What do you believe and why do you believe it?

  • Christian Chat is a moderated online Christian community allowing Christians around the world to fellowship with each other in real time chat via webcam, voice, and text, with the Christian Chat app. You can also start or participate in a Bible-based discussion here in the Christian Chat Forums, where members can also share with each other their own videos, pictures, or favorite Christian music.

    If you are a Christian and need encouragement and fellowship, we're here for you! If you are not a Christian but interested in knowing more about Jesus our Lord, you're also welcome! Want to know what the Bible says, and how you can apply it to your life? Join us!

    To make new Christian friends now around the world, click here to join Christian Chat.

Spectrox

Active member
Jul 25, 2019
363
38
28
You know pal......in the first couple of pages I gave you proof that the BIBLE is UNIQUE among all the books ever written, you did not even respond......I made at least two posts that you skimmed right over and did not really acknowledge with any honesty whatsoever at all......and the burden of proof you lay on us to PROVE he exists is equally SHARED.....you are here trying to PROVE or settle in your mind that he does not exist because YOUR prayers were not answered.....SOUNDS like a lack of faith to me......we can cite example after example of how HE has worked in our lives, answered prayer requests, sick kids on death beds delivered, and on and on and on and YET no matter HOW MUCH proof we give you from experience you will still peddle your disdain, claim of contradiction, rejection of the truth, and a denial of the reality of GOD.....

MAN up and prove he does not exist or quit lip flapping!
Which posts did I allegedly skim over?
 
Dec 12, 2013
46,515
20,402
113
Which posts did I allegedly skim over?
You blew right over my first post and did not address any real aspect of what I posted and then never even responded to post 59.......see, the way it comes across is simple....you are not really here to learn, or possibly listen to anything we have to say.....you are here to solidify in your mind that your view is right......end of story.......if you were serious about the reality of GOD you would be open to what we have to say, our experiences and the truth we have studied.....we have SEEN it work and seen God in our lives....

So....really...why are you even here?
 
U

UnderGrace

Guest
Stalin and Pol Pot were not secular humanists. They were totalitarian monsters who relied on the gullibility of the masses. They were probably atheists but did not commit their crimes in the name of atheism just like Christians did not commit their crimes in the name of theism. Crimes were committed as a result of dangerous idealistic dogma.
I have more to state but I can start with this ... a "humanist" which is difficult define, I will admit, ultimately makes man the measure of all things.

While it seems you are trying to divorce the actions of these men, who yes were in fact atheists, and therefore denied the existence of a transcendent moral being, you have yet to support this with facts.
 
Dec 12, 2013
46,515
20,402
113
@UnderGrace --> You know the tragic truth of atheists and even agnostics.....they deny the very existence of GOD and will reject the proof found in scripture......then in the very near future, the same deniers will be deluded by the very God they reject to accept and believe in a false god that will lead them straight to the flaming pits of hell......hilariously tragic.....
 

Spectrox

Active member
Jul 25, 2019
363
38
28
You know pal......in the first couple of pages I gave you proof that the BIBLE is UNIQUE among all the books ever written, you did not even respond......I made at least two posts that you skimmed right over and did not really acknowledge with any honesty whatsoever at all......and the burden of proof you lay on us to PROVE he exists is equally SHARED.....you are here trying to PROVE or settle in your mind that he does not exist because YOUR prayers were not answered.....SOUNDS like a lack of faith to me......we can cite example after example of how HE has worked in our lives, answered prayer requests, sick kids on death beds delivered, and on and on and on and YET no matter HOW MUCH proof we give you from experience you will still peddle your disdain, claim of contradiction, rejection of the truth, and a denial of the reality of GOD.....

MAN up and prove he does not exist or quit lip flapping!
It sounds like you still dont understand what burden of proof is. There has been at least 1 scientific study of prayer and the findings were that it didnt work. I am fine with people feeling the need to pray for someone who is suffering because it demonstrates a good intention. But positive action might work whereas prayer never will. Sometimes people's illnesses go into remission on their own and this has nothing to do with a higher power.
Well........I could not believe 99% of the worlds religions because they contradict the bible.....and in my first post, I stated why I believe the bible is different and inspired as compared to the Muslim's book written by one man.

As far as being in a Muslim country and what religion I may or may not be.......Time and chance happens to all and i could have been born in any country and or raised in any religion, but will say that the bible states that God has called those that will be saved before the foundation of the earth was laid.....so....regardless of where one is born, if they are going to be saved by God's call and belief into the truth they will be saved regardless of where they are born and or raised.....

