Jewish leaders, "We ought to obey God rather than men" (Acts 5:29). After they were beaten for disobeying the orders of the Jewish council, these once-cowardly apostles "did not cease teaching and preaching Jesus as the Christ" (Acts 5:42)

 

6) WITNESSES WERE WILLING TO DIE FOR THEIR CLAIMS

 

History is full of martyrs. Countless men and women have died for their beliefs. For that reason, it is not that signfiicant to point out that his first disciples were willing to suffer and die for their faith. But it is significant that while many will die for they believe to be true, few if any will die for what they know to be a lie. That psychological fact is important because the disciples of Christ did not die for deeply held beliefs about which they could have been honestly mistaken. They did for their claism to have seen Jesus alive and well after His ressurection. They died for their claim that Jesus Christ had not only died for their sins but that He had risen bodily from the dead to show that He was like no other spiritual leader who had ever lived.

 

7) JEWISH BELIVERS CHANGED THEIR DAY OF WORSHIP

 

The Sabbath day of rest and worship was basic to any Jewish way of life. Any Jew who did not honour the Sabbath was guilty of breaking the law of Moses. Yet Jewish followers of Christ began worshipping with Gentile belivers on a new day. The first day of the week, the day on which they believed Christ had risen from the dead, replaced the Sabbath. For a Jew, it reflected a major change of life. The new day, along with the Christian conversion rite of baptism, declared that those who believed Christ had risen from the dead were ready for more than a renewal of Judiasm. They believed that the death and resurrection of Christ had cleared the way for a new relatoinship with God. The new way was based on on the law, but on the sin-bearing, life-giving help of a resurrected Savior.

 

8) ALTHOUGH IT WAS UNEXPECTED, IT WAS CLEARLY PREDICTED

 

The disciples were caught off guard. They expected their Messiah to restore the kingdom to Israel. Their minds were so fixed on the coming of a messianic political kingdom that they didn't anticipate the events essential to the salvation of their souls. They must have thought Christ was speaking in symbolic language when He kept saying over and over that it was necessary for Him to go to Jerusalem to die and be resurrected from the dead. Coming from one who spoke in parables, they missed the obvious until after it was all over. In the process, they also overlooked the prophet Isaiah's prediction of a suffering servent who would bear the sins of Israel, being led like a lamb to the slaughter, before God "prolong[ed] His days' (Is 53:10)

 

9) IT WAS A FITTING CLIMAX TO A MIRACULOUS LIFE

 

While Jesus hung on a Roman cross, crowds mocked Him. He helped others, but could He help Himself? Was the miracle suddently coming to and end? It seemed like such an unexpected ending for someone who began His public life by turning water into wine. During HIs 3 year ministry, He walked on water; healed the sick; opened blind eyes, deaf ears, and tonge-tied mouths; restored crippled limbs; cast out demons; stilled a violent storm; and raised the dead. He asked questions wise men couldn't answer. He taught profound truths with the simplest of comparisons. And He confrontd hypocrities with words that exposed their coverup. If all this was true, should we be surpised that His enemies didn't have the last word?

 

10) IT FITS THE EXPERIENCE OF THOSE WHO TRUST HIM

 

The apostle Paul wrote "If the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give you life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you" (Romans 8:11) This was the experience of Paul, whose heart was dramaticly changed by the resurrected Christ. It is also the experience of people all over the world who have died to their old ways so that Christ can live His life through them. The spiritual power is not evident in those who try to add belief in Christ to their old life. It is seen only in those who are willing to "die" to their old life to make room for the rule of Christ. It is appearant only in those who respond to the overwhelming evidence of Christ's resurrection by acknowledging His Lordship in their heart.

 

YOU ARE NOT ALONE if you find yourself honestly unconvinced about whether Christ rose from the dead. But keep in mind that Jesus promised God's help to those who want to be right with God. He said, "If anyone chooses to do God's will, he will find out whether My teaching comes from God or whether I speak on My own" (John 7:17 NIV).

 

If you do see the reasonableness of the resurrection, keep in mind that the Bible says Christ died to pay the price of our sins, and those who believe in their heart that God has raised Him from the dead will be saved (Rom 10:9-10). The salvation Christ offers is not a reward for effort, but a gift to all who in light of the evidence put their trust in Him.

