Part 35 of Post Your Tough Questions Regarding Christianity

Discussion in 'Religion & Philosophy' started by Mitt Ryan, Jan 8, 2017.

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  1. trevorw2539

    trevorw2539 Well-Known Member Past Donor

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    Let me have your address. I'll send you the code for Fort Knox:wink:
     
  2. The Wyrd of Gawd

    The Wyrd of Gawd Well-Known Member

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    Wow! You are a sorcerer! I thought they died out like the dinosaurs.

    Exodus 22:18 (CEB) = "Don’t allow a female sorcerer to live."
     
  3. Swensson

    Swensson Devil's advocate

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    What is the method you use to figure out whether things are true, and how does it apply to Christianity?
     
  4. trevorw2539

    trevorw2539 Well-Known Member Past Donor

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    Whew. Thank goodness the last time I looked I was male. :smile:
     
  5. The Wyrd of Gawd

    The Wyrd of Gawd Well-Known Member

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    The Saudis don't like male sorcerers any better than women sorcerers. So are they more biblical than Jews and Christians?
    http://www.arabnews.com/news/501861
     
  6. Margot2

    Margot2 Banned

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    In KSA sorcerer would be a swindler like Bernie Madoff.
     
  7. trevorw2539

    trevorw2539 Well-Known Member Past Donor

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    I've no intention of going to Saudi Arabia. I don't like the heat or the sand and I like to see women sensibly dressed. Not is sackcloth and ashes. There's nothing like a shapely ... er... dear me, and me in my late 70's. :smile:

    - - - Updated - - -

    WHO is Bernie Madoff?
     
  8. Margot2

    Margot2 Banned

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    He was a major swindler.. He defrauded people all across the country out of their life savings.. and defrauded many charities including Jewish charities. I think he was sentenced to a hundred years or something like that.

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bernard_Madoff
     
  9. trevorw2539

    trevorw2539 Well-Known Member Past Donor

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    Thanks. I do love your American optimism. At the age of around 70 he was sentenced to 150 years in prison. Does that mean, when he dies, he will be buried in the prison grounds until the time is up. :wink:
     
  10. Margot2

    Margot2 Banned

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    One can hope!
     
  11. Mitt Ryan

    Mitt Ryan Well-Known Member

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    There are no flaws in the Bible, but of course to the critic, the non-believer, there are flaws in their perspective/viewpoint.

    When it comes to Almighty God the Creator nothing is impossible for Him to do. It doesn't matter what existed first in regards to the earth and sun during creation. He could have created them both on day 1, or created the earth on day 1 and the sun on day 4. Nobody can prove one way or another as to what was created first/ nor on what particular day. We can only believe one way or another.

    Well during the time of creation apparently vegetation did exist for 1 day without the sun. Critics always scoff at this notion of the sequence of events as outlined in the Book of Genesis which illustrates that vegetation came on the 3rd day and the sun of the 4th day.

    They claim that sequence of events is impossible making statements such as yours. Some question why wasn't the sun made on the 3rd day and vegetation on the 4th day?

    Well probably, God wanted us to know that it is not the sun that sustains life, but it is He, God, the Creator of the sun, who sustains life.

    (For many say if there is no sun, there cannot be life. But the truth is-if there is no God, there is no life; God can use anything to give us life, and not just the sun. And many people worship the sun today thinking that without it nothing can survive. But the plants and trees were there for a full day even before the sun was created!)

    Furthermore, if God didn't exist then nothing would exist, there would be no universe, no stars, no moon, no sun, no earth, no life, no you, no me but just nothingness. Oh but as we see that is not the case, the universe, the stars, moon, sun, earth all exist, you and I exist, all because the Creator, Almighty God exists!

    That's the way God designed it to be.

    Well according to scientists they theorize that there will be a day when the cosmos will come to an end and everything will cease to exist. They theorize that the expanding universe will change its course/direction and contract on itself and implode into a fiery colossal fireball.

    And according to Scripture there will be an end...the end times, when God will destroy everything in the universe but He will keep those who loved Him, those who worshipped Him, those who believed in Him, those who had asked His Son our Lord Savior Jesus Christ for His forgiveness of their sins, those who then will be saved and will be with Him in paradise, in His Kingdom of Heaven to live happily- ever- after for all eternity!

    We read in Scripture:

    "For God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life." ---John 3:16 NLT

    I wholeheartedly agree. But as we know back in ancient times when mankind was pretty much ignorant of a lot of things in nature that was the belief of the time. Now with the advances of science, mankind knows better, on who orbits who.

    Some critics have suggested that the Bible teaches this in that the sun orbits the earth but that is not true. It's by their misinterpretation of what they read in Scripture that has led them to this error in their understanding.
     
  12. The Wyrd of Gawd

    The Wyrd of Gawd Well-Known Member

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    That's an interesting way to look at it. If the word "sorcerer" really meant that the person was a swindler then maybe the word "prophet" really meant that the person was a liar. That helps to explain a lot of the biblical and Koran stories.
     
  13. Mitt Ryan

    Mitt Ryan Well-Known Member

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    Well as brilliant of a mind that Einstein had as a theoretical physicist it's baffling that he failed to understand the motives of God. This failure was the result of his incorrect assumption that God intended this universe as His ultimate perfect creation. Einstein could not get past the moral problems that are present in our universe.

    He assumed, as most atheists do, that a personal God would only create a universe which is both good morally and perfect physically. However, according to Christianity, the purpose of the universe is not to be morally or physically perfect, but to provide a place where spiritual creatures can choose to love or reject God - to live with Him forever in a new, perfect universe, or reject Him and live apart from Him for all eternity.

