Anonymous asked this question on 2/8/2000:
I don't mean to insult you or anything. I do believe that we all have the right to choose what we each believe. You don't believe in God, because He is invisible? Do you not believe in Him because you can't tounch, or feel Him. That's totally not a reason to not believe. If God shows Himself, so everyone can see Him, you know the majority of the population would believe in Him then. He doesn't want that, He wants us to decide on Faith, not by sight. Jesus/God has showed Himself to me in many ways. He has given His word to everyone. It's called the Bible, but you decide if you want to hear His word. God created us, He created everything. If we evolved from monkeys, why did we stop evolving. Would not we still be slowly changing into some other being. I belive that it is WAY easier to believe that God created everything. I know that His word is true. If you read the bible, which you may have, you will know that everything that has been spoken has come to pass. A thousand years before Jesus was born, it was written that He would be born. I know God is real, I have prayed to Him and recieved what I ask for. Not because I'm any more important to Him than anyone else, but I had faith in Him to answer my prayer. He wants you to decide by faith, to follow Him. I mean, don't you think He knows that if He appears in front of you, that you will believe. He doesn't want that. I have never seen Him phisically, but yes, I have felt Him on more than one occassion. I'm not trying to judge you, nor change your mind, I'm just stating facts that I know to be true from experience. But I say: Wanna hear God? Read the bible! Wanna see God? Have faith! Wanna feel God? Praise His name! Want help from God? Pray to Him and have trust in Him You may not believe, because you have prayed before, or because you thought you trusted Him enough, but If it works for me it can work for you. Also, we "want" things to benefit us, but the bible says, everything we do should be for Jesus sake. We need to pray for things "to benefit Christ". Now my question...
How can you deny the truth, how can you deny God based on science and sight and not on faith. HOW CAN YOU DENY WHAT IS SO CLEARLY TRUE?
minerva gave this response on 2/8/2000:
I don't recall saying I didn't believe in a God, I just don't follow Yahweh because I prefer peaceful Gods of Wisdom to jealous, selfish Gods of War. I also do have proof of a world beyond the physical, not by faith, but by physical manifestations. The only thing that I disagree with is blind faith because it can be dangerous. Look at the tragedies at Guyana, Waco, and Heaven's Gate. It is all too easy to blame it all on Jim Jones, David Koresh, or Marshall Applewhite, but in the end it was faith that led people to follow and obey without questioning.
Faith can be fine (even if it is a crutch) as long as people use it as a motivation to better their lives, as you seem to be doing. I don't doubt for a second that Jesus has made himself known to you; because you have willed it to be so. If your prayers are answered and you find comfort in the Bible, that is all good and well. But that is your path. Other people have other paths, and they all lead to the same point. Just because people go about their spiritual lives in different ways, it doesn't make yours better or worse than anyone else's.
What you call truth scholars know as myth. The Bible was meant as socio-political satire for that place and time, and Jesus' story (as re-written by the Gospel's authors) was “doctored” to fit the messianic prophesies of the Old Testament. The creation story copies dozens of creation myths in the different pagan pantheons. The difference is that pagans do recognize them for what they are: myths.
However, that doesn't mean that you should stop “believing” in it. And it also doesn't mean that you should expect other people to change their ways, if what they have chosen also helps them to better their lives just the same.
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