[Admiral Thrawn]

That's like a sliippery slope answer, similar to determining when does a fetus count as a human protected by law and not allowed to be aborted. Some say at inception, others 3 months, 6 months and so forth. There's no evidence that children under age 7 are not admitted to hell and at age 7 and up the gates to hell open its doors to them.

 

Abortion is a sin - it is murder. However, the aborted child will go to heaven.

Even if the aborted child were to grow up, and end up wicked and go to hell - it is still murder. Mothers can not play God.

 

Why did God create hell anyways instead of choosing to not create evil people at all, not giving evil an option of free will?

 

Hell was created for the devil and his angles. Lucifer rebelled against God, and 1/3 of Angels joined to usurp God's throne. They were banashed from the heavens to the earth. Hell was created for this lot.

 

He could create people intelligent enough that even if he creates evil, they would not choose to be evil or commit evil acts.

 

However, the first intelligent persons, Adam and Eve, did not have to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, but they choose to anyway. It seems that people have a problem obeying even very basic and simple commands to save their life and soul.

 

If God is Love as Christianity and other religions preach, then why would he make a place for people to burn in all eternity?

 

John 3:16 "For God SO LOVED, the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.". The fact of the matter, is that Jesus already died for your sin. You just have to look to Him and believe and invite Him into your life. It is that simple to miss hell.

 

Why aren't animals evil but humans are? Does that mean all animals go directly to heaven but only humans have the possibility of going to hell? Someone quoted the bible in the other pets going to heaven thread stating that animals do go to heaven:

 

The Bible does not say anything about the fate of animals, other then their spirit 'descends down'. Animals appearently just die.

 

So does the bible say anything about animals going to hell, and at what age are animals allowed to go to hell, if in human years it is 7 for humans? The last quote that the same fate awaits man and animals alike implies that they do. So do pitbulls and other dogs that bite people go to hell? What qualifies them to go to heaven and hell and is it fair if they are unaware that what they do will result in dire consequences in their afterlife? What if a mentally challenged person commits a crime or murder without realizing what they are doing, even if it's "temporary insanity." Does that qualify them to go to hell, or is it an unknown until after the fact?

 

Animals, like lions, pitbulls, or dogs are evil because of the effects of sin.

After Adam ate the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, and his wife Eve, then the world dramatically changed. Nature warped and mutated into what it is now.

 

The Bible teaches that in the future, Jesus Christ will restore nature to its proper place, and that there will be no dangerous animals. Lions and Lambs would live peacefully with each other.

 

And do all religions have an age minimum below which they automatically go to heaven? What if a child had a deadly disease and was 6 1/2 years old, with about another year or so left to live. He was a naughty child, so would the parents want the child to die before age seven to ensure he goes directly to heaven without the possibility of going to hell?

 

The concept of children going to heaven is that they are safe with God, and that they are unable to have the capacity to tell the difference between right or wrong, and thus unable to choose to sin against God. It goes with the state of mind. A mental vegetable, or someone who is retarded, but beyond that age, that has no comprehension of right and wrong, will also be safe.

 

However, if you are beyond that age, and know the difference between right and wrong, then just accept Christ, and you will be saved, because Jesus died for your sin - so people of all ages can go to heaven through Jesus Christ.

[Admiral Thrawn]

I have been trying to think of things which in my life have been a sin.Does having a child when you are not married equal a sin?

 

No, but having sex with someone you are not married with (especially if the other person is married to someone else) is a sin.

 

Im not christened so i dont think i could get married anyway.Also what about cheating?does that count when you are not married?(i havent cheated im just curious)

 

Anyone can get married in the State - let a judge marry you if it need be.

You are not supposed to have sex in the first place if you are not married.

 

Also why do religious people look down on those who arent religious?Just because they dont follow a religion doesnt mean they are evil.Im not religious and i wouldnt say im evil!

 

Because they are self-righteous. A true Christian knows that they were sinners who got saved by Grace. Our salvation is based on what Jesus did, not our own works. Jesus also died for you too, so you can be just as perfect in God's eyes as Jesus was, if you believe.

[Toni_no12002]

apex

Yes maybe it has been three months so what?There are so many opinions on religion who is right?If you dont like my questions why keep replying.Im sure you have things you dont understand and things about god arent exactly simple so please so acting snotty and get off my back!

