Why believe in god?

[Anonymous]

Doll it up however you may, but religion is for the selfish ones.



http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2014/12/pastor-who-tried-out-atheism-for-a-year-gives-up-on-god-to-have-a-closer-relationship-to-reality/
Pastor who tried out atheism for a year gives up on God ‘to have a closer relationship to reality’

“You know, I think there are much more important issues to be focused on – things that are really threatening our society while we’re worried about what’s going to happen about after we die, when in reality, no one of us knows what’s going to happen to us after we die,” he explained. ” But what we do know is that if we don’t do something about the immediate challenges that we’re facing today, we’re going to die a lot sooner (laughter) than we might otherwise.”

[Anonymous]

Monolatry is worshiping one god while recognizing that there are polytheistic religious beliefs people choose to embrace.

super smart? How is referencing different religious frameworks trying to look super smart?

sorry if your mind is too cluttered to make sense of anything you read outside of the bible

What's this monolatry stuff? Monolatry isn't monotheism. Monolatry says there are many gods, but we worship only one of them. Christianity worships God alone and admits no other gods. I'm not sure I see the relevance of bringing in this $10 word, except to look super smart.

[Anonymous]

OMG! We are back to Sun of God=Son of God.

Atheist OP, please learn a Semitic language. Sunday is simply the first day (of the week), Monday is the second day and so on in these languages. And trust me they are way closer to the language spoken at the time of Christ than English is.

Please stop your references that come from Zeitgeist and similar. This type of spurious philiology is way more intellectually embarrassing than then answering your questions with quotes from scripture, which by the way you do a bad job of.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Doll it up however you may, but religion is for the selfish ones.



http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2014/12/pastor-who-tried-out-atheism-for-a-year-gives-up-on-god-to-have-a-closer-relationship-to-reality/
Pastor who tried out atheism for a year gives up on God ‘to have a closer relationship to reality’

“You know, I think there are much more important issues to be focused on – things that are really threatening our society while we’re worried about what’s going to happen about after we die, when in reality, no one of us knows what’s going to happen to us after we die,” he explained. ” But what we do know is that if we don’t do something about the immediate challenges that we’re facing today, we’re going to die a lot sooner (laughter) than we might otherwise.”

Nonsense.

Matthew 25:31-40: "When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne. Before him will be gathered all the nations, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. And he will place the sheep on his right, but the goats on the left. Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.’ Then the righteous will answer him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?’ And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.’ "

James 1:27: "Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world."

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Doll it up however you may, but religion is for the selfish ones.



http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2014/12/pastor-who-tried-out-atheism-for-a-year-gives-up-on-god-to-have-a-closer-relationship-to-reality/
Pastor who tried out atheism for a year gives up on God ‘to have a closer relationship to reality’

“You know, I think there are much more important issues to be focused on – things that are really threatening our society while we’re worried about what’s going to happen about after we die, when in reality, no one of us knows what’s going to happen to us after we die,” he explained. ” But what we do know is that if we don’t do something about the immediate challenges that we’re facing today, we’re going to die a lot sooner (laughter) than we might otherwise.”

Nonsense.

Matthew 25:31-40: "When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne. Before him will be gathered all the nations, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. And he will place the sheep on his right, but the goats on the left. Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.’ Then the righteous will answer him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?’ And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.’ "

James 1:27: "Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world."

Again with the biblical passages.

Know ye not other sources of evidence?

It's all about fear and selfishness. And they go well together.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Monolatry is worshiping one god while recognizing that there are polytheistic religious beliefs people choose to embrace.

super smart? How is referencing different religious frameworks trying to look super smart?

sorry if your mind is too cluttered to make sense of anything you read outside of the bible

What's this monolatry stuff? Monolatry isn't monotheism. Monolatry says there are many gods, but we worship only one of them. Christianity worships God alone and admits no other gods. I'm not sure I see the relevance of bringing in this $10 word, except to look super smart.

If people never used DCUM to sound smart, it would have as many threads.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

All the time? so everything he said was a metaphor? like "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved."

Or are the metaphors developed to interpret that which that runs counter to one's own beliefs or preferred view of Biblical teachings?

So let's think about this.

God had a son. Christians worship their god on Sunday, which originated from the pagan practice of sun worship. It's not coincidental, as Jesus is light, no? So how easy it was to modify pagan beliefs in order to fit into a Christian framework. a smooth transition


the son = the sun
Look at the Egyptian sun god Ra. And when Ra wept, Ra created man through his tears.


And then God is all-knowing. God created the universe.

Hilarious!

Was that supposed to be a parody of the atheists here?

Or do you really think that the first Christians spoke English, and that's why they mixed up Sun and Son? In fact, the earliest Christians, living in the middle east, spoke koine Greek, Latin, Aramaic and other languages. English didn't exist in 30AD, instead it emerged, very gradually, after the Normal Conquest (1066AD, since you probably don't know that, either).

SMH

no direct translation

If you look in the bible there are many references to the sun and quite a few connections btw God/Jesus and sun and light and radiance. You can also add the Holy Spirit to that list.

