Attention Athiest and non-Christians

[gingercat]

Orion,

thank you for your input.

I would like to ask you are a favor; would you read all of my posts in this thread please? I put a lot of effort to reach out to pesimists.

thanks :D

 

[Guest]

Orion,

thank you for your input.

I would like to ask you are a favor; would you read all of my posts in this thread please? I put a lot of effort to reach out to pesimists.

thanks :D

I read your posts.

Not really sure what you're wanting me to draw from them though. :-?

 

[gingercat]

I read your posts.

All of them in this thread?

 

[ArtGuy]

I read your posts.

All of them in this thread?

You seem incredulous that someone could've read all of your posts and yet still not agree with you.

 

[gingercat]

You seem incredulous that someone could've read all of your posts and yet still not agree with you.

What's your point artguy?

 

[mutzrein]

A truly enlightened person would HAVE no enemies.

Tell that to Jesus

 

[Slevin]

A truly enlightened person would HAVE no enemies.

Tell that to Jesus

He doesn't listen. :wink:

 

[Guest]

A truly enlightened person would HAVE no enemies.

Tell that to Jesus

:-? How would I go about doing that? BTW, who would have been someone that Jesus himself would have seen as his enemy?

 

[Guest]

I read your posts.

All of them in this thread?

Hmmmm, . . . . . . isn't that the same as calling me a liar? Laying question to what I just stated is pretty close to saying I wasn't stating the truth. . . . . .

I am in my upper 30's and have always been in the church. . . . . and was a GOOD christian with a "relationship" with Jesus. What you had stated, . . . . . I've. . . heard before, quite frankly.

I place the word "relationship" in quotes because, even though I DID believe I was in a relationship, . . . . I realized later that "relationship with God" is just a figure of speech. It's not a TRUE relationship when one person does all the speaking and only has the words from a book as the "other side of the conversation". We can know God/Jesus by what was placed into those texts, and we can even say a prayer, . . . . . but when you have to have faith and humanly interpret feelings or scriptures, . . . as your only means of "hearing from God", . . . . then "relationship" kinds falls down in it's meaningfulness.

 

[gingercat]

I place the word "relationship" in quotes because, even though I DID believe I was in a relationship, . . . . I realized later that "relationship with God" is just a figure of speech. It's not a TRUE relationship when one person does all the speaking and only has the words from a book as the "other side of the conversation". We can know God/Jesus by what was placed into those texts, and we can even say a prayer, . . . . . but when you have to have faith and humanly interpret feelings or scriptures, . . . as your only means of "hearing from God", . . . . then "relationship" kinds falls down in it's meaningfulness.

Relationship is very different from person to person. Some have super good relationship, some have bad, some have mediocre and so on...

I guess you did not believe God of the Bible. Faith is all about trust in God. If you really trusted God you would not have doubt about Him especially after reading the Bible and claiming to be a Christian for a long time.

 

[Guest]

Relationship is very different from person to person. Some have super good relationship, some have bad, some have mediocre and so on...

I guess you did not believe God of the Bible. Faith is all about trust in God. If you really trusted God you would not have doubt about Him especially after reading the Bible and claiming to be a Christian for a long time.

On the contrary, . . . . I DID have a good relationship, as I knew it.

But now I realize that a real relationship is much deaper than that which only FAITH provides. If I only had FAITH that my wife loves me, . . . .AND if all the communications I had with her consisted solely on letters she wrote TO A BROAD RANGE OF PEOPLE, MORE SPECIFICALLY, ANYONE WHO CARED TO READ IT, . . . . . just how much of a relationship would that BE?

 

[gingercat]

Orion,

I would like to repeat myself.

I guess you did not believe God of the Bible. Faith is all about trust in God. If you really trusted God you would not have doubt about Him especially after reading the Bible and claiming to be a Christian for a long time.

 

[Novum]

gingercat, you appear to be under the impression that "real" Christians do not convert to other religions or deconvert entirely. Allow me to be the first to inform you that, based on the experiences of millions of others, you are quite simply wrong.