[wizdom]

toni you keep asking questions that is the only way you will find the truth. no one should ever get upset with someone when they are truly seeking the truth. my motto is a closed mouth don't get fed. same goes for you seeking God you'll never find him if you don;t look and at least you are looking.

[konfused]

konfused your name fits you well. there actual historical documents that prove that Jesus Christ was real. They even mention Jesus in you high school History books. or are they fiction as well. We have all the men who wrote the Bible they were real people who walked, talked, and lived with Jesus. Or can we not count them as real either. I think you just want to argue you not really searching for truth b/c if you were you would look at the greek and hebrew writings there are many accounts of Jesus Christ and his miracles. Even the Jews know that Jesus was real and healed many people they just don't believe he is the messiah although he fulfills all the prophecy's that they are looking for. go figure i guess they are just as konfused as you.

 

Name one non-Christian historical document that qualifies as an eyewitness account.

 

As for Greek writing, they had their own Jesus. His name was Hercules. Born of a mortal women and fathered by a God. Spent his life performing miracles. Was killed unjustly and sent to heaven to reunite with his father. How about Orpheus. Begged and pleaded for the Gods to let him enter the underworld and retrieve his recently deceased wife. Permission was granted on one condition. He mustn't look back to see if his wife was following him - he must rely on faith. The anxiety was too much for him and he looked back and lost her forever. Every story in the Bible has been borrowed and or loaned to neighboring cultures and people.

 

One final thing. In Roman days, when swearing an oath, the men would grab each other's scrotums and say the pledge together. It sounds bizarre, I agee, until you observe primates in the wild doing the same gesture when they meet each other. Apparently it's a sign of non-aggression. Hence we get the word testament, from the word testicle. And that's where the name New Testicle, rather New Testament came from. I don't make this stuff up.

 

Where'd all the aggression come from?

[converse02]

What did Jesus do 2000 years ago? He got himself executed on a cross by Romans. Am I suppose to be impressed? MANY religions have saviors-Gods. Krishna, Osiris, Mirthra. All died and supposely rose from the dead to save the people.

 

yes, but those are gods with a lower case "g" – and those folks only represented one thing or factor of life, whereas Jesus is God-with-us. There is also the fact that of all the religions professed in this world, only three – which are monotheistic in nature – comprise a bulk of spiritual believers. The God of Christian is the God of the Jew and the Muslim; how each group professes its belief in him is what differs. I don't see Krishna or Osiris or Mirthra as a common denominator of greatly differing religions nor do belief in them comprise a bulk of people who claim spirituality.

 

The fact that one god spelled with a capital and the other isn't doesn't make either any more real. The bulk of the world does worship the same Abrahamic God, either Allah, Yahweh or Jesus (which is the right one?) and they are constantly fighting and killing each other. We kind of God is this? Krishna and Mirthra bear starting similarities to Jesus, it is said the Jesus is the reincarnated myth of Mithra. Both had 12 disciples, both perfromed miracles, both have birthdays on Dec 25, both identified with a lion and lamb, both were buried in a tomb and rose three days later.

 

Finally, whoever said the kids younger than 7 don't go to hell, lets say that's truth. Fine. Hell has a population of 8 year old frying. Does this make the picture any less pretty?

[penkitten]

whether or not he is really up there or not, it makes my life better to believe that he is.

it gives me a purpose , and reasons to do what i feel are morally right.

if i die and he is really there, then i haven't lost anything.

however if i did not believe and he was really there, then i would lose everything.

[converse02]

I have been trying to think of things which in my life have been a sin.Does having a child when you are not married equal a sin?Im not christened so i dont think i could get married anyway.Also what about cheating?does that count when you are not married?(i havent cheated im just curious)

What is right and wrong isn't determined by the Bible. The Bible prosecutes gays, thinks slavery is okay, and has specific rules on how to sell your daugther. The Bible thinks witches really exist and must be burned. Jesus said couples can never divorce. Give me a break, only primitives who lived 2000 years ago would write stuff like that. We how live in an enlighten society, many modern laws today contradict biblical laws. Morality arise from experience, from reason, thought, and a general public agreement. Think about the kind of world you would like to live in. Do to others what you would want done to you.

