It's faith. You gotta have faith, then everything else falls nicely into place. There's no evidence either way, almost everyone just believes what their parents tell them. I don't think it's dishonest, because the faith is real.Religious people: what’s the best evidence you have that your beliefs are the truth and others are false?
All believers believe that their beliefs are the truth. It's totally normal. My mother is as sure that she will be reincarnated as Osama Bin Laden is that Allah will give him 70 virgins. Faith is, by definition, belief without evidence. Additionally, once someone believes something, they will find ';proof'; that it's true. It's called confirmation bias and is the bane of every good scientist. Don't look for reason where their is none. Just let people be happy with their beliefs. Life is hard and death is scary. If it gives them peace, then great. I just wish that believers had the same ability to live and let live.
Many people say ';God is real';, meaning they believe in a singular God. With this, Christians have no quarrel. However, a valid follow-up question would be ... ';OK. If God is real, what sort of implications do you think arise?';
Christianity attempts to answer those implications. If I believe it to be true, I must believe the others to be false. If I do not believe it to be true, then why would I follow it?
Almost every question you pose presupposes the nonexistence of God, the stupidity of Christians and a host of other things. You have no evidence of the former and there is tons of evidence disputing the latter. Are you, perhaps, a bit dishonest?
My evidence is personal, and I am sure that nothing I say will satisfy you.
I find it amusing that you say we are dishonest. You have no evidence to support your hate for ALL Christians. You have NO evidence to support your statement that ALL of us are dumb, uneducated, and evil.
In 99% of your questions, you imply that only YOU are right.
Surely you aren't that deluded.
You are so closed minded and bigoted that you told me that you would never agree to disagree with me because you are so wonderful and good and I am so evil.
Don't you think you're being arrogant and dishonest?
God can be experienced when you regularly worship Him from an honest heart. You can feel His presence and He gives many assurances when reading the Word that He is there. Also there many things in life that happen when you experience divine intervention and blessings.
We have evidence to back up our statements. Since this is all a question of belief (either to believe or not to believe), the ';evidence'; will not generally be believed by those who disbelieve....God reveals Himself to each of us as each of us can endure. If someone is not looking for God, he will not find God. God does not force Himself on anyone, and knows that it is eternally better for us not to have been exposed to Him and rejected Him, than to have been exposed and rejected Him. In other words, we come out in worse shape spiritually, eternally if we know about God and reject Him. Out of loving kindness and merciful regard for our eternity, he spares us having to answer eternally for knowing and rejecting Him. If He, Who knows all hearts, knows someone will turn away from Him, out of mercy for that soul, God will not reveal Himself, so that person will have less to answer for eternally. Contrarily, God does make Himself manifest to those who seek Him. It's in the Beatitudes: Blessed are they who seek after righteousness, for they shall be filled....If you are seeking God, you will find Him, with all the evidence you need to be sure. If you only allow as how there might be God, He will reveal Himself to you. It's up to you whether or not God reveals Himself to you. Always has been and always will be. But, don't take my word for it. Seek Him for yourself and find out. What do you have to loose by trying....nothing, and you have your own ';evidence'; to own within you if you do find Him. Try it and find out for yourself.
Speaking only for myself I believe God exists because He has done to much for me to NOT give him credit. I don't have any theologian or prophetic answer or explanation. Simply put.... When I pray fervently for something alone and only to God and it comes to pass... I trust its Him. When I feel as though I can't go on %26amp; there is no way out, He ALWAYS makes a way. I don't see my oxygen but it definitely exists, so I don't choose to seek a physical being for His existence. I just trust and have faith in Him.
*I would much rather live my life for Him and upon death find out I was wrong than to NOT believe in Him and find out He IS real when its too late to change.
If people start quoting the Bible to answer this...I fear I can no longer consider myself to be a part of this world. As some guy whose name escapes me once said, ';When you can explain to me why you dismiss all other gods, you'll understand why I dismiss yours.';
Let's see. %26lt;pulls lint out of my pocket%26gt;
That's still not enough proof.
As a Deist/Pantheist, I have as much evidence my God is real as the Christian God, which is none whatsoever.
I know in my heart. That's what does it for me. And I know if you do not drop down to your knees and accept Jesus Christ into your heart you will burn in Hell for all eternity.
