God did not hide his plan, it is the mystery of faith, This is it: We fell away from God whom loves us (because he created us in His image) through sin, God, being Holy has sent a redeemer to be a sacrifice as an atonement for our sin, And be cause he loves us (even those that persecute him) he gave his only son as that sacrifice whom suffered and died. He was resurrected from the dead and offers forgiveness so we can rebuild the relationship we originally lost through sin. We have that choice to accept or reject, God is not going to make you accept him (or try to force you to change), but if you so choose to accept, you will be welcomed because of your redemption through Christ
Interesting way of condemning and putting others in 'inferior' position, laced with fear-producing innuendo... Btw, I mentioned this: saying "I know God's mind" is a blasphemy... But don't let that stop anyone in this sorry exercise...
I'm not condemning anyone at all... just stating you do have a choice, why you do have that choice and God's plan. If you feel condemned, then it is only of your own conscience
No one is holding a gun to your head, so you "have no choice" but to put it as you do... Speaking of choice.... So, you choose this BS story, laced with fear and offer of "superiority" or condemnation if one doesn't do as you choose to do - and hence it is on your conscience!!! On my conscience I choose this: http://www.english.upenn.edu/~mgamer/Etexts/kant.html
You are free to choose whatever you wish. It's what's this topic is all about isn't it? So, although God is Omniscient, we do have choice. No BS story, Christ did exist, it's in history books by Josephus, whom was a Jewish historian and not a Christian, Roman historians at that time have also written about Jesus because he really did exist. Whether you believe in God or not does not negate that fact that there was a real Jesus Christ here, about 2000 years ago
Some presume he did exist, yes... And even if he did - you think you know what he was about? And from there you know God's will, you blasphemer? Or is it through the Bible, the most incoherent set of historic documents, cobbled together for "ideological" purposes? The point, however, was about your choice of how you are trying to sell your belief... which is piss-poor!
Well said Joe C If I may (hehe, I love it when people say that, ahem, if I may ...) Anywayz, instead of saying "putting others in 'inferior' position, laced with fear-producing innuendo..." would it really hurt to actually look into what he is saying? I mean you can't be brainwashed or forced to believe it, God ain't gonna infect your membranes and cause you to be a goody-two-shoes or anything, so why not indulge? Even though what Joe C said was pretty much the "Gospel" there is actually a wealth of really interesting background information behind what he said. Actually the Gospel is THE most powerful force in the universe (but that's another story) Believe it not (hehe, I love saying that to non-believers, believe it or not) one of the reasons God created us in His image is for eternity itself. Ya see, God has a masterful plan which involves us, mankind/believers, getting the VERY thing Satan was thrown out of heaven for, ie. wanting to be God. I mean can you imagine the horror? Just being a cherubim alone (that's like head of the angels) and look at the damage caused already. One third of the angels (who btw, SEEN God, KNEW God, personally) and still managed to convince a third of them to rebel against Him. So much for the argument "I'll believe God when I see Him" I guess ... Satan didn't want God's character, His love, His mercy, His compassion and so on, oh no. Guess what he wanted? He wanted Gods worship He wanted to be worshipped as God, THE God, can you imagine ??? Anyway, God's got that sorted with us. Humanity, made in his image. To eventually be just like him, with all of his attributes and characteristics, ie. His love, His mercy, His compassion and so on, BUT, with no hesitation AT ALL, we will give Him ALL the worship he rightfully deserves. Result? for us? We get HIS power! Yup, we will be just like God. Hence why we were made in His image. The Bible says to rule and reign with Him for all eternity. To rule and reign? Over who? This is where it gets really interesting .... Who is God? Or more so, what is he like? Well one thing we know for sure is, He is The Creator! Yet, we were made in his image. Hrmm is there anything around you right now that wasn't created, by someone? The chair you sit on, the PC your using, the roof over your head, someone created them ... Man did! We've been busily creating stuff from day squat! We can't help but create things, its in our nature. Why? Because we're created in the image of our Father! He creates, and so do we. Like Father, like son ...