Old Testament Pfft, Jesus is the MAN!

[Ecurb Noselrub]

I am extremely confussed with regards to how anybody can read the bible and simply choose to "believe" it. It seems impossible to me to believe but I guess most people are caught when they are too young to think for themselves, their parents force it on them. So how did this cycle begin?
I presume through ignorance and through enforcement by a ruthless governing power.

Some people have spiritual experiences which create a new perspective for them regarding God. Then they go back and read the Bible in light of those experiences, and a new world sort of opens up.  You see it as a whole and it starts to make sense.  In a way, it becomes a living document that opens new doors as you explore it.  It's not just the black and white letters on a page.  I've read the Bible your way, and I've read it in light of my experiences, and there is a vast difference between the two.

[Asmodean]

If you read something through the lenses of personal experience and consider that something factual, how can you quality check to see that your perception is indeed accurate?

Where does reality end and fantasy begin? Where does the line go where you have to say that you can not trust yourself to analyse something objectively?

[AnimatedDirt]

We all die, there is nothing special about death. Death does not save us from life, we don't need saving. We cannot delegate accountability of our own actions onto someone else, as responsible adults we accept accountability. Christianity is fundamentally flawed Christians are fundamentally flawed. I cannot understand Christianity, it is nonsense.

I fixed it for you.  Now this and the bible are in harmony.

[Sweetdeath]

What makes me giggle, AD, is the use of god and justice in the same sentence. That actually makes sense to you. The worship me or die attitude. As i seem to recall, many dictators have the same attitude.

You're not dead, are you?

Excuse you? 

[AnimatedDirt]

What makes me giggle, AD, is the use of god and justice in the same sentence. That actually makes sense to you. The worship me or die attitude. As i seem to recall, many dictators have the same attitude.

You're not dead, are you?

Excuse you?

You don't worship this "dictator" God and you're not dead are you?

Was it/is it offensive to ask?  If so, apologies.

[Asmodean]

You don't worship this "dictator" God and you're not dead are you?

Which is sort of indicative of that god not really being... Real?

[AnimatedDirt]

You don't worship this "dictator" God and you're not dead are you?

Which is sort of indicative of that god not really being... Real?

...or that if he is, is no "dictator".

[Asmodean]

...or that if he is, is no "dictator".

...Which is sort of indicative of the lack of need to believe in and/or worship him to get all the goodies, no?

[Stevil]

Some people have spiritual experiences which create a new perspective for them regarding God. Then they go back and read the Bible in light of those experiences, and a new world sort of opens up.

So those people are saved by god's grace, but the people whom god chooses not to give compelling spiritual experiences to, they aren't saved and hence don't get resurrected in New Earth where the sun never exhausts its fuel supply.

Do you find this logical and compelling and worth believing in?

[Sweetdeath]

What makes me giggle, AD, is the use of god and justice in the same sentence. That actually makes sense to you. The worship me or die attitude. As i seem to recall, many dictators have the same attitude.

You're not dead, are you?

Excuse you?

You don't worship this "dictator" God and you're not dead are you?

Was it/is it offensive to ask?  If so, apologies.

(( i was just confused by the statement.))

I cant worship something that doesnt exist..

[Sandra Craft]

If you read something through the lenses of personal experience and consider that something factual, how can you quality check to see that your perception is indeed accurate?

Where does reality end and fantasy begin? Where does the line go where you have to say that you can not trust yourself to analyse something objectively?

I think that's were faith comes in.

[AnimatedDirt]

...or that if he is, is no "dictator".

...Which is sort of indicative of the lack of need to believe in and/or worship him to get all the goodies, no?

...which equates justice and dictatorship.

[AnimatedDirt]

Some people have spiritual experiences which create a new perspective for them regarding God. Then they go back and read the Bible in light of those experiences, and a new world sort of opens up.

So those people are saved by god's grace, but the people whom god chooses not to give compelling spiritual experiences to, they aren't saved and hence don't get resurrected in New Earth where the sun never exhausts its fuel supply.

Do you find this logical and compelling and worth believing in?

It's the sort of love that lets each individual choose to believe or not believe according to their own conscience...not unlike how it seems you've chosen according to your conscience.  God only moves on those that move towards him.  Would you rather he force himself on you?  It seems clear that knowing "all about this god" through his word (bible) and what he offers everyone, you actively choose against...but you sound angry that he's not "chosen" you when in fact it's the exact opposite in that you've not chosen him.

It's simple logic.  If God created life, then to choose against this God is to choose death.  Nothing "unfair" about that at all

If God created the cosmos, then it's not such a stretch to think our sun's fuel supply will never be exhausted...if the sun remains "our sun" at all.

[Ecurb Noselrub]

If you read something through the lenses of personal experience and consider that something factual, how can you quality check to see that your perception is indeed accurate?

Where does reality end and fantasy begin? Where does the line go where you have to say that you can not trust yourself to analyse something objectively?

We do this all the time. You pass someone on the street who looks a little odd. Maybe you do a double take to make sure you saw what you think you saw. Still looks weird. You shrug your shoulders and go on. You've just had a personal experience.  You didn't stop the person and conduct any kind of scientific analysis on them. You trusted your experience - I saw a weird looking person today - now you believe that there are people who look like that, even if you can't go back, find that person again, and prove it to anyone else.

Same with experiences of the spiritual nature. You have them, and they can't be repeated to analyze them. So you take them into your reservoir of life events and they begin to form you and your view of the world. They can't be tested scientifically, so they can never qualify as knowledge, per se. But they can open you up to the possibility of something beyond the realm of scientific observation.  Depending upon the nature and intensity of the experience, they can create some degree of confidence in you that something "out there" does exist. That could be referred to as "faith."

[Sweetdeath]

Some people have spiritual experiences which create a new perspective for them regarding God. Then they go back and read the Bible in light of those experiences, and a new world sort of opens up.

So those people are saved by god's grace, but the people whom god chooses not to give compelling spiritual experiences to, they aren't saved and hence don't get resurrected in New Earth where the sun never exhausts its fuel supply.

Do you find this logical and compelling and worth believing in?

It's the sort of love that lets each individual choose to believe or not believe according to their own conscience...not unlike how it seems you've chosen according to your conscience.  God only moves on those that move towards him.  Would you rather he force himself on you?  It seems clear that knowing "all about this god" through his word (bible) and what he offers everyone, you actively choose against...but you sound angry that he's not "chosen" you when in fact it's the exact opposite in that you've not chosen him.

It's simple logic.  If God created life, then to choose against this God is to choose death.  Nothing "unfair" about that at all

If God created the cosmos, then it's not such a stretch to think our sun's fuel supply will never be exhausted...if the sun remains "our sun" at all.

Simple logic, according to you.

I could use the same argument using Ra, the bird gid of the Sun.  :\