Do you know the history of the Holy Bible?
if you did, you probably wouldn't think other religions are just as right as ours
I've never been consumed about who was wrong, only about finding the truth for myself.
the answer is demonstration. The journey is long for all, and longer for some.
I don't think that other people's beliefs are false. I think that there are many valid paths to God.
I don't.
I'm not arrogant like ahteists and fundies. Two peas in a pod.
Best evidence? Because I like it, and it works for me.
scientifically none...but neither do you...we can say we are correct by faith...what do you use...
I know that Jesus works in my life. I don't need to prove it to you.
I have been agnostic and have also studied various religions most recently I find Buddhism the most agreeable. The way I see it there is no evidence for sure. One can not prove anymore than one could disprove the spiritual nature of the universe or human beings. The nature of the questions religion explores suggest things which can never be experienced in physical reality yet to which some idea alludes to in all human beings, for some reason. Though all religions seem to have similarities which seek to explain why we live , die suffer and how we should act towards our fellow man and perceive our world ( the spirituality of humans aside from the physicality of their existence ) they differ in the details. These details can come and go but fairy tales and parables aside really almost all humans seem to have an intuition on some level that there is some thing creative permanent and good outside of their known temporary existence.
The point is those things which are outside the perception of the human experience can not be proven or dis proven as they would lay outside the measure and comprehension of even a human beings imagination.
Interestingly Buddhists do believe though, for example, that no human understands the ultimate nature of existence while living and that all religions perhaps their own as well are likely a way of trying to comprehend or represent a bit of that incomprehensible but intuitive knowledge.
Buddhists focus on using the opportunity as a human to try to learn more of their true spiritual nature which they feel is hidden by the limitations of perception and the distractions and illusions of the physical world. They recognize that all other beings underneath it all have the same nature as them and come from the same place. They feel that the universe is with out beginning or end but repeats it self again and again as a place that beings can evolve spiritually until they reach a higher consciousness. They believe in a connectedness of all living beings which are on a similar journey of discovery. Thus to help others is to help yourself and is why being genuinely compassionate and loving to others makes one feel happy and at peace with themselves.
They believe benefiting at an others expense is not really benefiting at all and to harm others or cause them suffering or bear them ill will is an error which only stunts your own spiritual growth and makes it harder to see the true nature of yourself, and find happiness and inner peace.
They don't believe in an all powerful parental father figure managing judging and punishing all souls. They believe rather that the universe works the way it dose because that is it's nature and the ultimate nature of that which creates sentient beings in the universe is of compassion and love. This compassion could be thought of as GOD in the Christian sense of being in everyone and everyone being a part of it except that it here it is seen as ones true nature and not some persona the rules from above. It dose not demand worship and decree laws, is not like some thinking, plotting human like father figure that is greater and more powerful than his children. It doesn't get mad or seek to punish for all eternity and has no plan for every good or evil occurrence one experiences on earth. It is loving and compassionate only. All human evils and misery, they believe , come from wrong or mistaken views of the self and the world and from mental delusions like ego importance , or say an inability to recognize and understand emotions for what they are, and mistakenly seeking happiness in illusions or at others expense. These illusions would include the spiritual and emotional attachment to material things , and placing a false value on materiel things (like that any amount of paper money, metal gold or other things were more precious than a life for example).
They believe humans are lucky to be in an existence capable of both joy and suffering so that they may learn. Souls who are suffering do so on their own as the result of the natural laws of the universe. Cause and effect. It rather leaves it up to beings to determine their own fates as they attempt to evolve and find their way to a higher existence as part of the source of all love and compassion. This puts the responsibility for ones own actions and their level of spiritual development only on themselves.
Buddhist do believe in realms of existence that have less or no suffering (like heaven) or more suffering (like hell) but believe souls stay there is not eternal and where a soul goes is up to a soul. One that has caused great suffering to others in a past life will choose to remove the negative Karma it has accrued by going to a realm of suffering and one that has positive karma may choose to spend it in a place of no suffering. The belief however is that as there is no suffering in ';heaven'; like realms you can not evolve spiritually ie you can't learn and choose to do good a
No comments:
Post a Comment