As stated....in the first post we can see that the bible has a very unique foundation and is the only book that makes sense....and I would have a hard time believing any book that sets forth 50,000 gods of every flavor and or a book that legitimizes sex with animals, dead bodies and or allows me to cut your head off if you do not believe as I believe.

and IN all fairness to my last point....I know the O.T. is full of war and conquest by the command of God, but the nations that God moved against were sacrificing babies to false gods, had temple prostitutes and sodomites, promoted slavery and even in some cases legitimized cannibalism, occultism etc.....
The nations that God moved against were promoting slavery? And God himself isn't promoting slavery in Exodus 21?
 

Spectrox

Active member
Jul 25, 2019
363
38
28
I have more to state but I can start with this ... a "humanist" which is difficult define, I will admit, ultimately makes man the measure of all things.

While it seems you are trying to divorce the actions of these men, who yes were in fact atheists, and therefore denied the existence of a transcendent moral being, you have yet to support this with facts.
Wikipedia has a far better definition of Humanism. Also visit Humanism.org or read the works of Bertrand Russell. Atheists or anti-Christians could only be shown to be evil if The Bible and Christians through the ages had been moral. They haven't. In fact The Bible is partly immoral in its philosophy if you accept human wellbeing as a good target. Humanists have a duty to reduce the misery of the human condition. One Christian on this thread could not accept that or the simple assumption that pleasure was preferable to pain which tells me everything I need to know about their flawed thinking.
 
Dec 12, 2013
46,515
20,402
113
It sounds like you still dont understand what burden of proof is. There has been at least 1 scientific study of prayer and the findings were that it didnt work. I am fine with people feeling the need to pray for someone who is suffering because it demonstrates a good intention. But positive action might work whereas prayer never will. Sometimes people's illnesses go into remission on their own and this has nothing to do with a higher power.

The nations that God moved against were promoting slavery? And God himself isn't promoting slavery in Exodus 21?
OH science settles it hey......so....was it a monkey, worm or electrified protein sludge filled pool that your descendants came from?
 
Dec 12, 2013
46,515
20,402
113
It sounds like you still dont understand what burden of proof is. There has been at least 1 scientific study of prayer and the findings were that it didnt work. I am fine with people feeling the need to pray for someone who is suffering because it demonstrates a good intention. But positive action might work whereas prayer never will. Sometimes people's illnesses go into remission on their own and this has nothing to do with a higher power.

The nations that God moved against were promoting slavery? And God himself isn't promoting slavery in Exodus 21?
BLAH BLAH BLAH....God gave very specific instructions on how to treat servants, they were also to be set FREE after a period of TIME, they could voluntarily sell out for servitude, they could work off debt as a servant and GOD demanded punishment for those that MISTREATED servants and slaves.....how about some honesty pal.....
 
Mar 23, 2016
7,021
1,673
113
You aren't being logical here. Consider the following 2 statements:

Abraham Lincoln is your father
Abraham Lincoln is my father

These 2 statements are consistent with each other and could in theory be true. But we know the basic premises are flawed.
You have yet to provide substantive proof that "the basic premises" of the three records concerning the six days of Matt / Mark and the about eight days of Luke "are flawed".

I have shown you that there is no "flaw" in the three records. There was only an error in your understanding concerning the reckoning of time. That dilemma has now been cleared up, yet you continue to believe there is some sort of "flaw" in the record.




Spectrox said:
I don't believe everything in the Bible is in error. Read my gumball analogy. The problem is I don't know what's true and what's false. Apart from miracle claims. They are highly likely to be made up.
It appears to me that you believe all is false until proven otherwise.

You now agree there is no error in the potters' fields purchases.

You have been shown there is no error in the six days of Matt / Mark and the about eight days of Luke, yet you continue to believe "the basic premises are flawed".




Spectrox said:
In terms of Matthew 16, don't worry. I couldn't honestly make sense of it either.
You will understand when you are off the pablum. Digest the milk of the word ... then the meat.



 

iamsoandso

Senior Member
Oct 6, 2011
8,048
1,609
113
@UnderGrace --> You know the tragic truth of atheists and even agnostics.....they deny the very existence of GOD and will reject the proof found in scripture......then in the very near future, the same deniers will be deluded by the very God they reject to accept and believe in a false god that will lead them straight to the flaming pits of hell......hilariously tragic.....

