According to Christian belief Jesus was God. He didn't have to prove himself to himself. I don't see how this applies to my situation.Nl said:After Jesus had fasted for forty days and nights, the devil tried to tempt Jesus into doing a miracle to turn stones into bread. Jesus could have done that but didn't comply.
His timing was too late to save my faith. Forty plus years have passed and I still haven't heard from him.nl said:God cannot be expected to meet with us on our terms. He sets the terms and conditions. We can't obligate God to act but He will act according to His promises in His timing.
God goes in search of his lost sheep. At least that is the claim, but it seems not to be true. Also, the that all one need do is knock and the door will open also seems in error. I tried to believe. I truly did.nl said:God calls people to humility and repentance. God wants people to seek His glory and not their own.
Just so you are aware, many biblical scholars would not hold this view. I don't see anything "scientifically testable" about the New Testament. I don't know where you are even getting this notion from. I have never seen any author make this claim. I would also say it is not historically accurate. Many biblical scholars assert, for instance, that Acts cannot be trusted.I want to add to this that the beauty of following Jesus is that Christianity is historically and scientifically testable as well as all inclusive in that you it welcomes those who take a blind leap as well as those who require some intellectual basis for believing.
To answer the question so that maybe just maybe this thread will end. Yes, there is such a thing as an atheist, now can we move on. If they love devil so much then let them get what they deserve. Jesus spoke in parables so that the pharisees and Sadducee could not understand, ( but to His disciples He explained) unless they put their flesh aside and accepted Him. Next.
I hope you don't see me as a bully. I simply present the evidence as I see it.I struggle with this because it seems we are losing in the arena of ideas because some of us are afraid to speak up. Also, I see Christians who may not have the intellectual ability to defend their faith being run over by atheistic bullies. A little pushback is good IMO because it doesn't afford them the ability to rely on bullying tactics.
Just so you are aware, many biblical scholars would not hold this view. I don't see anything "scientifically testable" about the New Testament. I don't know where you are even getting this notion from. I have never seen any author make this claim. I would also say it is not historically accurate. Many biblical scholars assert, for instance, that Acts cannot be trusted.
Kerry, you make a statement like this and then wonder why the discussion doesn't end?To answer the question so that maybe just maybe this thread will end. Yes, there is such a thing as an atheist, now can we move on. If they love devil so much then let them get what they deserve.
I struggle with this because it seems we are losing in the arena of ideas because some of us are afraid to speak up. Also, I see Christians who may not have the intellectual ability to defend their faith being run over by atheistic bullies. A little pushback is good IMO because it doesn't afford them the ability to rely on bullying tactics.
Act presents itself as an historical retelling of events of the early church after the death of Jesus, but scholars have raised a lot of issues with the accuracy of its historicity.Why Acts, specifically? Because Luke wrote it?
Actually, you are mistaken in this belief. Let me ask you, do you accept the Nebular Hypothesis?Thats right, there is no way that any logical person could look at this life and believe we are some accident
What's a judaizer? LolAge has it's benefits meaning that I don't feel as though I always have to be right anymore or really defend to the death that I felt at a younger age I had to. Now I look at it more as though I am a representative for God and many times I really ask myself how would Jesus respond to this? With force or with love and kindness? I do truly try to err or the side of love and kindness.
I have been on CC since October last year 2013 and just two weeks after joining I was being labeled as a Judaizer and I did not even know what the term meant. It hurt my feelings to be called a name and at that moment I wanted to defend and protect myself. But then I felt that God wanted me to step back and respond in a different way and not take everything so personally. After all if someone is attacking us they are really attacking God as we are His children.
So I just try to be kind and loving and let God take care of the injustice in His timing. There is a statement out there that says Love conquers all and I look forward to that day, but for now I chat in the chat rooms and try to be kind and loving and be a good representative for the God who loved me and the rest of the world with His life.
I am talking about biblical scholars. I think you know that.Scholars once thought that the sun revolved around the Earth, Scholars once thought the Earth was flat, Scholars sent my mother in law home to die and that was 18 years ago.
His timing was too late to save my faith. Forty plus years have passed and I still haven't heard from him.
God goes in search of his lost sheep. At least that is the claim, but it seems not to be true. Also, the that all one need do is knock and the door will open also seems in error. I tried to believe. I truly did.
These are all excuses for why God does not show himself. I am not the first person to become an atheist because God did not show himself. This sort of thing happens time after time. There are too many excuses for why God will not show himself to nonbelievers. The difficult part of it is that most of us nonbelievers sought God openly back when we still believed, but still he wouldn't show himself!
Have you heard of Dan Barker? He is a former evangelical preacher who became an atheist. The transition period from conservative Christian to atheist took years with him. Barker also prayed to God to restore his faith. His prayers, like mine, went unanswered. Read his book Godless. You will see that God does not always answer prayers, to the detriment of Christian belief.
What's a judaizer? Lol