 

 

Also why do religious people look down on those who arent religious?Just because they dont follow a religion doesnt mean they are evil.Im not religious and i wouldnt say im evil!

Because they believe they are are going to heaven for believeing what can't be proven. Christian believe non-believers like us, our infidel friends and families, deserve to fry in hell for eternity, as their merciful and loving God wills it. If they think ultimate uber being will justly give them heaven, and we deserve to fry, looking down at someone becomes easy.

 

Do you think we as human's evolved? It's impossible. and if we did who created the atoms that " evolved" someone higher than them right? SO if we have concluded that we have not evolved and a Higher power ( God) created us

Humans did evolve and there is evidence for it. We have fossils. We have DNA undergoing random mutations. We have animals being naturally selected for. How can we not evolve? The evidence for it is overwhelming. We have no evidence the universe was created in 7 days, that snakes can talk, or the Eve was made out of rib. Without evolution, biology, the study of life itself, would not make any sense. Evolution is researched at every major university in on the planet no matter the culture or creed, it is ignorance that makes people go "Nah." It grows stronger evey year, it is the only idea that explains the facts surrounding us.

Physics have shown that atoms existed and will always exist. They do not evolve and we have never seen mass/energy created or destroyed. Why must they be "created" by God? If everything "must" be created, who created God? Life arose from primordial natural forces. There is evidence we evolved. There is no evidence God pop whole families of kangeroos out of thin air.

 

konfused your name fits you well. there actual historical documents that prove that Jesus Christ was real. They even mention Jesus in you high school History books. or are they fiction as well. We have all the men who wrote the Bible they were real people who walked, talked, and lived with Jesus. Or can we not count them as real either. I think you just want to argue you not really searching for truth b/c if you were you would look at the greek and hebrew writings there are many accounts of Jesus Christ and his miracles. Even the Jews know that Jesus was real and healed many people they just don't believe he is the messiah although he fulfills all the prophecy's that they are looking for. go figure i guess they are just as konfused as you.

Someone here is confused and it's not konfused. Think about what you just said. Jesus himself was a Jew. The Jews, God's chosen people, meet Jesus and DIDN"T think he was the Messiah. How can a person, let alone God Chosen, met God and mistake him for Joe Schmoe? The thing is, after Jesus died, isn't it weird that everybody forget about the miracles and no one talked about him for the next 30 years until the Gospels (written in Greek no less) popped up. Jesus was just an ordinary guru who preached love, and got himself Mithra-rized over the years as rumors spend. Just like King Arthur, Robin Hood, and yes, Hercules and Orpheus

[Toni_no12002]

Thankyou wisdom.I know i ask lots of questions but trying to get my head around there being a god isnt exactly easy.

 

The bible if it is written 30 years later might not all be truth.Things could be over exaggerated a little.Also the bible is written by people they are no different to anyone else so maybe the wrote what they thought was there truth.Doesnt mean that there truth is actually THE truth.

[Apex]

Yes maybe it has been three months so what?There are so many opinions on religion who is right?If you dont like my questions why keep replying.

Let’s take a closer look at your question.

Also why do religious people look down on those who arent religious?Just because they dont follow a religion doesnt mean they are evil.Im not religious and i wouldnt say im evil!

Why do you do drugs? Why do you inject your kids with heroine? Why do you abuse your children? Why do you start forest fires? Why do you rob people? Why do you hate religious people?

 

These are all loaded question. There is an implication simply in the structure of the sentences.

Your really said “religious people look down on those who arent religious” and you wanted to know “why”. You are basically making sweeping generalizations.

Im sure you have things you dont understand and things about god arent exactly simple so please so acting snotty and get off my back!

Appeal to ignorance is fine for the ignorant.

[quankanne]

The bible if it is written 30 years later might not all be truth.Things could be over exaggerated a little.Also the bible is written by people they are no different to anyone else so maybe the wrote what they thought was there truth.Doesnt mean that there truth is actually THE truth.