They work and work and work to save us from making a terrible mistake and falling into the clutches of the thing they believe,,,"absolutely nothing",,, as if we could goof up nothing...
 
U

UnderGrace

Guest
Wikipedia has a far better definition of Humanism. Also visit Humanism.org or read the works of Bertrand Russell. Atheists or anti-Christians could only be shown to be evil if The Bible and Christians through the ages had been moral. They haven't. In fact The Bible is partly immoral in its philosophy if you accept human wellbeing as a good target. Humanists have a duty to reduce the misery of the human condition. One Christian on this thread could not accept that or the simple assumption that pleasure was preferable to pain which tells me everything I need to know about their flawed thinking.
Way ahead of you, how about you read Nietzsche and perhaps you will get an understanding of atheism for what it really is "nihilism" ... poor Nietzsche lost his mind when he realized the logical conclusion of his beliefs.
 
U

UnderGrace

Guest
They work and work and work to save us from making a terrible mistake and falling into the clutches of the thing they believe,,,"absolutely nothing",,, as if we could goof up nothing...
Agree,

Atheism = Nihilism
 

no1

Member
Aug 19, 2019
43
13
8
If it's not too personal, would you be able to write a rough, brief transcript of a communication you had with God? Was it an actual voice or a feeling?

About 15 years ago, Professor Russell Stannard carried out research into the effectiveness of prayer in a properly controlled scientific study. It found that prayer did not work.
Thank you for replying to my post.
Definitely and unmistakably a voice, and not just once, but many times. Some louder and clearer than others, taught me many things I didn't know before.
Mostly about what is actually written in the original languages and the meanings of them.
I would then check out what I was told, and it has always been what I heard.
On one occasion, I was told something I had a very hard time believing.
What the voice said, made sense and was accurate, but I kept going back, doubting the truth of it, until after 5 or 6 times of the same thing. Each time repeating word for word what He said the first time, confirming the same thing with a different scripture verse with an explanation. After that I said, "Okay, I'm not going to doubt it anymore.", and so I accepted what I was told, and that was the end of that, no more instructions or revelations on that particular subject.
I was told some things that would scare the pants and dresses of most believers. Dangerous things for many, if they were not careful. I say that because it scared me and what I commonly believed and told.
I could give you many examples, even quoting what I heard, but what good would that serve.
No offense, but Jesus told us not to cast our pearls before swine/unbelievers, and like many on CC, you fit that description.
The guy spoke of most likely failed to study people who actually believe the word of God and ACT on it, but instead studied people who depend on circumstances to dictate whether God actually answered their prayer or said no. That is not faith. Far from it, and that is one major reason why they failed to receive. Ignorance of the word of God and how faith works.
I not only have had MANY answered prayers, but have COMMANDED things to happen in the name of Jesus, as well, and it manifested/happened, EVEN AS I BELIEVED and spoke.
It is like the law of gravity. It works consistently, every time within its parameters, for whoever truly believes. For it is indeed a law.
If you don't really believe, or if you waver, you can both rest assured and expect, absolutely nothing to happen.
I know some who believed at one time, but fell away simply BECAUSE they failed to receive what they asked for.
You might be one of those people.
I've been there and done that, failing to receive what I asked for, many times over.
But those who continue and don't quit or waver, will ALWAYS get their prayers answered. For ALL the promises of God, in Christ, are ALWAYS yes and it is so or so be it/amen.
Does it happen immediately?
Not often, but God NEVER, EVER says no, to those who are actually "in Him", and both believe and act on what He said without wavering or doubting.
Even the slightest of doubt will, no doubt, cause failure for one to receive. That's a promise written in the book of James, and it's accurate.
Ask all those who fell away because they THOUGHT they believed, when they didn't.
Hoping, wishing, and/or wondering are not the same as the faith written in scripture.
 

CharliRenee

Member
Staff member
Nov 4, 2014
6,693
7,176
113
Did I read that right...there is proof prayer doesn't work? I call phooey...

You having fun toying with us? Saying there is proof that prayer doesn't work has to be a joke. Nothing works more than earnest prayers. Faith moves mountains, Lord willing.
 

no1

Member
Aug 19, 2019
43
13
8
If it's not too personal, would you be able to write a rough, brief transcript of a communication you had with God? Was it an actual voice or a feeling?
I thought you didn't believe there was a supreme almighty GOD?
Do I have that wrong or do you just not believe the bible has the only answer to heaven, because it's flawed?
 