Who was using Aramaic? not I

I was simply making the metaphorical connection btw your god/Jesus and the sun.
again - stemming from pagan beliefs

But not one of you has demonstrated that God does indeed exist. You've all quoted from the bible, but that's ONE text. Certainly you know that good research is a compilation of many sources.

So where is Jesus outside of the bible? And where was god before the OT? Do we trace god back to Baal?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
Again with the biblical passages.

Know ye not other sources of evidence?

It's all about fear and selfishness. And they go well together.

You can keep repeating that, but it doesn't make it true. Like much of what you spout, you have no evidence, or your evidence is anecdotal (that pastor guy) or silly (sun=son OMG).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Is the accuser going to acknowledge these references, continue to defend the accusation or gloss over it or ignore it?

New Testament - some good quotes:

1 Timothy 2:12New International Version (NIV)
12 I do not permit a woman to teach or to assume authority over a man;[a] she must be quiet.

Happy is the one who seizes your infants and dashes them against the rocks.
Psalm 137:9

Jeremiah 19:9
I will make them eat the flesh of their sons and daughters, and they will eat one another's flesh because their enemies will press the siege so hard against them to destroy them.'

Slaves, in reverent fear of God submit yourselves to your masters, not only to those who are good and considerate, but also to those who are harsh.
1 Peter 2:18

23Then he went up from there to Bethel; and as he was going up by the way, young lads came out from the city and mocked him and said to him, “Go up, you baldhead; go up, you baldhead!” 24When he looked behind him and saw them, he cursed them in the name of the LORD. Then two female bears came out of the woods and tore up forty-two lads of their number. 25He went from there to Mount Carmel, and from there he returned to Samaria.
2 Kings 2:23

"'Do not have sexual relations with a man as one does with a woman; that is detestable.
Leviticus 18:22

b/c this one preaches love your brother - as long as your brother stays in the closet

Only Peter and Timothy are new testament -- but they are gruesome enough. Of course, the Old testament is more gruesome-- remember this was Jesus' Dad

Nice job pointing that out -- after somebody else pointed that out first. To paraphrase McCarthy, have you no shame?

Have you never heard of people posting simultaneously?

Simultaneously?!

Your post came 11 minutes after the post pointing out your error. You are the saddest troll ever.

wasn't my error -- different poster -- and the moderator could prove it.

I don't know who you are, and I don't care if you're the same or a different poster.

The fact remains--and I'm sure the moderator can prove it--that the original poster let that ridiculous error stand for almost FOUR HOURS (since it was first posted at 19:03).

The moderator can also prove, if he cared, that YOU didn't chime in for another 11 MINUTES after I pointed the error out. but, uh, thanks for seconding my post. It would be interesting if the moderator tracked how long you were posting on here before you jumped on to second my post, but I'm sure he has better things to do.

Pssst. This is a forum, not a series of texts sent by your boss. Not everyone has the desire to sit on here and refresh the page, and count minutes as you have done here. For most normal folks, a forum is hop on/hop off.... in between we are busy with other, more fulfilling tasks.

Feel free to take a break-- it would be healthier to refrain from obsessively counting the minutes between anonymous opinions about god(s)!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
Again with the biblical passages.

Know ye not other sources of evidence?

It's all about fear and selfishness. And they go well together.

You can keep repeating that, but it doesn't make it true. Like much of what you spout, you have no evidence, or your evidence is anecdotal (that pastor guy) or silly (sun=son OMG).

I'm not repeating anything. I have mentioned several sources.


But aside from the bible, where is your evidence? I've seen nothing other than passages from the Old and New Testament.

At least mention the Dead Sea Scrolls, which mirror about half of the texts in the bible.

[Anonymous]

The fact remains--and I'm sure the moderator can prove it--that the original poster let that ridiculous error stand for almost FOUR HOURS (since it was first posted at 19:03).

The moderator can also prove, if he cared, that YOU didn't chime in for another 11 MINUTES after I pointed the error out. but, uh, thanks for seconding my post. It would be interesting if the moderator tracked how long you were posting on here before you jumped on to second my post, but I'm sure he has better things to do.

Which lunatic obsesses over posts by an atheist on a parenting forum?

11 mins - and counting!

Someone got under your skin, eh?

"Keep calm 'cause Jesus loves you!"

[Anonymous]

One person quotes scripture - another person argues with their own words. Is one authority greater? What gives it power?

Faith. The same words that someone mocks, are the words that rebuke negativity from having any effective power in my life. The same words that are powerful to me, can be cloaked to you because of pride, arrogance, the idea that your wisdom is greater than wisdom itself.

The idea that someone who doesn't have faith, can argue points with a person who does, is based in error, and will never have any validity.

Faith, the entire practice of it, requires submission to a power higher than yourself. Using reasoning that places you as the highest entity in existence means that you are starting from a point that a person of faith will never do.

It will never happen. To those who do not believe, you are the equivalent of being your own God. And your reasoning is not comparable to the reasoning that we believe of a God greater than you.

When your words can have a stronger authority, than a scripture that has a living affect in my life, is the day that I make your word more powerful than the word I believe.