 

the problem is that people are expecting the Bible to be a scientifically fact-based account explaining God, and get upset when they cannot make the Bible work. God invented the world in seven days? No way! He couldn't have done that in 24 hours times seven days. Actually, because he's God, he could. But that's not the point ~ the point is that we're trying to base comments from this book on what we evidence we know empirically, what we understand as "real" because we've experienced it. Whose to say that one of God's days translates to millions of human years? Why does He have to be bound to our limited understanding of time and other things. Again, this has nothing to do with the whole reason the Bible exists: which is to provide a spiritual account of how people see or find Him. And that, my dear, is all based on a leap of faith ...

 

We how live in an enlighten society, many modern laws today contradict biblical laws. Morality arise from experience, from reason, thought, and a general public agreement.

 

that's a crock. This isn't an enlightened society when we're told to kill unborn babies, euthanize people we no longer find "productive," show a total lack of regard to the beauty of man when we debase him by popularizing pornography and strip clubs, still resort to war to prove our points and so on and so forth. Modern laws are not set in stone and I'd say in this last century, with the influx of civil liberties claims designed to "help" man, those laws have begun to contradict themselves. You couldn't get a group of a dozen people to agree unanimously on ANY subject, much less what comprises moral behavior ~ again, thank those wonderful groups that support civil liberties and the bleeding hearts whose brains have managed to sneak out the back door while they weren't looking.

 

civil law is based on Bible law no matter which way you cut it; morality arises from a person recognizing the spark of goodness his Creator gave him, not something he has "decided" to adopt or practice.

 

Jesus himself was a Jew. The Jews, God's chosen people, meet Jesus and DIDN"T think he was the Messiah. How can a person, let alone God Chosen, met God and mistake him for Joe Schmoe?

 

where did the first Christians come from? Who were the apostles? Were they not Jews who recognized the Messiah? Just because a whole religious sect didn't convert way back when doesn't invalidate Christ's divinity, much like your disbelief doesn't make him any less Christ today.

 

The fact that one god spelled with a capital and the other isn't doesn't make either any more real. The bulk of the world does worship the same Abrahamic God, either Allah, Yahweh or Jesus (which is the right one?) and they are constantly fighting and killing each other. We kind of God is this? Krishna and Mirthra bear starting similarities to Jesus, it is said the Jesus is the reincarnated myth of Mithra. Both had 12 disciples, both perfromed miracles, both have birthdays on Dec 25, both identified with a lion and lamb, both were buried in a tomb and rose three days later.

 

the fact that you are able to trot out the myth of Mirthra for your purposes doesn't make him the true God. Not everyone is familiar with this figure, but I guarantee believers and nonbelievers alike recognize when they hear the names Jesus, Christ, God. Krishna and Mirthra may "bear startling similarities" but they are not Christ, nor will they ever be.

 

as for professed believers killing each other? Destruction is part of man's nature, as is harmony and reconciliation ~ he's free to choose the one he wants. Unfortunately, he often leans to being destructive toward his fellow man and the environment that surrounds him.

[wizdom]

Amen Quankkane. Sorry If I Spelled It Wrong

[wizdom]

Amen Quankkane. Sorry If I Spelled It Wrong

[Toni_no12002]

Actually im speaking from experience.I have met several people who are religious and dont seem to want to know non religious people.

 

Yes ive asked many questions but if i dont ask i wont get answers.I cant see god so i dont know if hes real whats wrong with that?

[quankanne]

Actually im speaking from experience.I have met several people who are religious and dont seem to want to know non religious people.

 

that's their decision, one you shouldn't let bother you because for every person like that, there are a handful more who are willing to dialogue with you.

 

Yes ive asked many questions but if i dont ask i wont get answers.I cant see god so i dont know if hes real whats wrong with that?

 

nothing whatsoever. However, if you're seriously seeking God, or are truly curious about him, you've got to think outside the box and not look for just rational, "I can feel it with my two hands and see it with my own two eyes" kind of answers. Like listening to music – some of it you like, some of it you don't like, but you can sense it past what you hear when you do hear something that moves you. Until you listen to the music yourself, though, you really don't know what it means to you.

[converse02]

the problem is that people are expecting the Bible to be a scientifically fact-based account explaining God, and get upset when they cannot make the Bible work. God invented the world in seven days? No way! He couldn't have done that in 24 hours times seven days. Actually, because he's God, he could. ...Whose to say that one of God's days translates to millions of human years?