SoulWeaver

Senior Member
Oct 25, 2014
4,889
2,534
113
At one point of my life, being an agnostic for a long row of years, and looking for "proof" for God, I decided to believe in Jesus because He is good. Because He was worthy of me surrendering my life to Him, even if it were a gamble, Jesus was a worthy cause to risk my earthly life to. If I win, I win eternal life. If it turns out there is no God and I lose, I pretty much lose nothing because Christian life is a noble life to live, and my life would be wasted and meaningless anyway without Jesus in that case. So I said, heck, let's gamble. I bet my life Jesus is real. I did not have proof then. I did not know. I gambled.

Various proof showered me after the fact. Jesus was really real. Now I know that. But the real reason was that I was broken and I just surrendered. I was tired of wandering the wastelands of my mind that just waved the carrot on a stick but never provided me any actual truth. I checkmated my mind by placing a bet on my life.

People who do not believe are like a wife picking small fights with her husband about random things in the house, when she harbors a deep resentment against him that she had long forgotten and is not facing it heads on, so she picks little fights and one could be deceived and think she is really angry about him overlooking an unwashed cup or something else, and she herself is also deceived and unaware of the real problem. In the same way people who doubt God and His character find different faults with God and the Bible, but fundamentally this is because their relationship with God is broken and their mind is trying to make sense of this by seeking justification for the broken relationship. Once they go directly to God and the relationship is fixed all other issues disappear. I advise you to go to God, face Him head on, and do not relent.

I feel so much sympathy for you because I was once at this doubtful spot and I know well that nothing anyone else can say can talk you into believing. Even if they revived a dead person before your eyes, even a miracle cannot cause one to believe. I know what the mind of the unbeliever is like. It's a horrible place. I hope in God to deliver you out of that place, like He delivered me. Amen
 

Spectrox

Active member
Jul 25, 2019
363
38
28
You have yet to provide substantive proof that "the basic premises" of the three records concerning the six days of Matt / Mark and the about eight days of Luke "are flawed".

I have shown you that there is no "flaw" in the three records. There was only an error in your understanding concerning the reckoning of time. That dilemma has now been cleared up, yet you continue to believe there is some sort of "flaw" in the record.





It appears to me that you believe all is false until proven otherwise.

You now agree there is no error in the potters' fields purchases.

You have been shown there is no error in the six days of Matt / Mark and the about eight days of Luke, yet you continue to believe "the basic premises are flawed".





You will understand when you are off the pablum. Digest the milk of the word ... then the meat.
I have not recently claimed those Biblical accounts are flawed. I just dont accept your claim that they are necessarily true and the events took place as described. Its a different argument. Who knows what happened in detail 2000 years ago in Judea? Read my gumball analogy. In terms of Matthew 16, I can wait a little longer for an explanation but Im not willing to wait 2000 years for nothing to happen...:)
 

Spectrox

Active member
Jul 25, 2019
363
38
28
I thought you didn't believe there was a supreme almighty GOD?
Do I have that wrong or do you just not believe the bible has the only answer to heaven, because it's flawed?
Some days I feel like a Deist but because I cant rationally define what that is I am more of an agnostic or atheist. Someone once told me I was an Ignostic - the whole idea of a God is a non-starter. But to answer your question directly I dont currently believe any God claim I have heard. Can you answer my question directly assuming it was aimed at you originally?
 

Spectrox

Active member
Jul 25, 2019
363
38
28
Way ahead of you, how about you read Nietzsche and perhaps you will get an understanding of atheism for what it really is "nihilism" ... poor Nietzsche lost his mind when he realized the logical conclusion of his beliefs.
Some atheists have committed atrocities - they have no creed.
Some Christians have committed atrocities - some have used a poisonous ideology to justify it.
As far as I am aware the number of atrocities committed by humanists is zero.
To get a modern feel of what humanism is all about all you need to do is watch an episode of Star Trek or 1970s Dr Who. :)
 

Spectrox

Active member
Jul 25, 2019
363
38
28
Did I read that right...there is proof prayer doesn't work? I call phooey...

You having fun toying with us? Saying there is proof that prayer doesn't work has to be a joke. Nothing works more than earnest prayers. Faith moves mountains, Lord willing.
A good overview can be found on wikipedia - Studies on Intercessory Prayer.