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Some fundamental questions I am asked about my faith:
If there is a God why is there suffering?
Perhaps one of the most difficult questions to answer, but I believe I found the reason. It is very simple.
When the first sin was committed, we gave the keys to the earth that God gave to us, to Satan (We gave our power over the earth to Satan).
If there is a God why hasn't he destroyed Satan
God is a God of freewill. He allowed his people decide (like he did his angels) if they wanted to stay loyal to God or turn themselves over to Satan.
Why would a loving God allow people to go to hell
God is a God of freewill, he is also a God of justice. Satan knew that there would be consequences for his rebellion but yet he did it. We all have heard of creationism, we all have had a chance to stick with God, if we denied than we chose Satan and thus he was going to send those who affiliated with Satan and Satan himself to the lake of fire. As sad as it is, dozens of people are thrown in with Satan for rebelling with him.
Why do some Christians persecute others despite what the Bible says to do
Naturally, due to our sins we are arrogant, ignorant, and selfish sometimes. So during the times that "Christians" killed, looted, and harmed people, they were acting out of pure arrogance about how "sophisticated" they were. Others are around like that but most don't kill, loot or harm others anymore. Rather, they condemn them to hell (Not to point any fingers but I have noticed a few on this site). God does not tolerate such actions thus the reason Jesus said "To those who are sinless cast the first stone." It goes a lot deeper than just that, only those who are sinless have the right to judge others based on their sins as God sees all as equals, he loves all, and will try his hardest to convince you of the terrors of hell. But those who still deny him up to their death on earth will (sadly) wake up in hell. But to condemn other and to judge others is something God does not tolerate.
I could go on and on and on, based on questions I am commonly asked but to shorten it. Do I believe in God? Yes.
the fact that I'm actually a puppet account that's just here to stir the shit, and I legit forgot which account I was on. no problem m90 have a Gr9 day.
Part of it is who the crime is ultimately committed against. Violating God's moral law requires justice. And God being an eternal being makes an eternal punishment just. What wouldn't be just would be if we broke God's law but God didn't do anything about it. A similar thing goes with the eternal reward. If you repent and accept Jesus Christ as your savior than the law becomes a moot point and then you are conformed to the image of Gods son Jesus.
I still don't see how a test to determine if someone deserves eternal punishment or eternal reward (apparently the only two options) can be unequivocally determined in a finite setting.
Violating God's moral law requires justice.
Why?
And God being an eternal being makes an eternal punishment just.
Does it? If you try to steal from the president, are you prosecuted as if you were the president?
I still don't see how a test to determine if someone deserves eternal punishment or eternal reward (apparently the only two options) can be unequivocally determined in a finite setting.
Its because we are dealing with an eternal being. If an eternal being has laws that we need to follow and we don't follow them, we get eternal punishment regardless of whether or not we are finite in nature
Why?
Because God is a just judge and also a good judge. If God didn't do anything about the people who violated His law, then He wouldn't be either good or just.
Does it? If you try to steal from the president, are you prosecuted as if you were the president?
The idea is that since God is an eternal being and you do wrong against an eternal being, it warrants eternal punishment. To stick with the president example, if I were to steal from the president, I would go to federal prison since the president is the federal head in America. A federal crime warrants federal punishment.
Because God is a just judge and also a good judge. If God didn't do anything about the people who violated His law, then He wouldn't be either good or just.
The reason God allows eternal punishment is because God being an eternal being set up the rules and if an eternal being set up the rules, that would make eternal torture just if you were to break them
That doesn't follow. God may be eternal, but he recognizes that we are not. He is punishing mortal beings, who commit mortal crimes, to immortal punishments.