The problem with this is that the evidence reveals that the universe was NOT created in 7 days and the Bible is either flat out wrong or misleading. If seven days isn't seven days, why does the Bible say SEVEN days?

 

That's crock. This isn't an enlightened society when we're told to kill unborn babies, euthanize people we no longer find "productive," show a total lack of regard to the beauty of man when we debase him by popularizing pornography and strip clubs, still resort to war to prove our points and so on and so forth. Modern laws are not set in stone and I'd say in this last century, with the influx of civil liberties claims designed to "help" man, those laws have begun to contradict themselves. You couldn't get a group of a dozen people to agree unanimously on ANY subject, much less what comprises moral behavior ~ again, thank those wonderful groups that support civil liberties and the bleeding hearts whose brains have managed to sneak out the back door while they weren't looking. civil law is based on Bible law no matter which way you cut it; morality arises from a person recognizing the spark of goodness his Creator gave him, not something he has "decided" to adopt or practice.

This is a enlighten society. Civil law is not based on the Bible as many civil laws contradict the Bible. We do have abortions, divorce, porn and strips clubs, which thankfully are all legal. We not longer persecute gays, permit slavery, or burn "witches." Dozens of people DO agree on subjects, I've seen it happen. Many atheists in the world ARE moral, while there are Christians who lie and cheat. Clearly, morality does NOT arise from the Bible or belief in God. It arises from reasoning, experience, and the general consensus, not from a 2000 year old book written by shepherds.

 

where did the first Christians come from? Who were the apostles? Were they not Jews who recognized the Messiah? Just because a whole religious sect didn't convert way back when doesn't invalidate Christ's divinity, much like your disbelief doesn't make him any less Christ today.

So a few Jews recognized Jesus as the Messiah. But the rest did not. Most Jews who met Jesus thought he was a fake, why shouldn't I?. We know little of Jesus' first 12 apostles, as they didn't spread the word of Jesus. It was the apostle Paul who wrote and spoke about Jesus and created Christianity, and he never even MET Jesus!!! Little, if any, writtings from people living in Jesus' community. We know nothing about Jesus' childhood. Odd that such an important figure with magical powers has such large gaps in his history, that so little was written about him during his own time. It was only decades AFTER his death did stories and the legend of Jesus spread.

 

the fact that you are able to trot out the myth of Mirthra for your purposes doesn't make him the true God. Not everyone is familiar with this figure, but I guarantee believers and nonbelievers alike recognize when they hear the names Jesus, Christ, God. Krishna and Mirthra may "bear startling similarities" but they are not Christ, nor will they ever be.

The truth is not a popularity contest. Just because Jesus's is more famous today doesn't make him the true God. Once Zeus was the most popular God. If you never heard of Mirthra, Krishna, or the other ancient, learn about it. They existed before Jesus, yet have nearly identical stories. Isn't it reasonable to conclude they got copied?

 

as for professed believers killing each other? Destruction is part of man's nature, as is harmony and reconciliation ~ he's free to choose the one he wants. Unfortunately, he often leans to being destructive toward his fellow man and the environment that surrounds him.

Again, it simply illustrates that religion does not make one moral. Some atheists are more moral than Christians, how could this be possible under your logic? In fact, religion creates an environment of non-thinking were people just accept absurd stories liking talking snakes and a zoo fitting on a boat on "faith," without questioning. It is a slippery slope toward fundamentalism.

[Bogun]

Perhaps there really is a god! This thread has been resurrected after a visit to the LS graveyard.

 

konfused your name fits you well. there actual historical documents that prove that Jesus Christ was real. They even mention Jesus in you high school History books. or are they fiction as well. We have all the men who wrote the Bible they were real people who walked, talked, and lived with Jesus. Or can we not count them as real either. I think you just want to argue you not really searching for truth b/c if you were you would look at the greek and hebrew writings there are many accounts of Jesus Christ and his miracles. Even the Jews know that Jesus was real and healed many people they just don't believe he is the messiah although he fulfills all the prophecy's that they are looking for. go figure i guess they are just as konfused as you.