 

[gingercat]

gingercat, you appear to be under the impression that "real" Christians do not convert to other religions or deconvert entirely. Allow me to be the first to inform you that, based on the experiences of millions of others, you are quite simply wrong.

Novum,

Faith is all about trust in God. Christians' God is explained in fully in the Bible.

 

[Novum]

Novum,

Faith is all about trust in God. Christians' God is explained in fully in the Bible.

This doesn't appear to be a response to my latest post. Do you deny that devout, faithful Christians can and do deconvert?

 

[ArtGuy]

But now I realize that a real relationship is much deaper than that which only FAITH provides. If I only had FAITH that my wife loves me, . . . .AND if all the communications I had with her consisted solely on letters she wrote TO A BROAD RANGE OF PEOPLE, MORE SPECIFICALLY, ANYONE WHO CARED TO READ IT, . . . . . just how much of a relationship would that BE?

I think a lot of people err in assuming that the "relationship" that one has with God is akin to the sort you have with friends, or lovers, or spouses. It's a personal relationship, in that it's between you and Him, but it's also a very different beast from what we commonly understand by the word "relationship."

You don't come home at the end of the day and hear God asking you how work went. You don't discuss the latest movie with him. You don't get to trade jokes over the latest news headlines. It is, largely, a very one-sided relationship, because while you can talk to God all the live-long-day, God doesn't respond directly. He listens, but he doesn't just boom down an answer in divine baritone from above. He communicates with emotions. He will make you feel comforted, or grant you strength, or remove your fear. And... well, that's about it. If you want a companion, buy a dog. God isn't your buddy in the traditional sense, and you won't get to really interact with him on a personal level until you kick off and are resurrected by his side. Then you can trade knock-knock jokes. Until then, yes, you're going to find yourself doing all the talking.

 

[gingercat]

Novum,

Faith is all about trust in God. Christians' God is explained in fully in the Bible.

This doesn't appear to be a response to my latest post. Do you deny that devout, faithful Christians can and do deconvert?

No, if you trust God in the Bible. God is not like us imperfect being.

 

[Novum]

Novum,

Faith is all about trust in God. Christians' God is explained in fully in the Bible.

This doesn't appear to be a response to my latest post. Do you deny that devout, faithful Christians can and do deconvert?

No, if you trust God in the Bible. God is not like us imperfect being.

gingercat has just denied that faithful, devout Christians can deconvert. :roll:

Millions upon millions of people have shown you to be wrong, ginger. There is a word for people who hold onto their beliefs despite all real-world evidence to the contrary: fundamentalism.

That's all I can say. There is no reason to debate with someone who would so blindly hold onto such a ridiculous position.

 

[gingercat]

gingercat has just denied that faithful, devout Christians can deconvert. :roll:

Millions upon millions of people have shown you to be wrong, ginger. There is a word for people who hold onto their beliefs despite all real-world evidence to the contrary: fundamentalism.

That's all I can say. There is no reason to debate with someone who would so blindly hold onto such a ridiculous position.

Novum, I just said if you trust God in the Bible you will not leave Him. Faith is all about trust in God.

Please don't twist around what I said.

I never force anyone to talk to me and I never force you to do so.

What you are doing is malicious.

 

[gingercat]

gingercat has just denied that faithful, devout Christians can deconvert. :roll:

Millions upon millions of people have shown you to be wrong, ginger. There is a word for people who hold onto their beliefs despite all real-world evidence to the contrary: fundamentalism.

That's all I can say. There is no reason to debate with someone who would so blindly hold onto such a ridiculous position.

(this is ginger's 27 year old daughter), novum, it looks to me like you are using the wrong vocabulary word there, fundamentalism means those who believe in the literal use of the bible, the definition does not at all include "despite all real-world evidence to the contrary" as you state. There are many testimonies of persecuted christians who died for their faith in God, tortured, etc, that claim God was still with them, still had hope for them, even in Nazi torture and etc (like Corrie Ten Boom, etc). There is real-world evidence of God.