Why should someone start believing in God?

[Guvnah]

@armycowboy

Maybe they have. Maybe its one of the myriad other religions out there. Who knows honestly.

The question in the thread isn’t about any specific religion, though. It’s just belief in God. So something happening through “one of the myriad other religions out there” doesn’t show that it didn’t happen as a result of God.

[Guvnah]

@Borgia_dude_dude

@Guv

What someone starts doing is choosing to disbelieve in God.

Not true. There is a tribe, the Paraha, that has no God concept. It isn’t in their language. Clearly it isn’t written on their heart.

You are not one of them, and you have already made it clear that you HAVE chosen to disbelieve.

For that matter, your link doesn’t CLEARLY show anything of the sort. It states one guy’s claim, and that claim supports the choice you’ve made, so in that respect it’s “clear” to you. But beyond that, … meh.

[Guvnah]

@Borgia_dude_dude

But I used prayer because actual studies have been done demonstrating the ineffectiveness of prayer.

And other studies show the opposite.

And no, I’m not going to hunt for examples. I know you are aware of them.

[Guvnah]

@Eagle-Keeper

I don’t know what you mean by saying something subjectively exists?

They’re grasping at anything they can to justify their choice to disbelieve in God.

[Physics_Hunter]

Studying several Physics and Biology books, or getting a degree in such, simply enhance the depth of the Bible. This triples for AI.

[Physics_Hunter]

Leave it to you, my friend, to look at this from a non- anthropogenic direction.

My answer to Meriweather’s well crafted OP starts with God, not Man.

I will word this for the non-believers here. Follow along in pure logic folks, I don’t care what you believe, just let your reason see the argument.

If there is one God, like that of Abraham, who sent his Son here to make anyone who believes in him justified with him,
And, this God is not a gaudy imagery God, he acts in a visual or widely perceptible way only infrequently,
Written words attributed to God are very few (12 commandments), and the words of His Son on earth are few and many of them in parables.

If this God that created everything, including you, wanted you to start down a path that lead to him, do you think that you could resist Him?

Faith comes FROM God.

Ephesians 2:8…
8 For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; 9 not as a result of works, so that no one may boast. 10 For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.

May each of you hear that call, it is a blessing.

[Borgia]

@Guvnah

You are not one of them, and you have already made it clear that you HAVE chosen to disbelieve.

Which has nothing to do with the point being made.

For that matter, your link doesn’t CLEARLY show anything of the sort. It states one guy’s claim, and that claim supports the choice you’ve made, so in that respect it’s “clear” to you. But beyond that, … meh.

The Paraha don’t even have a word in their language for God. If you want to pretend that in their hearts they know God in order to make a Bible verse true…enjoy your delusion.

[Borgia]

@Guvnah

nd other studies show the opposite.

And no, I’m not going to hunt for examples. I know you are aware of them.

Actually, I am not. If you could provide a link I’d be interested in reading about the studies. Thanks!

[JayJay]

Please don’t ruin one of the few good conversations on these boards with your ridiculous trolling, Spinach, OK?

[JayJay]

A logically sound argument that yet explains nothing.

But thanks for playing.

[ImRightYoureWrong]

@Guvnah

They’re grasping at anything they can to justify their choice to disbelieve in God.

Lol feel free to discuss. I know its easier to believe in fairy tails and assert your beliefs. You dont believe things subjectively exist?

[ImRightYoureWrong]

@Physics_Hunter

Studying several Physics and Biology books, or getting a degree in such, simply enhance the depth of the Bible. This triples for AI.

How exactly does it enhance the bible without warping and twisting passages?

[ImRightYoureWrong]

@Borgia_dude_dude

Which has nothing to do with the point being made

Guvnah’s good at constructing strawmen

[Meriweather]

@Borgia_dude_dude

Dude, I am merely pointing out the fact that people will remember the good outcomes and attribute it to God’s grace. They are far less likely to attribute God’s hand for their bad fortune.

No football player blames God when he loses the Super Bowl.

If you want to get hung up on the nuance of “grace”, feel free. Same concept applies.

Grace is not about winning a Super Bowl. Grace is about the inner person, the inner spirit. It is a process, and one that takes much longer than the course of a game.

[ImRightYoureWrong]

@Borgia_dude_dude

Again, if God interacts with our physical world we should be able to find evidence of that interaction. If God doesn’t interact with our world then he isn’t any different than there being no god.

