Give me the bullet, I have faith that me and my loved one will live in peace -- on earth or in Heaven. There is no suffering when you have faith.
Of course, you assume I wouldn't kick your ass before you pulled the trigger;)
Re:Not that this is even REMOTELY on topic but
on
Geek Gift Ideas 2001
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· Score: 0
Again, he allows all of this because of free will. Death, suffering and the like are a fact of life. You escape them when you enter Heaven. Yet again, the Bible explains this clearly.
God is not wasting our time with false decisions and mind games. We are put on earth to serve a purpose, the purpose is to seek God and sort Him out from the evil. What's beyond that, I don't know. I know what the Bible tells us but there may be more once we get there.
It's a complex paradox but believing is seeing...really. Life is not a waste of time. We have been given the opportunity to seek and learn. We should use these opportunities. After all, He created us and His Son died for us, shouldn't we at least seek His truth with an open mind? You have nothing to lose and everything to gain.
You bring up good points, I'll give you that. But life is not binary. It's not on or off, black or white, right or wrong. Life has a lot of gray areas and there are countless questions that will never be anwered in our lifetime or here on earth.
With belief comes a sense of knowing. I can't give you "the" answer, nobody can. If I could then I would be God and I am not.
It's your "free will" to believe or not believe. But you have to admit, there is nothing to lose by believing. There is everything to lose by not believing if, in fact, all of the Christians are right.
I'll say it again, the truth is in the Bible. You won't find it by simply reading it. Reading, along with studying, along with an open mind will present the Truth. You have deduced it down to two possible "truths", unfortunately it's not that simple.
The truth that *you* choose to find is all up to you.
Do you stand by that belief? Is that why you remain an "Anonymous Coward"? It's good that you can back up your arguement.
By the way, religion has been around long before the middle ages. It's been around since, well, the beginning of time. You know, when God created us.
Get a clue and spare us YOUR "bullshit".
Re:Not that this is even REMOTELY on topic but
on
Geek Gift Ideas 2001
·
· Score: 0, Flamebait
Here's the point. God knows what's in your heart. So, you're right, if you're saying you believe but only pretending then God will know.
When you SINCERELY accept Jesus as your Savior AND accept Him into your heart AND confess your sins AND ask for forgiveness for your sins then you have entered into a "sweet deal." But it's not only a ticket to Heaven. It's support, answered prayers, miracles and more here on earth. You can't go wrong, if you believe that Jesus is at work in your life then there are no worries that can't be overcome. Belief yields blessings and blessings are good. God takes care of us who believe and He works in the lives of unbelievers to help them one day believe. He wants us all to be saved from evil but we need to accept Him. It's really easy and you have NOTHING to lose -- but you have EVERYTHING to gain.
Once you do it your life will be changed. Not in a freaky, annoying way but in a good way. You won't be thumping Bibles at everyone you meet and you won't be the irritating guy that everyone wants to avoid. You will have a new awareness and a sense of comfort about life. But, you can't accept Him and leave it alone. Being a Christian brings responsibility. I can't get into all in this small space but suffice it to say that you can't simply accept and forget. My reply here is an example of a responsibility. I'm not a crazy zealot but I will always help when the opportunity arises.
What if I'm wrong and God doesn't exist? What have I lost? But, what if I'm right and He does exist and you died tomorrow? What would you rather be in that situation, a believer and non-believer? Eternity in hell or Heaven, you choose.
It's a tough consequence. I hope you all make the right decision. God bless.
God IS omniscient, that is a fact. As an earlier post correctly states, God gave us the gift of free will and along with free will comes sin.
Because God is all knowing does not mean our lives are mapped out for us and everything is left to fate. Fate does not exist, it's something we made up to explain the unexplainable. We are free to do as we please and God knows the outcome of any action we take. He knows all of the possible outcomes of every possible action of every person on this planet. That is what makes Him omniscient. He knows that if we do "this" then "that" will happen, if we do "that" then "this" will happen, ad infinium.
God puts things in place for us but it's up to us to use the gifts, blessings, advice, etc. that He provides. Thoughtful, sincere prayer leads to answers. What we do with the wisdom He provided is our decision.
Another thing, the question is often asked, "How can God let things like 9/11 occur if He's so loving...." The answer again is free will. God can intervene, and probably has on millions of occaisons that we are unaware of, but he allows us the freedom to act on our own. God does not have a hand in evil acts. He allows evil to occur so that we can make our own choices between right and wrong. The Bible states this clearly.
God was there on 9/11 as He is now. He was there to comfort the families and friends of the victims and to comfort the world. He was there to provide an eternal home for the believers and uninformed who parished. By allowing these events to occur in no way means He was responsible. The terrorists were responsible. Yes, He knew it would happen in advance and He prepared a home for those whose lives were taken.
Does that answer your question?
I find it hard to believe that you have read the Bible from cover to cover. Had you done so you would know that these answers are in there. There is a difference between simply reading and actually understanding what you have read. The Bible is a complex book that is not easily understood. This is why Believers STUDY it, so that they may better understand it.
This is not intended as a "So there, take that" reply. I hope I was able to elaborate a very complex paradigm.
