Romans 3:11 says that, "Not one is seeking out God." Is this anyone's fault? No. Romans 11:32 says, "God locks up all together in stubbornness." We are all born stubborn, and apart from divine intervention, we stay that way.
Romans 3:11 says that, "Not one is seeking out God." Is this anyone's fault? No. Romans 11:32 says, "God locks up all together in stubbornness." We are all born stubborn, and apart from divine intervention, we stay that way.
Real deal!
I hear what youre saying and that's alright and this is in not directed toward you, but I have said the same things before I was a believer, before I could admit I needed and found a Savior in Christ Jesus. The truly sad part is, that if; and I dont say if in a doubting manner because I truly believe there is a Heaven, but as already stated, there are things we just cant prove, but on that day of our death we find out there is a Heaven and we reflect on every opportunity during the life we had on this earth, every opportunity, every message we heard of the saving grace of Jesus Christ and rejected that message because we thought what the world had to offer in the present time was so much better than believing in a God that just got in the way of our selfish desires. I believe there is a Heaven and I believe there is a Hell and it is a place of torment, but lets just say for a moment its not a place of torment and its just a holding cell if you will where we will spend eternity, that itself alone would be hard for me to imagine, a place totally and forever separated from God, a place with utterly no hope, only thinking about what I am missing out on.
Obviously, we hear a lot that God does not exist, that man made up God, well, there is a flip side to that. What about non-believers, they do believe in something regarding the afterlife or eternity, and they cant prove that theory either, so it is a belief they made up somewhere somehow. Are you willing to bet your eternity or even your life on something made up? My prayer is that people would not dismiss the love of God so quickly because Heaven, I believe is real, as is God, Jesus, the Holy Spirit, Satan and angels, good and bad, right and wrong, rewards and consequences.
I am very familiar with Pascal's wager, but one should also not live one's life hedging against Hell. There isn't free will if you have to weigh something that effects every second of your life, including your personal thoughts, against the threat of eternal damnation. These are not the actions of a loving god, nor a merciful or wise one: to create a damaged product and demand it fix itself by believing in the very thing that will send the product to eternal damnation if the product refuses.
Well said. The basic doctrines taught in most churches is wrong and it turns many away.
Here's a snip from a piece regarding freewill...
Free Will and the "Oh Well!" Creed
What is free will? Free will is a doctrine that teaches that man can act independently of God. This should already ring sour to the spiritually-attuned ear. The doctrine of free will teaches that man has the freedom to choose or reject God, never mind the verse that says no man is seeking God (Rom. 3:11).But I remind you that we’re talking about free will; Scripture has nothing to do with this.
In other words, in the doctrine of free will, man becomes the deciding factor in his own salvation. Jesus Christ’s work on the cross, according to this doctrine, was only a potential salvation, not an actual one. According to this doctrine, the cross of Christ never saved anybody; the cross only saves those who decide to be saved. What about the verse that says no one can come to the Son unless the Father draws him? (Jn. 6:44). Never mind it. What about the verses that say God is the Savior of all mankind (1 Tim. 4:10), and that the blood of the cross will reconcile all to Him (Col. 1:20), whether those on the earth or those in the heavens? Never mind them. Then what about the verse that says God is operating all things in accord with the counsel of His will? (Eph. 1:11) Again, never mind. I have already told you. Scripture has nothing to do with this. We’re talking about free will.
That's right they cannot be proven... So, until they are, we don't believe them. It's just the rational approach to extraordinary claims. Faith is not a good human attribute. It's a bad one. It enslaves, confuses and divides... All, because, someone just has a hunch. You use logic in other areas of your life but when it comes to the biggest issue that requires your unwavering dedication in time, energy and money (your religion), you toss logic aside and rely on things that cannot be proven. Religions are fake... You know this. They should all be scrutinized in the most rigorous manner... Yet, we simply fall in line because many of us were raised that way and told what to believe before we developed the ability to choose for ourselves, thus, our worldview was shaped for us. That's what indoctrination does and that's why there are kids in the Middle East toting AK's and strapping bombs to their bodies. They were told what to think, not how to think.
Again, it's good to not believe extraordinary claims that lack extraordinary evidence. You cannot prove aliens exist, you cannot prove Peter Pan is really a girl, you cannot prove there's a bunch of Teddy bears living on the dark side of one of Jupiter's moons. Would it make sense to then believe in those things because someone throws the idea out there? No, claims need to be supported with evidence for those claims.
Also, don't pretend like you're not risking anything by believing in the god of the Bible and not any of the other thousands of deities to "exist" throughout time. Allah's hell is just as bad as your god's hell. Viking hell also doesn't sound like a party.
Lastly, punishing someone for their beliefs is punishing an innocent person. When you truly step away from your religion and examine how beliefs are formed, you'll come away from it with the understanding that choice has little to do with it. Would you like me to give you an example? Start believing in Santa Claus right now.
True words. Only believers sin.
But it's a shame you don't allow a self-proclaimed, all-loving deity to dictate and govern your life for you. I mean, that's love, you just don't understand it. Politicians do that and they're bad. A god does it and he's good.
God gives you the freedom of choice regarding how to live your life. If you want eternal salvation then he gives you the guidance needed. If you do not, then no eternal reward. Politicians do not give this freedom to choose. They create stupid laws for special interest or their own agendas. You would think Liberals and Libertarians would appreciate God's approach.
I'm familiar with this principle. I think it fits UFOS, ghosts, ESP and such particularly well.
Madd - your statement made me think of "The Case for Christ" by Lee Strobel. Have you seen it? The author is a lawyer who argues that the evidence for Christ's deity is more than enough to win a court case. Interesting reading.
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