I think your questions can be answered with my second response to pirate. Basically, its who we are committing the crime against. Pirate brought up being charged with stealing from the president of the United States. If I were to do that, I would be put into federal prison for however long the sentence is (not too sure) since I stole from the federal head of the country. If I were to do the same thing to say a convenience store, I may be put into a local jail for not that long. I did the same thing, stealing, but got 2 different results, jail as opposed to federal prison. Like I said earlier, the punishment for the same crime depends on who the crime is committed against. Even if God is eternal and recognizes that we aren't, we are still committing crimes against Him and since God is a perfectly good and just God, He won't let the crimes go unpunished, even if the punishment is eternity in hell
Any comparison within the mortal world doesn't work from the get-go.
Even if we are comitting crimes against an eteranl being, the fact that we are not eternal makes any eteranl punishment unbalanced.
That isn't just. Just saying "God is eternal, therefore his eternal punishments are just" doesn't logically follow.
Example: Someone can live their entire life good and moral, but not believe in god. According to the Bible, the proper punishment for that is to be tortured in hell for eternity.
Even if God is an eternal being, torturing a person for all of eternity because of a lack of belief isn't just in any way, shape, or form. Even if you go beyond that into sin, the duration of any given sin could, at most, be around 90 years (assuming someone lives to 100 and can actively sin starting at 10).
The punishment would then be infinitely (and I mean that literally) longer than the combined lifetimes of all humans who have ever lived.
How could that possibly be considered anything short of monstrous, regardless of whether or not God is eternal? The fact that he is omniscient means he isn't limited by his own eternal context, which means he should know better.
Even if we are comitting crimes against an eteranl being, the fact that we are not eternal makes any eteranl punishment unbalanced.
That leads me to this next question. Some of the crimes that people commit have a life sentence attached to it. Why do we have the authority to put people in a prison for however long their life is for breaking our laws, but God doesn't have the authority to put people in hell for breaking his?
Even if God is an eternal being, torturing a person for all of eternity because of a lack of belief isn't just in any way, shape, or form.
Lets pretend belief wasn't a part of it. Why would it be wrong for God to put us in a "prison" so to speak for breaking His law?
How could that possibly be considered anything short of monstrous, regardless of whether or not God is eternal?
I just go back to what I said earlier, why is it a bad thing for God to put us in a prison for breaking His law?
Also something to think about, lets say God is the one that created us. Would He not be the one who decides how it is we are supposed to act and behave? If we act and behave outside of what God wants us to do, would we not be subject to whatever punishment God has regardless whether or not we are finite and God is infinite?
That leads me to this next question. Some of the crimes that people commit have a life sentence attached to it. Why do we have the authority to put people in a prison for however long their life is for breaking our laws, but God doesn't have the authority to put people in hell for breaking his?
Okay, let's do the math here. Say someone is guilty of premeditated murder at 25, and is sentenced to life without parole. His sentence would be, say, 70 years? Probably less?
God, on the other hand, will put him in for more than 7,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 years for something as simple as following the wrong religion.
You really see those as being the same?
Lets pretend belief wasn't a part of it. Why would it be wrong for God to put us in a "prison" so to speak for breaking His law?
You are missing the point. I don't find the nature of any punishment to be wrong, I find the nature of eternal torture to be horrifying. If God wants to punish people for breaking laws, fine, that's understandable (well, not really given some other theological issues with predestination and omniscience, but that's a whole nother spiel). But an INFINITE sentence? There is no justice in infinite sentences, particularly when it is infinite torture.
Also something to think about, lets say God is the one that created us. Would He not be the one who decides how it is we are supposed to act and behave? If we act and behave outside of what God wants us to do, would we not be subject to whatever punishment God has regardless whether or not we are finite and God is infinite?
Again, I'm not questioning the need for any kind of punishment (well, I do, but in different debates). I am questioning the fact that the punishment he gives is never ending torture for some seriously minor things. The punishment is completely and utterly disconnected from the nature of the crime.
But an INFINITE sentence? There is no justice in infinite sentences, particularly when it is infinite torture.
What would you say is a good punishment for an infinite being to give to His creations for breaking His law?
