like I said, if the bible were written by a God, when everyone read it, they would see that, they don't, cause it's stories made up by men most people believe the religion their parnts believed
I think of it like this illusion: Some people see the candlestick, some see the two faces. Some see both. Obviously in real life it’s easy to see both images, but religion seems to be like a complex version of this; some people can only see that god exists, others that it makes no sense to believe in god. Each side questions the integrity of the testimony of the other since it’s so difficult imagine a different way of thinking.
yep, we all have our opinions on the subject of religion, though the flaws in the bible tend to lean in the favor of supporting my opinion, but hey, maybe the God of the Bible is flawed
No human provided evidence to me that God lives. If so, I'd share it. There is no tangible evidence that he lives. God provided evidence to me thru his spirit that he lives. So when you tell me to prove it, it's like you think I have set a trap and captured God that I can show him to you. My testimony doesn't come from people, scriptures, reading, hearing, concluding, myself or from anything in this world. It comes from Gods tangible spirit alone, which is his to direct. I just thought I would share it because of all the voices saying there is no God, and that God is imaginary, a thing concluded, built, and parroted by men due to fear, superstition, and ignorance. Now while this may be true of men in the world. It isn't true of God. God lives independent of the swirl of mankind. God doesn't belong to me. I belong to him. So my words go more to him proving me to you, than me proving him to you. When I say I don't merely believe that God lives, but that I know he does, I mean it. There is no out for me, no wiggle room. So I declare it. It isn't my truth. It is the truth, as certain as the sun in the sky. If you can't see it, I can't help that. I'm not a healer. I can only say what I know for the cause of consideration.
What differentiates what you "heard" or "felt" from the countless others who have claimed that God told them to kill someone? According to the Bible God has commanded his followers to kill before so you can't claim that God would never order such a thing.
I neither heard nor felt anything originating in myself from my own depths. Gods spirit awakened me to a remembrance of him, to know that he lives and is divine. In so doing, his spirit knew me in heart, mind and soul. It was a spirit of supreme peace, virtue, and charity beyond description. What I personally felt afterwards was a desire to repent and be baptized according to the influence and holiness of his spirit which I had experienced. As for killing, I'm not troubled by such an idea. But there are plenty or murders, very few of which are claimed to be Gods will. With most springing from pride, wrath, contention, greed and so forth, which are rampant among mankind. What is your guaranteed immunity from such an impulse so prevalent in society? My religion teaches that pride, wrath, and contention are of the devil. But in society these characteristics are often glorified.
I think we should see a brain scan of how your brain is when you have this experience and compare it to brain scans of other people who have had the experience.
Again, there are millions who believe that they too had God's "spirit in their hearts", the 9/11 hijackers, the people who bombed the Boston Marathon, the person who murdered George Tiller. All thought they were acting on behalf of God.
You say, "clearly they weren't" but they are offering the exact same testimony that you are saying we should believe. What's the difference? Why is their experience "clearly" not from a god? Why is yours "clearly" FROM a god?
If I gave you a nickel for every person who thought they were chatting with the big guy but was actually just a couple of froot loops short of a full box you would be able to buy yourself a fancy fish hat like the Pope has. And it’s not just murdering terrorists. It’s guys who fondle children, guys who beat their dogs or lead congregations while visiting prostitutes or having a harem of 15 year old girls as wives. it’s hard to consider men like that to be having legitimate experiences since the behaviour is so reprehensible.
And even those whose behavior is NOT reprehensible, it's still hard to believe that they are having an actual "vision from God" (or whatever they want to call it) because there is absolutely no evidence that it happened.
I don't know how you figure that. Neither our testimonies nor our conduct are anything alike. You're just making up things.
What we are discussing is how we (or even you) can judge your reported experience of having God talk to you as legitimate. I can tell if a marriage is legitimate by talking to the people involved, checking the marriage cert. Sometimes people claim to be talking to God and they are either lying or they are having a genuine experience but it’s not really god, schizophrenia for example. This isn’t a new concept to you is it?
You can't know if my saying that I know God lives, is true. But you can take it under advisement and add it to your collection. Fwiw, I never said that God talks to me, even though I talk to him daily in prayer. It is always one sided. I have had one legitimate spiritual revelation in my life, the one that was followed by my conversion and baptism. But since then, I often sense Gods nearness. Is there anything else you'd like to know?
