M O N S T E R
Member
Since many of God's actions and allowances are contrary to what the Bible teaches, and contrary to our legal system which punishes criminals for doing what God sometimes does, and contrary to common decency, it is reasonable for skeptics to want to have more information about God, just as it would be reasonable for you to question similar actions by anyone else.
It is not right for God to play favorites regarding who he reveals the best evidence to, especially if heaven and hell are at stake. The best evidence is tangible, firsthand evidence. Consider the following Scriptures
Matthew 4:24 And his fame went throughout all Syria: and they brought unto him all sick people that were taken with divers diseases and torments, and those which were possessed with devils, and those which were lunatick, and those that had the palsy; and he healed them.
Matthew 14:14 And Jesus went forth, and saw a great multitude, and was moved with compassion toward them, and he healed their sick.
John 2:23 Now when he was in Jerusalem at the passover, in the feast day, many believed in his name, when they saw the miracles which he did.
John 3:2 The same came to Jesus by night, and said unto him, Rabbi, we know that thou art a teacher come from God: for no man can do these miracles that thou doest, except God be with him.
John 6:2 And a great multitude followed him, because they saw his miracles which he did on them that were diseased.
John 10:37-38 If I do not the works of my Father, believe me not. But if I do, though ye believe not me, believe the works: that ye may know, and believe, that the Father is in me, and I in him.
1 Corinthians 15:6 After that, he was seen of above five hundred brethren at once; of whom the greater part remain unto this present, but some are fallen asleep.
Acts 14:3 So Paul and Barnabas spent considerable time there, speaking boldly for the Lord, who confirmed the message of his grace by enabling them to do miraculous signs and wonders.
Acts 14:3 is from the NIV. All of the other Scriptures are from the KJV.
Acts mentions a number of other tangible miracles that the disciples performed. It is quite odd that with all of the preceding evidence, AND the presence of the Holy Spirit, that God provided even MORE confirmations. The writer of the book of Acts did not do Christians any favors by writing that miracles continued to be performed after the Holy Spirit came to the church.
Jesus criticized Thomas for wanting tangible evidence that he had risen from the dead, but yet God supposedly provided plenty of tangible confirmations to many people BEFORE AND AFTER the Holy Spirit came to the church. Obviously, "O ye of little faith" contradicts many other Scriptures that show that God depended a lot upon tangible, firsthand evidence to try to convince people to accept Jesus.
It is a question of what extent God will go to order to keep people from going to hell, and whether or not it would be impossible for him to convince more people to become Christians.
If a supposed God showed up, and claimed to be the God of the Bible, and created a new planet in order to demonstrate that his is powerful, surely some skeptics would become Christians. That is a reasonable assumption since historically many people have accepted all kinds of outlandish religions based upon a lot less convincing evidence than that. There are not any good reasons why God should not provide more evidence than he has provided.
If the Bible said that God will send everyone to hell, you would reject the same quality of evidence that you accept now. That is because of your emotional perceived vested interest. You hope to one day enjoy a comfortable eternal life, and you enjoy the emotional pleasures that you now get from your beliefs. Why do you think that people make up religions? Obviously, because they want to be immortal, and they want to one day enjoy comfortable eternal lives, and want to have well-defined reasons for living.
It is not right for God to play favorites regarding who he reveals the best evidence to, especially if heaven and hell are at stake. The best evidence is tangible, firsthand evidence. Consider the following Scriptures
Matthew 4:24 And his fame went throughout all Syria: and they brought unto him all sick people that were taken with divers diseases and torments, and those which were possessed with devils, and those which were lunatick, and those that had the palsy; and he healed them.
Matthew 14:14 And Jesus went forth, and saw a great multitude, and was moved with compassion toward them, and he healed their sick.
John 2:23 Now when he was in Jerusalem at the passover, in the feast day, many believed in his name, when they saw the miracles which he did.
John 3:2 The same came to Jesus by night, and said unto him, Rabbi, we know that thou art a teacher come from God: for no man can do these miracles that thou doest, except God be with him.
John 6:2 And a great multitude followed him, because they saw his miracles which he did on them that were diseased.
John 10:37-38 If I do not the works of my Father, believe me not. But if I do, though ye believe not me, believe the works: that ye may know, and believe, that the Father is in me, and I in him.
1 Corinthians 15:6 After that, he was seen of above five hundred brethren at once; of whom the greater part remain unto this present, but some are fallen asleep.
Acts 14:3 So Paul and Barnabas spent considerable time there, speaking boldly for the Lord, who confirmed the message of his grace by enabling them to do miraculous signs and wonders.
Acts 14:3 is from the NIV. All of the other Scriptures are from the KJV.
Acts mentions a number of other tangible miracles that the disciples performed. It is quite odd that with all of the preceding evidence, AND the presence of the Holy Spirit, that God provided even MORE confirmations. The writer of the book of Acts did not do Christians any favors by writing that miracles continued to be performed after the Holy Spirit came to the church.
Jesus criticized Thomas for wanting tangible evidence that he had risen from the dead, but yet God supposedly provided plenty of tangible confirmations to many people BEFORE AND AFTER the Holy Spirit came to the church. Obviously, "O ye of little faith" contradicts many other Scriptures that show that God depended a lot upon tangible, firsthand evidence to try to convince people to accept Jesus.
It is a question of what extent God will go to order to keep people from going to hell, and whether or not it would be impossible for him to convince more people to become Christians.
If a supposed God showed up, and claimed to be the God of the Bible, and created a new planet in order to demonstrate that his is powerful, surely some skeptics would become Christians. That is a reasonable assumption since historically many people have accepted all kinds of outlandish religions based upon a lot less convincing evidence than that. There are not any good reasons why God should not provide more evidence than he has provided.
If the Bible said that God will send everyone to hell, you would reject the same quality of evidence that you accept now. That is because of your emotional perceived vested interest. You hope to one day enjoy a comfortable eternal life, and you enjoy the emotional pleasures that you now get from your beliefs. Why do you think that people make up religions? Obviously, because they want to be immortal, and they want to one day enjoy comfortable eternal lives, and want to have well-defined reasons for living.