 

Oh dear. Konfused is not confused. He/she is actually correct and educated. I'm sorry to break it to you wizdom, but not everything that you read in a high school text book is 100% accurate. Here's a list of the historians Christians use as evidence that Jesus was a real person:

 

1. Tacitus, a roman historian, wrote one passage mentioning "christ" (there is no mention of "jesus"). It was written in 112 AD, and the passage was about the big fire in rome in 64 AD. A passage written a century after jesus was supposedly born, and only mentioned in passing when relating the events of a fire 50 years earlier. I wouldnt call this substantial evidence, would you??? There were dozens of famous roman historians besides tacitus, yet none of them mention jesus. Why would that be?

 

2. Josephus, a jewish historian. There are some passages amongst Josephus's works that mention jesus. However, historians now firmly believe that these passages were not written by Josephus, as they are much later additions, and the writing style is much different. Also, another historian of the time Origen, stated that Josephus did not believe in any jewish messiah figure, instead he believed that the roman emperor Vespasian was the prophesied ruler of the world.

 

These are the only 2. No other historians at the time mention a messiah figure called jesus.

 

There is archaeological evidence.

Where??

[quankanne]

We know little of Jesus' first 12 apostles, as they didn't spread the word of Jesus.

 

so the roughly 40 percent of Indian and Sri Lankan priests who are working in my diocese really can't trace their country's Christian history back to St. Thomas, who went to those countries to evangelize the Jesus he used to run around with?

 

It was the apostle Paul who wrote and spoke about Jesus and created Christianity, and he never even MET Jesus!!! Paul was a Jew who converted to Christianity, he didn't create it because it already existed. The story goes that he was riding to a new town to go persecute the Christians, whom he hated, and experienced a conversion of heart during his trip. Both he and Thomas, along with the other apostles did a bang up job of handing down a faith that's lasted 2000 years!

 

If seven days isn't seven days, why does the Bible say SEVEN days?

again, you're looking at the Bible from an explicitly scientific or empirical viewpoint when it's meant to be a read from a spiritual standpoint. Why does the Bible say seven days? Probably because men of that time couldn't understand figures that had a bunch of zeroes listed among them the way we can today, thanks to our advanced education. "Seventy times seven," the rule for forgiveness doesn't mean "let 'em get away with it until the 491st transgression" but to continually offer forgiveness of transgressions. People understood that to be a huge number, not a specific number.

 

Many atheists in the world ARE moral, while there are Christians who lie and cheat. Clearly, morality does NOT arise from the Bible or belief in God.

 

that's like saying there are many people who are book-smart, and even more who are not. It has nothing to do with the books, but with a person's innate capability of learning and his or her intelligence regardless of who they are. Morality is the same thing, it comes from inside, it is expressed in the Bible, which acts as a guide book for better living. How can a group of people agree on something that comes from such varied opinions and backgrounds? There's a spark that's been planted since our collective creation of mankind, and our morality is simply a response to that. Mind you, I don't have proof, but looking empirically at the situation, I see that it goes deeper than just my or your wanting to be good ...

 

The truth is not a popularity contest. Just because Jesus is more famous today doesn't make him the true God.

 

he's not the true God because he's more famous or because he's won a popularity contest; he's better known because people have evangelized in his name, and he's the true God because he is God incarnate.

 

Interesting that you use the term "truth" – there's a verse in Scripture where he says "I am the way, the truth and the life." The can be no other when you're looking past the limited trappings of this world. Does this make me a fundamentalist? Not really, unless we're talking of fundamentalism in a broader sense when it comes to Catholicism – I don't believe in chick priests, I don't care for liturgical dance, I like the traditions we've got. But as far as believing that it can only be exactly as it's printed in the Bible in God's English ... no. And many believers feel this way.

[Admiral Thrawn]

Thankyou wisdom.I know i ask lots of questions but trying to get my head around there being a god isnt exactly easy.

 

The bible if it is written 30 years later might not all be truth.Things could be over exaggerated a little.Also the bible is written by people they are no different to anyone else so maybe the wrote what they thought was there truth.Doesnt mean that there truth is actually THE truth.

 

You are referring to the Gospel of John. John was one of Jesus' disciples, and what he wrote was an eye-witness account.

 

Sometimes, it is better to see movies that are based on the Bible to get a better perspective, and I find it helps me allot. Try renting, buying, or borrowing, The Gospel of John, or other Bible films. They will help you understand things a bit better as they are dramatic re-enactments.