@Meriweather

Haven’t you ever heard anyone say, “I could not have done that except by the grace of God?”

@Meriweather

Grace is not about winning a Super Bowl. Grace is about the inner person, the inner spirit.

I could not have won the superbowl except by the grace of God.

[ImRightYoureWrong]

How God Helped the Eagles Win the Super Bowl - Universal Life Church

“It’s unquestionable which team was more devout, more deserving of God’s grace. It was the Eagles, by a long shot”

[Guvnah]

@Borgia_dude_dude

If you want to pretend that in their hearts they know God in order to make a Bible verse true

I didn’t say anyone KNOWs God. I said seek. As in, explain why things are as they are.

And it’s not about a Bible verse. It’s about human nature as recorded throughout history.

You can nitpick about the Pirha all you want. It doesn’t change what I said about people choosing to disbelieve.

Your response to my original statement reminds me of an old saying: Throw a stick into a pack of dogs, and the one that yelps is the one you hit. I hit too close to home for you apparently. The point being made (or, at least, the point I made) is that people choose to disbelieve. I didn’t call you out, (nor anyone, actually), but you’re doing all you can to defend yourself against the point I made. You HAVE made that choice. You’ve made that clear in plenty of posts, on this board and its prior iteration. That’s your choice. Lightly-studied obscure jungle tribes won’t change that. But you can spend the next 50 replies trying to tell me all about them all the same.

[Guvnah]

@Borgia_dude_dude

Actually, I am not. If you could provide a link I’d be interested in reading about the studies. Thanks!

I preemptively addressed that question. You know that too.

[Airyaman]

@Meriweather

@Airyaman

Because that difference is pretty huge – salvation in one of the 3 religions depends on whether you believe this god had a son who died to save humanity from sin.

This is not Catholic teaching, nor is it scriptural. Catholic teaching is that it closely follows and presents what Christ taught, did, and promised as The Way of Salvation. The Catholic Catechism teaches that this way is what Christ commanded his Apostles to proclaim, and in this the Church follows Christ. It is the only authority the Church has. It cannot promise salvation by way of Hinduism, Buddhism, or Paganism. Christ gave it no authority in this.

The Catholic Catechism also points out that God has an everlasting covenant with the Jews as well. While the Church is limited in the authority Christ gave it, God is not limited, and the Church recognizes this.

I forget which denomination insists that one has to be Christian to be “saved”, but it matters not, because their definition of “saved” (guarantee of a heavenly afterlife) doesn’t even begin to cover what Christ (and therefore the Catholic Church) teaches about salvation and redemption.

That’s the rub isn’t it? That what you know of your god really is just the teachings of your church. What I thought I knew of a god was according to (mostly) Southern Baptist teachings. Almost every day I “talked” to a god to try to “know” him more, but it was always me doing the talking.

So I’m not going to argue against your teachings, I’m simply going to say that teachings are not enough for a non-believer to contemplate if a god exists.

There are really billions of gods. All of these gods exist only in the mind of the individual believer. I’ve seen no reason to believe otherwise.

[Borgia]

@Guvnah

@Borgia_dude_dude

If you want to pretend that in their hearts they know God in order to make a Bible verse true

I didn’t say anyone KNOWs God. I said seek. As in, explain why things are as they are.

And it’s not about a Bible verse. It’s about human nature as recorded throughout history.

Sorry, I assumed you were going the way of many an apologist who cites some verse about everyone knowing God exists but suppress the truth.

You can nitpick about the Pirha all you want. It doesn’t change what I said about people choosing to disbelieve.

Sure, many choose to disbelieve. Do all make that choice?

Your response to my original statement reminds me of an old saying: Throw a stick into a pack of dogs, and the one that yelps is the one you hit. I hit too close to home for you apparently. The point being made (or, at least, the point I made) is that people choose to disbelieve. I didn’t call you out, (nor anyone, actually), but you’re doing all you can to defend yourself against the point I made. You HAVE made that choice. You’ve made that clear in plenty of posts, on this board and its prior iteration. That’s your choice. Lightly-studied obscure jungle tribes won’t change that. But you can spend the next 50 replies trying to tell me all about them all the same.

Not sure why you think the conversation is about me. I wasn’t making it about me. You seem a bit fixated on me.