Best of luck to all who read this and may God sincerely bless you all.
Slashdot Mirror
Give me the bullet, I have faith that me and my loved one will live in peace -- on earth or in Heaven. There is no suffering when you have faith.
;)
Of course, you assume I wouldn't kick your ass before you pulled the trigger
Again, he allows all of this because of free will. Death, suffering and the like are a fact of life. You escape them when you enter Heaven. Yet again, the Bible explains this clearly.
God is not wasting our time with false decisions and mind games. We are put on earth to serve a purpose, the purpose is to seek God and sort Him out from the evil. What's beyond that, I don't know. I know what the Bible tells us but there may be more once we get there.
It's a complex paradox but believing is seeing...really. Life is not a waste of time. We have been given the opportunity to seek and learn. We should use these opportunities. After all, He created us and His Son died for us, shouldn't we at least seek His truth with an open mind? You have nothing to lose and everything to gain.
You bring up good points, I'll give you that. But life is not binary. It's not on or off, black or white, right or wrong. Life has a lot of gray areas and there are countless questions that will never be anwered in our lifetime or here on earth.
With belief comes a sense of knowing. I can't give you "the" answer, nobody can. If I could then I would be God and I am not.
It's your "free will" to believe or not believe. But you have to admit, there is nothing to lose by believing. There is everything to lose by not believing if, in fact, all of the Christians are right.
I'll say it again, the truth is in the Bible. You won't find it by simply reading it. Reading, along with studying, along with an open mind will present the Truth. You have deduced it down to two possible "truths", unfortunately it's not that simple.
The truth that *you* choose to find is all up to you.
Best of luck on your journey.
Do you stand by that belief? Is that why you remain an "Anonymous Coward"? It's good that you can back up your arguement.
By the way, religion has been around long before the middle ages. It's been around since, well, the beginning of time. You know, when God created us.
Get a clue and spare us YOUR "bullshit".
Here's the point. God knows what's in your heart. So, you're right, if you're saying you believe but only pretending then God will know.
When you SINCERELY accept Jesus as your Savior AND accept Him into your heart AND confess your sins AND ask for forgiveness for your sins then you have entered into a "sweet deal." But it's not only a ticket to Heaven. It's support, answered prayers, miracles and more here on earth. You can't go wrong, if you believe that Jesus is at work in your life then there are no worries that can't be overcome. Belief yields blessings and blessings are good. God takes care of us who believe and He works in the lives of unbelievers to help them one day believe. He wants us all to be saved from evil but we need to accept Him. It's really easy and you have NOTHING to lose -- but you have EVERYTHING to gain.
Once you do it your life will be changed. Not in a freaky, annoying way but in a good way. You won't be thumping Bibles at everyone you meet and you won't be the irritating guy that everyone wants to avoid. You will have a new awareness and a sense of comfort about life. But, you can't accept Him and leave it alone. Being a Christian brings responsibility. I can't get into all in this small space but suffice it to say that you can't simply accept and forget. My reply here is an example of a responsibility. I'm not a crazy zealot but I will always help when the opportunity arises.
What if I'm wrong and God doesn't exist? What have I lost? But, what if I'm right and He does exist and you died tomorrow? What would you rather be in that situation, a believer and non-believer? Eternity in hell or Heaven, you choose.
It's a tough consequence. I hope you all make the right decision. God bless.
Here's your answer:
God IS omniscient, that is a fact. As an earlier post correctly states, God gave us the gift of free will and along with free will comes sin.
Because God is all knowing does not mean our lives are mapped out for us and everything is left to fate. Fate does not exist, it's something we made up to explain the unexplainable. We are free to do as we please and God knows the outcome of any action we take. He knows all of the possible outcomes of every possible action of every person on this planet. That is what makes Him omniscient. He knows that if we do "this" then "that" will happen, if we do "that" then "this" will happen, ad infinium.
God puts things in place for us but it's up to us to use the gifts, blessings, advice, etc. that He provides. Thoughtful, sincere prayer leads to answers. What we do with the wisdom He provided is our decision.
Another thing, the question is often asked, "How can God let things like 9/11 occur if He's so loving...." The answer again is free will. God can intervene, and probably has on millions of occaisons that we are unaware of, but he allows us the freedom to act on our own. God does not have a hand in evil acts. He allows evil to occur so that we can make our own choices between right and wrong. The Bible states this clearly.
God was there on 9/11 as He is now. He was there to comfort the families and friends of the victims and to comfort the world. He was there to provide an eternal home for the believers and uninformed who parished. By allowing these events to occur in no way means He was responsible. The terrorists were responsible. Yes, He knew it would happen in advance and He prepared a home for those whose lives were taken.
Does that answer your question?
I find it hard to believe that you have read the Bible from cover to cover. Had you done so you would know that these answers are in there. There is a difference between simply reading and actually understanding what you have read. The Bible is a complex book that is not easily understood. This is why Believers STUDY it, so that they may better understand it.
This is not intended as a "So there, take that" reply. I hope I was able to elaborate a very complex paradigm.
Best of luck to all who read this and may God sincerely bless you all.