Again, I'm not questioning the need for any kind of punishment (well, I do, but in different debates). I am questioning the fact that the punishment he gives is never ending torture for some seriously minor things. The punishment is completely and utterly disconnected from the nature of the crime.
If God created us, why would it matter if we are finite and He is infinite?
What would you say is a good punishment for an infinite being to give to His creations for breaking His law?
One proportional to the crime committed, obviously.
If God created us, why would it matter if we are finite and He is infinite?
Because we are finite.
If you are a young child, and your parents catch you doing something wrong, they will punish you as a child. If the government catches you committing a crime, and you are a child, they will punish you as a child.
I don't know how many times I have to ask you why you think an infinite judgement for a small, temporary crime is just. But I will ask you again, for the last time: How can you think, even if God is infinite, that an eternity under torture is a just sentence for anything? Again, regardless of whether God is infinite or not.
Then again, how is any length of torture a "just" or "merciful" judgement.
How can you think, even if God is infinite, that an eternity under torture is a just sentence for anything?
Because God created us and because of that, we are subject to His rules. To God, if you broke one rule, you've broken them all. So to God, there is no distinction. Before I go on, I want to mention some things that are necessary. God is perfectly good and just and doesn't conform to our definitions of those words since He is the standard. Because of this, God knows exactly what is good and what isn't, even when it comes to punishments. So if God makes the rules and has those attributes, it wouldn't matter if we did something we considered big or small. We still broke the rules are deserving of hell regardless of how good we think we are or how well we think we follow the rules. The rule maker decides who gets punished, what the punishment is, and when they get punished. God is not handing out eternal punishment with no retribution. Those who choose to believe in Him and what Jesus did for us are allotted a space in Heaven, which is quite the opposite of a punishment. God loves us and desires to give us good things, but he cannot reward those who disobey without belief and the desire to be forgiven and follow his path. Christians and non-Christians alike are sinners, the only difference is that Christians know the love of God and have a seat in heaven with our eternal father. We want everyone, including you to join us there because we firmly believe if you do not then you will end up in a much worse place.
Simple fact here - according to you, God is all-powerful and just and kind and good. According to that logic, the God you believe in is basically impossible. If he was good AND all powerful, he would help the dying, starving children that just came into the world. He would help every suffering soul. However, he is not. This leads to a reasonable conclusion - God can only be one of the following - good or powerful. Or none. If he is good but not all powerful, or all powerful but not good, or not good or powerful, it would explain the question I have posed. So now, choose - is your God good or powerful?
Its possible for God to be both all-good and all-powerful. You're making the assumption that God owes us something when in all actuality, God doesn't owe us anything. You're right when you say that God can help all the dying, starving children of the world. Thats why God created us. So that we could do something about it instead of whining and complaining about it and blaming a God it doesn't seem like you don't believe in on a debate website. Just because God isn't doing what we should be doing that doesn't make God the bad guy
Simple fact here - according to you, God is all-powerful and just and kind and good. According to that logic, the God you believe in is basically impossible. If he was good AND all powerful, he would help the dying, starving children that just came into the world. He would help every suffering soul. However, he is not. This leads to a reasonable conclusion - God can only be one of the following - good or powerful. Or none. If he is good but not all powerful, or all powerful but not good, or not good or powerful, it would explain the question I have posed. So now, choose - is your God good or powerful?
Just a random poll, if you feel the need you can attempt to prove your God is real (I didnt say you couldnt I just said you didnt have to). Hope that clears it up :)
Stick to the topic next time. But to answer your question, I do so only because I view they are of the greater good. Socialism is something that needs to be actively used in the government. Something I wouldn't support if the church did a better job at helping the poor. Republicans generally hate the idea of socialism.
Yes, I believe in the existence of God. By God, I mean the necessary, eternal, immaterial, omnipotent mind that created the universe. You can't really "prove" the existence of God, but there are good reasons to accept it.