    It would not be possible to make this choice in a universe in which all moral choices are restricted to only good ones. Einstein didn't seem to understand that one could not choose between good and bad if bad did not exist. Again like I already mentioned it's amazingly baffling that such a brilliant man could not understand such a simple logical principle.

    No, Albert Einstein was not a Christian or even a theist (one who believes in a personal God), probably because he failed to understand why evil existed. These days, those who fail to understand the purpose of evil not only reject the concept of a personal God, but also reject the concept of God's existence altogether.

    If you are an agnostic or atheist, my goal for you would be to recognize what Albert Einstein understood about the universe - that its amazing design demands the existence of a creator God, that's why when he discovered that the universe had a beginning, he was quoted as saying, "I want to know how God created this world. I am not interested in this or that phenomenon, in the spectrum of this or that element. I want to know His thoughts; the rest are details."

    Before this discovery he and many other atheist scientists always held the belief that the universe was eternal but not anymore, they now believe it had a beginning.

    So you agnostics/atheists should try to go beyond Einstein's faulty understanding of the purpose of the universe and consider the Christian explanation for the purpose of human life and why evil must exist in this world. If you all could at least do that, then and only then, that perhaps there is hope for you all in that you'll make the most wisest decision you've ever made in your entire lives and become practicing Christians and be among/part of the little over 2 billion practicing Christians world wide and save your eternal souls.

    We read in Scripture:

    "They know the truth about God because he has made it obvious to them. For ever since the world was created, people have seen the earth and sky. Through everything God made, they can clearly see his invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature. So they have no excuse for not knowing God."---Romans 1:19-20 NLT
     
  14. help3434

    help3434 Member

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    Okay, I haven't read through the last few continuations of this thread. Has Mitt Ryan managed to answer even one tough question convincingly? He hadn't back when I followed it.
     
  15. ecco

    ecco Well-Known Member

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    Well, let's see. Here is a paragraph from your very own link...
    The New Testament authors repeatedly referred to themselves as eyewitnesses, even if they did not make overt statements including their names. ​

    Yet the author of the article gives no examples of the authors ever referring to themselves as eyewitnesses.



    In the last chapter of John’s Gospel, the author tells us he is testifying and his testimony is true. Language such as this presumes the author has seen something he can describe as eyewitness testimony. ​

    John testifies and claims his testimony is true and therefore we should presume it's an eyewitness account?

    The author of the article then more honestly states...
    While Luke clearly states he is not an eyewitness​


    You cut and paste from a religious site that clearly does not support your position with anything resembling evidence.

    Perhaps, instead of cutting and pasting from a religious site, you could cut and paste a passage from the gospels where the authors referred to themselves as eyewitnesses.
     
  16. ecco

    ecco Well-Known Member

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    They were eaten by dinosaurs. The spirits of the sorcerers then buried the dinosaurs deep in the ground so they could not be found for thousands of years.

    I thought everyone knew that.


    ETA: Ooops, just saw your post #27.
     
  17. ecco

    ecco Well-Known Member

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    More from Mitt Ryan


    Einstein did not disbelieve Christianity because of what you imagine he believed. He disbelieved God and Christianity because he thought it was silly and childish.


    http://www.christianitytoday.com/gleanings/2008/may/einstein-found-bible-primitive-childish.html
    Einstein penned the letter on January 3 1954 to the philosopher Eric Gutkind who had sent him a copy of his book Choose Life: The Biblical Call to Revolt.

    In the letter, he states:
    "The word god is for me nothing more than the expression and product of human weaknesses, the Bible a collection of honourable, but still primitive legends which are nevertheless pretty childish. No interpretation no matter how subtle can (for me) change this."

     
  18. Prunepicker

    Prunepicker Well-Known Member

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    Who said "witness"? It's a non Christian document that records the miracles of
    Jesus. Just as I said.
     
  19. Prunepicker

    Prunepicker Well-Known Member

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    As did the Jewish leadership in the NT. In reality they were miracles.
     
  20. Prunepicker

    Prunepicker Well-Known Member

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    Matthew, Mark and John. They were there and they are very reliable witnesses.

    Provide evidence that they weren't.
     
  21. Prunepicker

    Prunepicker Well-Known Member

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    Great answer (roll eyes) Since you can't defend yourself this is a way of conceding that
    I'm right. I accept your concession
     
  22. trevorw2539

    trevorw2539 Well-Known Member Past Donor

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    :roflol: Another 5 brownie points for your blouse.

    And don't bother to reply. I'm having an intelligent discussion on another site with someone who knows the Bible and its background history, which unfortunately I can't say about you.
     
  23. SillyAmerican

    SillyAmerican Well-Known Member

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    True enough. I believe that the information in the synoptic gospels and the gospel of John contain enough details that people living in the timeframe of their writing would have raised objections to any unsubstantiated claims.

    Please indulge me quoting from a book I just finished reading by Timothy Keller entitled The Reason for God:

    He continues on with a discussion of the selection of the canonical gospels from among a number of different writings, saying

    I think Keller makes a compelling case. Nevertheless, Bauckham's book is now on my reading list...
     
  24. Margot2

    Margot2 Banned

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    If a Saudi takes money claiming he/she can cure a sick person, he/she is a sorcerer/swindler because he/she has kept them from getting traditional medical care.
     
  25. The Wyrd of Gawd

    The Wyrd of Gawd Well-Known Member

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    The Babylonian Talmud also says that Adam had sex with all of the animals and that Jesus had a donkey girlfriend.
     
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