To the Christians out there (Jesus, moral, Earth, Deuteronomy)

TheHumanGod · #1 05-20-2008, 07:40 PM

This Thread is designed to foster a greater understanding of the Christian faith and or Faiths in opposition to Christianity. If you disagree with anything anyone has said in response to the questions below than please be respectful to that person and state as clearly as possible why it is you disagree with them.

My personal intention in this thread is to understand the mentality of others with different views, and to attempt a greater understanding of religion than i already hold.

If you are Christian please answer the following questions with your first post. If any other Christian or non Christian disagrees with a response please quote the concept/Idea you disagree with.

What is God to you?

How sure are you that God exists? Why?

Do you follow/act morally in context of your belief in the Christian faith?

(optional)Post any other info you believe proves your religion.

Some Personal Background info(skip it if you want):

I was born as a Mormon (went to church every week) and i believed in God as a child. Also most of my relatives are hardcore Mormon.

I turned Agnostic in 6th grade, later at the beginning of 12th grade i changed my views to a form of existential Atheism not so far from the Agnostic views i once held, began to extensively study metaphysics, and started to center my ideas on religion.

Also feel free to ask any questions you may have for me.

Jeremy Mason · #2 05-20-2008, 08:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TheHumanGod

This Thread is designed to foster a greater understanding of the Christian faith and or Faiths in opposition to Christianity. If you disagree with anything anyone has said in response to the questions below than please be respectful to that person and state as clearly as possible why it is you disagree with them.

My personal intention in this thread is to understand the mentality of others with different views, and to attempt a greater understanding of religion than i already hold.

If you are Christian please answer the following questions with your first post. If any other Christian or non Christian disagrees with a response please quote the concept/Idea you disagree with.

What is God to you?
THE Father,Son and Holy Spirit
How sure are you that God exists? Why?
Yes, those apostles that ran away, they put their lives on the line after they saw Jesus walking around in good condition after he died on the cross.

Do you follow/act morally in context of your belief in the Christian faith?
Everyone struggles w/ there humanity, some try harder than others.
(optional)Post any other info you believe proves your religion.

Some Personal Background info(skip it if you want):

I was born as a Mormon (went to church every week) and i believed in God as a child. Also most of my relatives are hardcore Mormon.

I turned Agnostic in 6th grade, later at the beginning of 12th grade i changed my views to a form of existential Atheism not so far from the Agnostic views i once held, began to extensively study metaphysics, and started to center my ideas on religion.

Also feel free to ask any questions you may have for me.

I was born into a Catholic family (grandparents) and as a child did not connect with Catholicism. My parents were more metaphysical type of people and for a while I followed suit. At 24 I read the Bible and realized that the miss conceptions that I had against it were wrong. Later I joined the "International Church of Christ" but after a year I found out that they were not practicing what they preached. I don't go to church now but still hold the Bible close to my mind and heart.

ChristineES · #3 05-20-2008, 08:17 PM

What is God to you? God is like a parent to me. He (or She, if you prefer)is also like a friend I can talk to. I can only imagine a small part of God and certainly not the whole of God, however.

How sure are you that God exists? Why?I feel God's presence. I also see Him in His creations. I see beauty in nature.

Do you follow/act morally in context of your belief in the Christian faith? I certainly try to. I try to follow Jesus' commands the best I can. This includes love, mercy, no judging, no condemning. The golden rule sums it up pretty well "Do to others what you would have done to you"- In other words treat people the way you want to be treated.

A few thoughts- As a Christian, I don't think I am better than non-Christians. I am not completely convinced the other religions worship a different God than I do-- it may very well be the same one.

During my early childhood, my mother was an atheist (my father wasn't around). My stepfather was a Buddhist. I became a Christian at age 17.

Green Kepi · #4 05-20-2008, 08:21 PM

What is He to me? My whole purpose for life.
How can I be sure? Can't. But...how can you be sure that He doesn't? Deuteronomy 29:29 - "The secret (concealed) things belong to the Lord our God, but the things revealed belong to us and to our children forever....". I will never understand it all or even come close but this is where my faith comes into being.
Yes...I attempt to follow His commandments/principles.

Scuba Pete · #5 05-20-2008, 08:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TheHumanGod

What is God to you?

God is Love. No more and certainly no less.

Quote:

Originally Posted by TheHumanGod

How sure are you that God exists? Why?

Love exists, ergo God exists.

Quote:

Originally Posted by TheHumanGod

Do you follow/act morally in context of your belief in the Christian faith?

