And yet one of you insists you believe because of the evidence and the other one that Christianity is based on faith not evidence.
And yet you keep failing to make the time to actually learn, and are so anally retentive and narrowly focused that you're straining out the gnats while swallowing camels. Big camels too!
We both believe, and we both receive affirmation of our belief in Jesus.
He's emphasizing the front end- it's faith.
That doesn't mean that he hasn't been receiving evidence that God is real and knowable.
I've been examining this for a long time and in the course of my life, I've found that in believing God, he demonstrates himself to me and others who believe him.
Just as it's written in Hebrews 11:1
Heb 11:1 ISV Now faith is the assurance that what we hope for will come about and the certainty that what we cannot see exists.
Faith isn't one of those things where you buy a lottery ticket and hope you're the lucky winner.
It's more like being the adopted child of an extremely wealthy person who promises to include you in their will, and gives you an inheritance.
We wait until the time to inherit.
Thus, we have faith in them, and their promise to us.
As described in Romans 8,
Rom 8:23-26 ISV 23 However, not only the creation, but we who have the first fruits of the Spirit also groan inwardly as we eagerly await our adoption, the redemption of our bodies. 24
For we were saved with this hope in mind. Now a hope that can be observed is not really hope, for who hopes for what can be seen? 25 But if we hope for what we do not yet observe, we eagerly wait for it with patience. 26 In the same way, the Spirit also helps us in our weakness, since we do not know how to pray as we should. But the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans too deep for words,
Thus, we believe IN God, and place our trust in Jesus. We build our faith in his nature and character, we do what Jesus said and read the bible, do what he says and he does his part of his teachings in our lives.
It's actually quite educational.
He made it quite clear that if we keep his teachings, we will show that we love him, we will be loved by him and his Father and they will come and make their home with us.
This is perhaps the most effective method of making himself knowable to us.
He takes up residence in our lives and begins working in our hearts to create a whole new person.
In the new testament letter of 2 Corinthians 5, it says that "if any man be in Christ, he is a new creation. Old things have passed away, Behold! All things are new.
What God does in us is to give us a new heart, a new spirit, he takes away the old stony heart of flesh and gives us a new heart of flesh.
He then gives us his Holy Spirit to cause us to live in agreement with his laws, and statutes.
In trusting him, he gives us everything we need to live a godly life.
In living this life, we're given evidence of God's reality, his interactions with us, answered prayer, and numerous other things that demonstrate himself to us.
These seem very different to me.
Perhaps. This just demonstrates that you don't actually know what you're talking about.
You're so tightly bound by your preconceptions and beliefs that you don't see.
In Philippians 4:6-7, God says that we can pray about everything in our lives, instead of being anxious about these things. He says that His peace will act as a sentry, or guard, around our hearts and minds.
God then says in vss 8-9, ifwe focus our thoughts on good, pure, lovely, true, right, just, praiseworthy and honorable things, God will be with us.
There are hundreds, if not thousands of various promises in the bible to his people, where if they do the specified thing, He will do something in our lives.
Thus, by believing God's Word, we will receive evidence of God's reality and love for us.
Right. Stop the analogy there. As you say, I would have to believe you will be there.
Case in point.
You don't want to know or understand.
There are copious everyday things that you believe, and have no problem whatsoever with, but here, you have closed yourself off from, solely because it's God and Jesus and the bible.
These are that which are preventing you from learning the truth.
You were conditioned to believe God will be there as a kid, so you believe. I do not.
Further demonstrating that you are biased, and blinded by your biases and preconceptions.
Why, because I believe God, instead of you?
Seems like your ego is so puffed up that you believe that you are a god in your own right, and as such, you're like a fragile crystal, and one tink will cause you to shatter.
Reminding me of what Jesus said.
He is the chief cornerstone of God's household and anyone who falls on him, they will be broken.
But if the stone falls on them, they will be pulverized.
So, you can indeed continue as you are. And you will be pulverized. Or, come to Jesus and be broken.
In the writings of the ancients, it's written,
Those who are repeatedly corrected and refuse to engage will one day be destroyed, and there will be no remedy.
The reward is a god who tortures billions to punish them for the "sin" of not loving him.
Nope. But, as you continue to argue that, you will be judged by your own words.
If you refuse to come follow Jesus, when you die, he will give you exactly what you want.
To be left alone with yourself. Your worst possible nightmare.
The regret will eat you alive....
No. I skip most of your posts because they are just Bible verses you are unable to substantiate.
The substantiation is in the doing.
When you do what Jesus said, you will get all the evidence that is available to everyone who comes to him and believes in Jesus.
As such, they were written a few, to hundreds of years prior to the events.
As usual, you assume God exists to make your argument.
No assumption.
Experience.
You don't actually want to get past your assumptions that he can't exist, so you sit there, in your pile of BS, and accuse me and other Jesus followers of exactly what you're doing.
Assuming.
It's rather interesting that the bible "assumes" that God exists.
"In the beginning God....."
No argument, no detailed information, just the statement-- in the beginning God....
So, the problem you have is that you have to prove that you are the one who is right.
I.e., your assumption is
There is no God.
So, prove it.
He gives us everything we need to know him.
Prove that he doesn't exist.
It does if you want to convince me.
YHVH does the convincing.
You have to decide whether or not you actually want to know.
Jesus was quite clear that he doesn't go around twisting arms, and wrestling people to force them to believe him.
What experience have you had that prove God cannot lie?
I've been describing them for over a decade now.
Don't you ever actually pay attention to what I've posted?
So if someone tells you he cannot lie, you automatically believe him?
It's known as experience.
You should go back through all my posts and read.
Sadly, the work before October 2020 is lost, so you have a problem there.
But, you obviously believe you are an intellectual giant, and know what exists beyond eternity, so you could in fact travel back in time and learn.
How do you know the above verses are not lies?
How do you know enough to claim they are?
As usual, you assume the Bible is true.
Experience.
But since you don't actually want to gain any experience, I'd say that you have chosen to remain ignorant.