"The Sin of Partiality

1
My brothers,a show no partiality as you hold the faith in our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory.

2 For if a man wearing a gold ring and fine clothing comes into your assembly, and a poor man in shabby clothing also comes in,

3 and if you pay attention to the one who wears the fine clothing and say, “You sit here in a good place,” while you say to the poor man, “You stand over there,” or, “Sit down at my feet,”

4 have you not then made distinctions among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts? 5Listen, my beloved brothers, has not God chosen those who are poor in the world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom, which he has promised to those who love him?

6 But you have dishonored the poor man. Are not the rich the ones who oppress you, and the ones who drag you into court?

7Are they not the ones who blaspheme the honorable name by which you were called?

8
If you really fulfill the royal law according to the Scripture, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself,” you are doing well.

9But if you show partiality, you are committing sin and are convicted by the law as transgressors.

10For whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point has become accountable for all of it.

11For he who said, “Do not commit adultery,” also said, “Do not murder.” If you do not commit adultery but do murder, you have become a transgressor of the law.

12 So speak and so act as those who are to be judged under the law of liberty.

13For judgment is without mercy to one who has shown no mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgment.

Faith Without Works Is Dead

14What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him?

15If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food,

16and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and filled,” without giving them the things needed for the body, what goodb is that?

17So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.

18
But someone will say, “You have faith and I have works.” Show me your faith apart from your works, and I will show you my faith by my works.

19You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe—and shudder!

20Do you want to be shown, you foolish person, that faith apart from works is useless?

21Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered up his son Isaac on the altar? 22You see that faith was active along with his works, and faith was completed by his works;

23and the Scripture was fulfilled that says, “Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness”—and he was called a friend of God.

24You see that a person is justified by works and not by faith alone.

And in the same way was not also Rahab the prostitute justified by works when she received the messengers and sent them out by another way?

26For as the body apart from the spirit is dead, so also faith apart from works is dead."

http://biblehub.com/esv/james/2.htm

[Anonymous]

again
more from the bible

Can any of you find more interesting and credible resources?

Anonymous wrote:One person quotes scripture - another person argues with their own words. Is one authority greater? What gives it power?

Faith. The same words that someone mocks, are the words that rebuke negativity from having any effective power in my life. The same words that are powerful to me, can be cloaked to you because of pride, arrogance, the idea that your wisdom is greater than wisdom itself.

The idea that someone who doesn't have faith, can argue points with a person who does, is based in error, and will never have any validity.

Faith, the entire practice of it, requires submission to a power higher than yourself. Using reasoning that places you as the highest entity in existence means that you are starting from a point that a person of faith will never do.

It will never happen. To those who do not believe, you are the equivalent of being your own God. And your reasoning is not comparable to the reasoning that we believe of a God greater than you.

When your words can have a stronger authority, than a scripture that has a living affect in my life, is the day that I make your word more powerful than the word I believe.



"The Sin of Partiality

1
My brothers,a show no partiality as you hold the faith in our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory.

2 For if a man wearing a gold ring and fine clothing comes into your assembly, and a poor man in shabby clothing also comes in,

3 and if you pay attention to the one who wears the fine clothing and say, “You sit here in a good place,” while you say to the poor man, “You stand over there,” or, “Sit down at my feet,”

4 have you not then made distinctions among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts? 5Listen, my beloved brothers, has not God chosen those who are poor in the world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom, which he has promised to those who love him?

6 But you have dishonored the poor man. Are not the rich the ones who oppress you, and the ones who drag you into court?

7Are they not the ones who blaspheme the honorable name by which you were called?

8
If you really fulfill the royal law according to the Scripture, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself,” you are doing well.

9But if you show partiality, you are committing sin and are convicted by the law as transgressors.

10For whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point has become accountable for all of it.

11For he who said, “Do not commit adultery,” also said, “Do not murder.” If you do not commit adultery but do murder, you have become a transgressor of the law.

12 So speak and so act as those who are to be judged under the law of liberty.

13For judgment is without mercy to one who has shown no mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgment.

Faith Without Works Is Dead

14What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him?

15If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food,

16and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and filled,” without giving them the things needed for the body, what goodb is that?

17So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.

18
But someone will say, “You have faith and I have works.” Show me your faith apart from your works, and I will show you my faith by my works.

19You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe—and shudder!

20Do you want to be shown, you foolish person, that faith apart from works is useless?

21Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered up his son Isaac on the altar? 22You see that faith was active along with his works, and faith was completed by his works;

23and the Scripture was fulfilled that says, “Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness”—and he was called a friend of God.

24You see that a person is justified by works and not by faith alone.

And in the same way was not also Rahab the prostitute justified by works when she received the messengers and sent them out by another way?

26For as the body apart from the spirit is dead, so also faith apart from works is dead."

http://biblehub.com/esv/james/2.htm

[Anonymous]

Well, there is always your personal experience. You know - testimony.
Like the bible.

But that IS the source.
Much like we all agree to the principles of math, science, etc. ---
things that are proven and accepted.

Faith is PROVEN on an individual level.

If you took time to read the above post - you would see that.
But your argument is really to no end, for you.

I'm sorry you are having this internal conflict.

[Anonymous]

Where is your evidence, PP, that faith, exercised by YOU has failed?