No. As hard as I try, I still fall far short of loving like God loves. Maybe one day, I'll get it right.

TheHumanGod · #6 05-20-2008, 09:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Scuba Pete

God is Love. No more and certainly no less.

Love exists, ergo God exists.

If God is Love than I believe in God (especially if he is no more and no less). By your definition I would consider the God that I think of to not exist(and thus consider you not as a Christian) unless your definition of God extends further than what you just stated.

Quote:

Originally Posted by ChristineES

How sure are you that God exists? Why?I feel God's presence. I also see Him in His creations. I see beauty in nature.

I do not feel God's presence anymore though there was a time when I knew with certainty that I did feel it. The presence gave me comfort and hope and i sincerely prayed to this presence. Later I asked myself if this presence could be anything else besides God and i came to the conclusion that it was simply the reverberations of my soul and conscience. Do you think it is possible that this presence is something, anything, besides God?

By the Christian definition he is in all his creations so to prove his existence to yourself under this condition is flawed in my opinion.

I too see beauty in nature... to me Beauty does not equal God unless that is how you define God(in which case i believe in God for I believe in Beauty).

Quote:

Originally Posted by ChristineES

What is God to you? God is like a parent to me. He (or She, if you prefer)is also like a friend I can talk to. I can only imagine a small part of God and certainly not the whole of God, however.

Also If you cannot Perceive the whole of God how can you have a "true" perception of his greater existence in the parameters of this earth?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Green Kepi

How can I be sure? Can't. But...how can you be sure that He doesn't? Deuteronomy 29:29 - "The secret (concealed) things belong to the Lord our God, but the things revealed belong to us and to our children forever....". I will never understand it all or even come close but this is where my faith comes into being.
Yes...I attempt to follow His commandments/principles.

As defined by metaphysics(parameters of the mind) or as you might say "but the things revealed belong to us and to our children forever"(great quote btw) I can deduce the lack of a provable God thus proving the lack of existence in our Perceptional Existence(life on this earth). I cannot prove that he does not exist in the Ultimate existence and thus i must be aware of the possibility of His existence. But I live in the Perceptional Existence and so i act and think within the parameters given and so God does not exist in any action or thought I have here.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Green Kepi

What is He to me? My whole purpose for life.

How Is he the purpose of your life when you cant be sure? Shouldn't you first be sure before you base your entire life on something that might not be true?

Scuba Pete · #7 05-20-2008, 09:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TheHumanGod

By your definition I would consider the God that I think of to not exist(and thus consider you not as a Christian) unless your definition of God extends further than what you just stated.

Fortunately, God exists independently of our belief/disbelief. Entirely so.

Mister Emu · #8 05-20-2008, 09:42 PM

God is God. No other way to explain it.

I am very certain that God exists, because of auditory phenomenon.

I do my best...

I was raised Southern Baptist. A few years ago I felt a strong pull to the Catholic Church, and after intellectual inquiry and prayer, felt it was the place for me... now I am still deciding whether to join the Latin Rite or one of the Eastern ones...

TheHumanGod · #9 05-20-2008, 09:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mister Emu

I am very certain that God exists, because of auditory phenomenon.

If by auditory phenomenon you mean that you heard God than do you think that the voice in question could have been anything besides God or that it is possible that the voice was induced by anything else(like drugs, dreams, etc)? If no then why?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Scuba Pete

Fortunately, God exists independently of our belief/disbelief. Entirely so.

He exists independently of belief becouse He is love.

Fortunately, God as a all loving, all knowing, and all powerful being doesn't exist in our perceived world(assuming you have not seen, smelled, tasted, touched, or heard God -- Personally i have not) independently of our belief/disbelief. Of course thats not to say he doesn't exist in our Ultimate Reality.

Sk8Joyful · #10 05-20-2008, 10:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TheHumanGod

Also feel free to ask any questions you may have for me.

Thank you for your honesty.

GOD, as Jesus Christ, said:
Jhn 10:10
"The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy:

I am come that they might have life, and that they might have [it] more abundantly".

From the above you can plainly see: any Spirit, or human, who strives to
steal, kill, or destroy, especially *blessed Belief & FAITH in our Savior*, is according to GOD a "thief".

Yet GOD, as Jesus Christ, invites you to discover & "enjoy GOD's life, more abundantly".
Thus my question for you: How soon

will you *accept* Him? and GOD's life, more abundantly

Annie