Disbelief is not following God

a reply to: Peeple

Doesn't that kind of open up a whole different can of worms? Because it would imply it's possible to become God and instead of lifting everybody up he needs to keep everybody down, like a dictator or a pharao. Either way it doesn't speak for a benevolent being if we have to go through all the agony because he's the one with such a fragile ego that he can't handle equality.

The angels all have amazing powers, but God wasn't stupid enough to create them with as much or more power than He has. Angels were given free will, just like we have. Whenever we're left to our own devices, we fail. That is the whole point and the story line that repeats itself over and over again throughout the Bible and history.

God wants ALL of his creations to CHOOSE to follow His will, but as long as we choose not to, we suffer the consequences of being independent from God. God could have given us everything except free will to keep these things from happening, but someone, somewhere would have an objection to that too. Then you'd REALLY have a dictatorship. Which one is worse in your mind?

What if God used less than 0,000000000000000001 % of His power to make creation.

a reply to: Deetermined

I don't know what you mean with "we fail" to me it looks like we got pretty successful since we stopped "following God"?
And personally as someone who has felt the overwhelming love the point could be made that we'd be better if he'd be with us all the time, so the question remains:
Why does he choose to not do that?

a reply to: Peeple

Figure stuff out. The bible says the fruit of knowledge got us into this mess, so there's maybe a hint because "and you will know the truth and the truth will set you free"

Jesus is "the way, the truth, and the life". Jesus is referred to as "Truth" throughout the Bible and some day He will reveal this knowledge to everyone.

Ignorance and faith doesn't help, that's a truth we can state with some certainty.

Faith in God and trying to do His will does help, but until you possess it, you'll never know. God wants everyone to seek Him and His will for a better life and I can speak with certainty that it does work.

a reply to: Out6of9Balance

Well hopefully satan gives us a nice room in hell for being on his side.

a reply to: Deetermined

God wants you to seek him but has allowed hundreds of religions and denominations to flourish.

So we just gotta hope we get lucky and choose the right faith?

a reply to: Deetermined

That's not good enough. Jesus is 2000 years dead there's nothing we think we know about him that can be considered as a for-sure-thing. The opposite actually Jesus might have been a son of Satan born in sin.
If you look at the atrocities committed in his name.

a reply to: Peeple

I don't know what you mean with "we fail" to me it looks like we got pretty successful since we stopped "following God"?

As a human race, trying to live in total prosperity and peace on our own is unachievable. History has already proven that.

And personally as someone who has felt the overwhelming love the point could be made that we'd be better if he'd be with us all the time, so the question remains: Why does he choose to not do that?

Because not everyone wants it with their own free will, but some day those people will be "weeded" out during the time of the harvest. According to the Bible, this won't happen until the total number of people whom He already knows will accept Him as their Savior...does.

originally posted by: Deetermined
a reply to: Peeple

God already tried that experiment with the angels, and according to the Bible, we know how that worked out. A third of them won't be happy until they're able to usurp God's power.

God experimented with angels, how, why?
You can’t just make stuff up

a reply to: blueman12

God wants you to seek him but has allowed hundreds of religions and denominations to flourish.

So we just gotta hope we get lucky and choose the right faith?

Those who TRULY seek God with all of their hearts, souls, and minds will find Him and He will make sure of it.

Those who pursue anything and everything half-heartedly, probably won't. God knows when our hearts are sincere.

a reply to: Deetermined

Because of religion. Because a lack of knowledge.

That just seems so unfair: punishing people because they don't want what they don't know?

a reply to: Out6of9Balance

Why would God kill children?
Abortion, murder, famine kills children.

Funny you know, children are His children, they are not yours. Gods creation, Gods love for a child, an adult is beyond our comprehension

originally posted by: Peeple
a reply to: Deetermined

Because of religion. Because a lack of knowledge.

That just seems so unfair: punishing people because they don't want what they don't know?

Punishing people for what they don’t know, how do you figure that?
God doesn’t punish people for what they don’t know, God judges them for evil they commit, for harming others

“What they don’t know” the he’ll is that about?
A drop of common sense

a reply to: Raggedyman

God experimented with angels, how, why?
You can’t just make stuff up

Those are my words, not the Bible's. I'm just using the angels as an example. They KNOW God, lived in the heavens, yet still proved that free will can be a hazard for those who choose to stray from God.

a reply to: Raggedyman

originally posted by: Deetermined
a reply to: Peeple

I don't know what you mean with "we fail" to me it looks like we got pretty successful since we stopped "following God"?

As a human race, trying to live in total prosperity and peace on our own is unachievable. History has already proven that.

And personally as someone who has felt the overwhelming love the point could be made that we'd be better if he'd be with us all the time, so the question remains: Why does he choose to not do that?

Because not everyone wants it with their own free will, but some day those people will be "weeded" out during the time of the harvest. According to the Bible, this won't happen until the total number of people whom He already knows will accept Him as their Savior...does.

That was what I was answering to.

a reply to: Peeple

That just seems so unfair: punishing people because they don't want what they don't know?

People who don't know, don't truly want to know. The first step is prayer to God to guide you. If you think there's a problem as to which God, just pray to "the one and only true God" or as Jesus would suggest, "our Father in heaven".

a reply to: Deetermined

You know people did that for thousands of years, right?
And a few of the main consequences seems to be that those "righteous" people go out and torture and kill everybody who disagrees.
Inquisition, crusades, sharia...just to name a few.
Which at the very least should justify some doubt about whether or not God is really the good guy in this story.

a reply to: Peeple

For Christians it's never been about killing anyone for disagreeing, however, it has been a way of survival to keep others from trying to kill off the religion. Even God led people into war when he knew it was a matter of survival for the people who would eventually be responsible for the physical heritage of Jesus and carrying on His message.

a reply to: Deetermined

What? No.
Just no.
The South Americans didn't threaten the survival of anybody when the Christians came and slaughtered them.
Same is true for the native Americans.
And Africans.
Women having knowledge about herbs and birth didn't threaten Jesus when they got tortured and burned.
All religions were living peacefully in Jerusalem when the Christians came and slaughtered men, women and children.

originally posted by: Deetermined
a reply to: Peeple

For Christians it's never been about killing anyone for disagreeing, however, it has been a way of survival to keep others from trying to kill off the religion. Even God led people into war when he knew it was a matter of survival for the people who would eventually be responsible for the physical heritage of Jesus and carrying on His message.

You should just be quiet
You are not helpful at all.
What the Spanish Catholics did was an atrocity in South America. Nothing more than pure greed and nearly a genocide, they didn’t care about anybody, even their own men, just a gold grab.
Inexcusable actions and nothing more in my opinion than empire building Europeans.

Did Jesus ever lead His followers into a war, are we christians taught to turn the other cheek or are you a Jew?
Jews fought for their nation, Christians are not a nation, not a people, not a kingdom not called to fight

How can you as a Christian justify atrocity?