The alternative is that there is one and only one correct view of what the Bible instructs you to believe. And in your case, that would be your view, and everyone else is wrong.
But why are there so many people who are wrong about the Bible? Why is it apparently so easy to get it wrong? I, for one, believe that God would have done a better job of it, if he really did want everyone to be saved. (And assuming there is something to be saved from. )
I totally agree Timmy but there is one last point I want to raise:
There are stories of Jesus doing miracles. Now I know the bible warns us of false signs and wonders but if I was to observe with my own eyes a supernatural miracle then the miracles I am observing confirm that the person is at least worth taking note of. I will be skeptical at first but if I see what I believe are true miracle occuring then I'm going to take note of the things the guy says. What he says may not always be right just because he is a miracle worker but his ability to work miracles gives strong evidence that he might know something beyond me about the supernatural (and about the afterlife).
Christians believe Jesus is such a figure that did miracles and should be listened to based on those merits. In fact they believe the biggest miracle Jesus performed was rising from the dead after three days. They believe that miracle confirms he was who he claimed to be and that the things he spoke of were true (like the afterlife).
I know for sure that if I seen a man I had just watched been crucified to death and then seen him and knew he had raised from the dead I would be inclined to believe the things he had preached. Just saying, one such teacher about the afterlife is more impressive and would be easier to believe than any teacher who tells me the king of england was excommunicated from the catholic church many years ago.
__________________
You better watch out before I blitzkrieg your thread cause I'm the Thread Nazi now!
I totally agree Timmy but there is one last point I want to raise:
There are stories of Jesus doing miracles. Now I know the bible warns us of false signs and wonders but if I was to observe with my own eyes a supernatural miracle then the miracles I am observing confirm that the person is at least worth taking note of. I will be skeptical at first but if I see what I believe are true miracle occuring then I'm going to take note of the things the guy says. What he says may not always be right just because he is a miracle worker but his ability to work miracles gives strong evidence that he might know something beyond me about the supernatural (and about the afterlife).
Christians believe Jesus is such a figure that did miracles and should be listened to based on those merits. In fact they believe the biggest miracle Jesus performed was rising from the dead after three days. They believe that miracle confirms he was who he claimed to be and that the things he spoke of were true (like the afterlife).
I know for sure that if I seen a man I had just watched been crucified to death and then seen him and knew he had raised from the dead I would be inclined to believe the things he had preached. Just saying, one such teacher about the afterlife is more impressive and would be easier to believe than any teacher who tells me the king of england was excommunicated from the catholic church many years ago.
Oh, don't get me started about miracles...
__________________
Hebrews 13:23 Know ye that our brother Timothy is set at liberty
And here I should add, as I have many times before, that I think you should keep doing what works for you. If you have peace, a sound mind, etc., good for you. But it would be nice if just once, a believer would give me that same blessing.
I won't hold my breath.
I'll give it to you, Timmy.
__________________
Those who say it cannot be done should not interrupt the people doing it. ~Chinese Proverb
When I was young and clever, I wanted to change the world. Now that I am older and wiser, I strive to change myself. ~
If Faith made sense, we wouldn't be having this discussion. Faith is the invisible realm of a Man's imagination, where anything can happen and anything can be said to say it's real, when it isn't.
I have a problem with that. Just like the Salem Witch Trials, where Faith was used in attempting to persecute the (supposable) guilty, where 19 innocent people were murdered, and hundreds were imprisoned using Spectral Evidence.
Mike, you can tell me until you're blue in the (Faith) face, you cannot tell us what will happen to a man/woman when they die. You can refer to a million books and other Religions who believe what will happen, but that's as far as you will get.
It's your opinion, not fact.
It's not my opinion. Where is all of this YOUR OPINION stuff coming from? It's the BIBLE'S STATEMENTS. I am only saying what the bible says about what happens when people die. And of course I cannot prove it. Again, that is the entire concept of how the bible uses faith.
And just because something is not tangibly evident does not mean it is not fact. And just because God demands that we have faith without physical evidence to support it, does not mean that what He told us to believe in is not fact.
That does not mean that others who use faith are not patently wrong in what they believe in. But that does not preclude the fact that the bible teaches a demand for faith.
Are you disagreeing with the bible in general?
__________________ ...MY THOUGHTS, ANYWAY.
"Many Christians do not try to understand what was written in a verse in the Bible. Instead they approach the passage to prove what they already believe."
Is your Faith better than a Catholics Faith? Or a Baptist? Or a Mormon? How about a Jew? What about Islam? Oh wait, and the Buddhist? What about the 30,000+ other Christian Denominations? Who's right, and who's wrong with their Faith that cannot be proven?
We'll find out, won't we? I never claimed we won't find out who is right. Go ahead and abandon faith. Not me. And I will continue to be fearful with it and always ask God to correct me if required. I have faith He will.
__________________ ...MY THOUGHTS, ANYWAY.
"Many Christians do not try to understand what was written in a verse in the Bible. Instead they approach the passage to prove what they already believe."
I didn't say that. I said it doesn't always happen. Do you disagree?
I don't think I have to go "to the other side and back", nor do I have any obligation to provide you with video. I will simply give my testimony. Accept it or don't.
I trusted God. I believed in the promises. A sound mind. Fear cast out. Peace. Healing.
Sometimes I got these things, and sometimes not. My depression got progressively worse and worse, the more these promises were not kept. That's my view of it, at least. And of course, the ever helpful believers will, as they already have many times, offer advice such as "just keep holding on" and "keep trusting" etc. Yeah, well, when I commit suicide, can I stop holding on then? I was close.
Then I got out. When you stop believing things that aren't true, it helps. A lot.
I had no experiences like you did over having faith in what the bible teaches. Let every man be fully persuaded in his own mind. So you can believe what you want, speaking about belief. I saw more miracles and more answers to prayer the more I lived by faith. And it continues that way to this day.
Are you so correct in your thoughts and perspective that you maintain there is no way you could have been offkey with what you thought was exerting faith? Again, I had nothing happen to me like you did. Just the opposite. Seriously. But I am not here to convince you of anything. Just telling my side of the story like you are. Believe I am giving a true report or not. Doesn't change anything.
__________________ ...MY THOUGHTS, ANYWAY.
"Many Christians do not try to understand what was written in a verse in the Bible. Instead they approach the passage to prove what they already believe."
I had no experiences like you did over having faith in what the bible teaches. Let every man be fully persuaded in his own mind. I saw more miracles and more answers to prayer the more I lived by faith. And it continues that way to this day.
Are you so correct in your thoughts and perspective that you maintain there is no way you could have been offkey with what you thought was exerting faith? Again, I had nothing happen to me like you did. Just the opposite. Seriously. But I am not here to convince you of anything. Just telling my side of the story like you are.
Of course I could have been "offkey"! I am a mere fallible human! And your God wouldn't grant this fallible human's request for some reason -- and I'm sure it was a very good reason -- and he won't even tell me where I went wrong! I don't think he has told my folks, either, when their prayers for my brother's healing of cancer failed, and those of many other family member's and friends'. There must have been thousands of prayers (and at least one "word form the Lord" that said he would be healed), and I'm not exaggerating. Were every one of them "offkey"? Did we not get what we asked for because we asked amiss? EVERY SINGLE ONE OF US?
__________________
Hebrews 13:23 Know ye that our brother Timothy is set at liberty
)
Linear Mode