No. There is absolutely no evidence to even suggest a god exists. Everything that is "known" about god originates in a book whos supernatural claims have not and, in fact, cannot be verified. God itself is a wholly unfalsifiable concept. You cant prove it exists or prove it doesnt exist because you cant test for it in any possible way. Theres nothing to measure. Nothing to observe. Nothing that you would be able to study to confirm a god exists. So if we cant possibly ever confirm it then what reason do we have to believe it exists?
Organized religions are full of nonsense within their respective texts that make them easy to reject outright. And god as just a concept in itself is unfalsifiable and therefore not worth considering at all.
God is truly an unfalsifiable concept, but is that your only reason for rejecting it. Your accepting the view of scientism as an explanation of existence. Scientism is not falsifiable either, so you should reject it as well.
In this two-part study, we will survey some of the prophecies that focus upon Babylon’s demise. First, though, let us remind ourselves of several principles that govern the validity of genuine prophecy.
True prophecies are stated emphatically; they are not couched in the jargon of contingency (unless, of course, contextual evidence suggests that one is dealing with a conditional prophecy).
Generally, a significant time frame must lapse between the prophetic utterance and the fulfillment, so as to exclude the possibility of “educated speculation.”
The prophecy will involve specific details, not vague generalities.
The predictive declarations will be fulfilled precisely and completely. No mere substantial percentage will suffice. One must recognize, though, that occasionally a prophecy may contain figurative terminology; this does not, however, militate against its evidential validity.
Reasonable doubt- this is credible evidence
It is not likely and is not usual - as a matter of fact it is HIGHLY unlikely and EXTREMELY unusual!!
Here is part of the historical event of Steven's Martyrdom
Notice his stoners coats were laid at Saul's feet.
Saul after murdering Christiand, has an unusual transformation and personally experienced an encounter with the Risen Jesus.
Saul goes from killing them to the greatest winner of souls. And by those actions fullfills PROPHESY!! And his dramatic conversion pushes the gospel out from his own countrymen to Gentiles, (other Nation other than Israel) and is well know even from those he was in league with while severely persecuting Christians.
Matt 24
14“This gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all the nations, and then the end will come.
Isaiah 11
10 "And in that day there shall be a Root of Jesse, who shall stand as a banner to the people; for the Gentiles shall seek Him, and His resting place shall be glorious."
.
So like it, or not this IS reasonable evidence, and along with 2000 prophesies that have already been fulfilled in detail!
With only 500 to go, and some of those are in process!
Evidence FOR GOD is mounting!!!
Stephen was martyred as murders placed their coats at Saul's feet.
SAUL Later became PAUL, and went on to become a valiant Appostle of the faith he was a murderer in war against Christians!
What changed?
Acts 7
51 “You men who are stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears are always resisting the Holy Spirit; you are doing just as your fathers did. 52 Which one of the prophets did your fathers not persecute? They killed those who had previously announced the coming of the Righteous One, whose betrayers and murderers you have now become; 53 you who received the law as ordained by angels, and yet did not keep it.”
54 Now when they heard this, they were cut to the quick, and they began gnashing their teeth at him. 55 But being full of the Holy Spirit, he gazed intently into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God; 56 and he said, “Behold, I see the heavens opened up and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.” 57 But they cried out with a loud voice, and covered their ears and rushed at him with one impulse. 58 When they had driven him out of the city, they began stoning him; and the witnesses laid aside their robes at the feet of a young man named Saul. 59 They went on stoning Stephen as he called on the Lord and said, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit!” 60 Then falling on his knees, he cried out with a loud voice, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them!” Having said this, he fell asleep.
I have yet to see or hear any proof that is solid enough for me to believe. Also I am and always have been bisexual and the fact that someone can apparently say I'm going to go to a place that will punish me forever for attraction that I am born with doesn't exactly draw me to be religious. Although there are religions with gods that do not care about sexual orientation, it goes back to my first statement.
