Why Would God Wait? (punishment, Earth, salvation, hell, church)

[Mr Spinkles]

Originally Posted by NetDoc

Man keeps looking to science to fulfill his inner needs and God hands them to us on a silver platter. No charge.

1) How do you know this? 2) I don't see the correlation between believing in the Judeo-Christian God and having one's inner needs fulfilled. What about the many people who do not believe in the Judeo-Christian God who are happy/fulfilled in their lives?

[fromthe heart]

Originally Posted by Mr_Spinkles

1) How do you know this? 2) I don't see the correlation between believing in the Judeo-Christian God and having one's inner needs fulfilled. What about the many people who do not believe in the Judeo-Christian God who are happy/fulfilled in their lives?

Hi Mr Spinkles...Respectfully I must ask ARE THEY? really happy that is...or is this just a temporary condition where they will be like Tarzan swinging from vine to vine searching for the next order of contenment? I have to agree with NetDoc...God hands it out free of charge and when you have it you don't feel the need EVER to search again. It's all in the over-all life outcome of satisfaction. You really don't know till one day you wake up and realize how long you've been really content and how long ago it was that you stopped searching. When you get there it's easy to see...but when you aren't threre yet questions do arise from inside.

[Mr Spinkles]

from the heart-- Yes, they are. I've known Wiccans, for example, who are very happy and fulfilled. Conversely, some of the most unhappy and unfulfilled people I know believe in the Judeo-Christian-Islamic God. When I was Christian, I felt that I was living a very happy and meaningful life, and that has never changed. Do you honestly believe that Christians are the only happy, fulfilled people on Earth? Heck, even when I was Christian, I had to admit there were some pretty content atheists, Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists, etc....many of them even more fulfilled than I.

[Bright-ness' Shadow]

Originally Posted by fromthe heart

Hi Mr Spinkles...Respectfully I must ask ARE THEY? really happy that is...or is this just a temporary condition where they will be like Tarzan swinging from vine to vine searching for the next order of contenment? I have to agree with NetDoc...God hands it out free of charge and when you have it you don't feel the need EVER to search again. It's all in the over-all life outcome of satisfaction. You really don't know till one day you wake up and realize how long you've been really content and how long ago it was that you stopped searching. When you get there it's easy to see...but when you aren't threre yet questions do arise from inside.

Been there - done that and my "temporary" condition has lasted probably more years than you have been living

[painted wolf]

well as a non-Abrahamic religious person I have to say I'm REALLY content and REALLY happy with my relationship to Creator.

I can honestly say I was never fully content/happy as a Christian, it was like an itchy sweater to me.

wa:do

[robtex]

Originally Posted by fromthe heart

I don't feel God does wait on all things for punishment. I think we do get punishment and rewards here in our lifetime. We all have consequences of our actions whether positive or negative and I do feel some of this comes from the hand of God. If you take a situation and think of what you may have done differently to change the outcome you can sometimes see God's hand in it.

I think LK may have meant..why life on earth instead of in the bliss of heaven. He knows all things including if yall are good or bad faithful or unfaithful...so what is the purpose of being on earth at all if its a short blurb in eternity and life on earth is not nearly as blissful as life in heaven? What is the point of the acadmic exercsie of life on earth if the goal is to be reunited with God in Heaven?

To me and some non-christians reading this earth comes across in the Bible as a pointless middleman or middleplace of existance that is away from the God you love to test you for a result he already knows.

[fromthe heart]

Originally Posted by Mr_Spinkles

from the heart-- Yes, they are. I've known Wiccans, for example, who are very happy and fulfilled. Conversely, some of the most unhappy and unfulfilled people I know believe in the Judeo-Christian-Islamic God. When I was Christian, I felt that I was living a very happy and meaningful life, and that has never changed. Do you honestly believe that Christians are the only happy, fulfilled people on Earth? Heck, even when I was Christian, I had to admit there were some pretty content atheists, Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists, etc....many of them even more fulfilled than I.

Not at all...I meant when you are done searching for what it is that makes you happy you don't realize it right away...it happens one day when you look back and realize you are finally in your nook in life and are happy. For me it IS christianity...but my christianity isn't what most of you here who have said christianity for you had been...I'm not sure what the difference might be...but when you find what you are looking for you stop searching but don't realize right away that you HAVE stopped searching. I did not say that happy people all had to be of my faith...please forgive me for not being clearer...I just meant there are many who will say they are happy and then before long will be off to a new happy and so on...When you aren't there yet you have little questions that rise up in you.

[fromthe heart]

Originally Posted by pah

Been there - done that and my "temporary" condition has lasted probably more years than you have been living

Gee pah...you must really be old then...lol. I think the point I was making was misunderstood since I put in my response that I agreed with NetDoc...but I rewrote it hopefully clearer in response to Mr_Spinkles.
Smiles

[Scuba Pete]

Yo Spinks...

I didn't specify which God. But you may assume as you will.

You know, Deut hit on this on another thread when he asked the difference between "belief" and "faith". I put down a Q-U-I-K response, and you can C that I probably didn't think it through. That may be worth yet another discussion.

[EUCHARIST]

I still say god waits cause he gives you an opportunity to fix yourself in a sense.... so why are we arguing over something so simple?