(or daughter ) Its in our very genes to create, but its only a semblance of what's to come. God ain't finished creating, on the contrary, God has only just begun to create. Well not yet, real creation comes after. After sin and death are cast into eternal damnation along with Satan and all who follow him, ie. the angles who rebelled. Which also ALL mankind will be judged, but I make no claims as to how that turns out for anyone, HE alone will judge, its His call, not mine. Anyway, after that begins the good stuff. God rolls up the entire universe like a scroll and starts again. A new heaven and a new earth. No sin, no pain, no nothing. Just goodness and joy for ever and ever. Yeah I know, sounds awfully boring ... But that's the thing. Boring is not in God's vocabulary. If you think what he did making earth was awesome, read it again. Read the Bible, God specifically says after creation he looked at his work and said it was good. Good? only a good? Not awesome, not spectacular? only good? God said it was good (and it was) but the great, the awesome and the spectacular is yet to come. We currently have a universe full of trillions of stars, more than trillions, uncountable, with no doubt uncountable planets around them. All empty, like a canvas with some sketching waiting to be filled in. I believe in a future reality so awesome, we're we, in the image of our Father will do as He does, the very reason we were created in His image to begin with. I find it heartening that people just love to travel. I mean how awesome would it be to not have to work and you could travel first class, no expense spared and do anything you wanted in this entire planet. How great would that be? Travel to all the great places around the world without a care and experience everything there is to experience. Count me in, in my wildest dreams lol. Take a step further. Now be honest. Who wouldn't want to be captain of the Starship Enterprise? Travel to new worlds, new civilisations, to boldly go where no man has gone before ... (cue music) That's what's on offer. No seriously. An entire universe of divinely created exploration to be had. He gave us this world, in all its awesome beauty (before Satan rolled up and ruined it) for us to explore and enjoy. Be fruitful and multiply! was His command to us. How much more so in the future? He NEVER changes! He is who He is. Now why would anyone not seriously consider their options in all of this masterful plan? - seriously. Okay, here's the skinny. If I'm wrong, what do I lose? I mean if I die and there's nothing after death, then what do I lose? Nothing. If I'm right, then well, let your imagination run wild for a while ... There is no downside to this imho. I mean its not like you have to chop off your right arm, shave your head, tattoo your face and wear skin-tight bright pink Lycra pants with green shoes every day in order to believe. You can still be you. Actually that's all God wants. For you to be you, just share being you, with Him. Allow Him over time to show Himself to you, and how much he truly does love you. Like I said, no downside. I'm talking about a personal relationship with God through His son Jesus as told in the Bible (NOT man made religions) If it turns out it was all just a mild form of insanity, no harm no foul. Hehe I love it, people reading this who don't believe who now have a look on their face like Shrek and the Donkey ... When they asked Jesus how to get into the kingdom of heaven, he said become like a little child ... (Hint: It has nothing to do with intelligence)
omg.... i love to say that to believers.. and i guess that if He made this walrus in his image,He got derailed somewhere.. i do not see mrs walrus plucking an apple on her short legs, for instance, or us eating it.. we prefer fish, anyway.. may i suggest, i love to suggest to believers, with all respect, that the relevance of what you just told gorski and me, may be a bit limited for atheists? we all live our lives as we think that we should, and i hope with good intentions.. with or without philosophy?
Yes there is. You're pissing off Allah the whole time. /facepalm The fact in itself that there are so many religions shows that it's just human-made infantile bulls**t. How anyone can claim so much crap with a straight face is beyond me.
Seen their paycheck ? I wouldn't mind getting into the business of spreading bs and making money, but Fox News and Religion beat me to it !
Well, if ausernamenoonehas doesn't supply a mechanistic explanation of how God accomplished creating life, then how does s/he know that God created life? Without knowledge of the mechanism behind the life creation, one cannot deduce an agent of the mechanism. Since ausernamenoonehas has the burden of proof, the question shouldn't be "Why not god?" The burden rests on the question "Why god?" Either you explains why/how god is the answer to the origins of earthly life or not...?