What has GOD done for you lately?

reply to post by Naughty B0B

Why does God allow evil and suffering to exist, especially if he's all-loving? (according to the bible, God allows them both to exist because in the end God will end evil and suffering)

Isaiah 65:17 We won't remember our suffering. Isaiah 25:8 He will wipe away tears and death will be no more. Revelation 21:3,4

Why didn't God create us without evil or faults so that there would be no need for a hell where people were tortured forever?

Ezekiel 28:13-15 An angel was created perfect, later he chose sin and became Satan. Adam was created perfect until he chose sin.

Hell is not what you think it is. Ecclesiastes 9:4-6



Would you like me to continue?

Originally posted by gordonwest

If you do_not belive, then how can God "belive" in you? It is a two-way street type.

God is tit for tat? That's a bit childish and petty is it not?

He doesn't just work with the situations from the people not praying and/or enough, because he would be "all knowing", "all seeing", "knowing what to see/do."

You know the mind of god? Did he tell you this? Or did you just make it up because it sounded good? If he knows you aren't praying then he is aware of you!

There are MANY things in the world-/-Multi'Uni'Verse that can not_be explained

There goes the mysterious God of Gaps excuse again!

No offense intended, but mate, this is a classic worship of gaps. That which you do not understand (the gaps in your knowledge) by default get attributed to the work of god.

I posted this in the recent 'God's Fingerprint' thread, and I'll post it again because the same applies in this Op.

The Worship Of Gaps
"I don't understand, therefore it must be god!"

Creationalists eagerly seek a gap in present-day knowledge or understanding. If an apparent gap is found, it is assumed that GOD, by default, must fill it. What worries thoughtful theologians such as Bonhoeffer is that gaps shrink as science advances, and God is threatened with eventually having nothing to do and nowhere to hide. What worries scientists is something else. It is an essential part of the scientific enterprise to admit ignorance, even to exult in ignorance as a challenge to future conquests. As my friend Matt Ridley has written, "Most scientists are bored by what they have already discovered. It is ignorance that drives them on". Mystics exult in mystery and want it to stay mysterious. Scientists exult in mystery for a different reason: it gives them something to do. More generally, as I shall repeat in Chapter 8, one of the truly bad effects of religion is that it teaches us that it is a virtue to be satisfied with not understanding.

Admissions of ignorance and temporary mystification are vital to good science. It is therefore unfortunate, to say the least, that the main strategy of creation propagandists is the negative one of seeking out gaps in scientific knowledge and claiming to fill them with 'intelligent design' by default.

- Excerpt from "The God Delusion" -- By Richard Dawkins

Source

IRM

[edit on 21/6/10 by InfaRedMan]

The RULES are simple. I'm leaving it at that.

reply to post by thaknobodi


That's a bit cryptic mate! Care to elaborate?

IRM

God has done a lot for me actually. He has forgiven me and saved me. He gave me the health, energy, and support I needed to lose 75 pounds (I could not even lose 10 before I began to ask for His help). He pointed me in the direction of a new career and helped me obtain the resources to work on my degree. I believe He is leading me toward a Master's degree as well. He has done MUCH more than this, but these are some of the big ones that have become obvious to others who know me.

If you do not believe this, that is your choice. That is one of the things He has given to all of us - free will. I understand what the OP means about sometimes people in church seem to be a bit aloof and close-minded. I can assure you that not all Christians are like that. I, for one, tend to question everything and look for proofs, answers, and explanations. The ones who seem mindless are the ones who worry me. We have no way of knowing if they REALLY believe or if they are simply caught up in the groupthink of their particular religious sect - and that is a scary thought to me at least.

I will admit that some of the hymns and songs in churches are archaic and tedious. I tend to find that singing to God from my heart or in places other than church feels more genuine than simply going along with the Sunday morning chorus.

As for the existence of God, I have pondered this one many times, but I have come to the conclusion that I do believe He exists. Can Christians give concrete proof of His existence? No, although to us, creation itself is proof. Can those who do not believe in God give concrete proof that He does not exist? No. It is simply not a scientifically testable theory.

Some will laugh at this analogy, but think about how many of us believe in aliens or UFOs, even though most of us have never actually seen one. We look to history and culture with an open mind and see that people worldwide HAVE had encounters, so we accept that the idea must have substance. I am not trying to compare God to aliens, but in both cases there is the principle of believing, because of other evidence, in something we may have not personally seen in physical form. I may not have seen God in physical form, but I feel His presence in my life. This can be compared to the wind - we cannot see it, but we can feel it. We see the leaves that it moves. And by feeling it and seeing what it has put into motion, we can know it is there.

Despite what any of you believe, I hope all of you find the answers you are looking for in life.

reply to post by andy1033


Dear sweet feathery pickle sticks Andrew, will you please take charge of your time and life and become empowered?
Own your life and take control and quit being a doormat with a complaint list.

What's god done for me lately?
Allowed me to read this post.
Made my corn taller.
Sent me starlight from points in space I'll never visit.
Created an opportunity to laugh.
Challenged me.
Provided every option, good and bad.

Related question would be," what have I done for me lately?"

every law of physics known and unknown, every state and condition known and unknown, has to meet somewhere. - = + = - = +.
You live, on the equal sign, you are free to travel in any direction.
That's why everyones choice, is a personal issue, unique to their own.




[edit on 21-6-2010 by HappilyEverAfter]

reply to post by InfaRedMan


Can you 100% explain every tiny detail in this Multi-Uni-verse? If you can, I would honestly enjoy reading "the details".

reply to post by Solidus Green eye


Made more taxes.
And drive us humans insane ! making us killing each other for next to nothing.

What has God done for me lately?

He has kept me alive, which millions of people do not have.

And He has kept this planet going which, let's face it, humans have been trying to ruin for a long time.

I think that is worth a few points.

What I read is that the OP has a sense of entitlement,seems these days everyone feels that someone must do something for them,why not take care of your own house,it's not gods fault your down and out it's yours,face the facts,,it's much easier then whining IMO

OP and every doubter
If you understood what God is, you'd understand such question has no sense. The true nature of God is far from the picture organized religion tries to portray (or badly doing it).

Originally posted by gordonwest
reply to post by InfaRedMan

 

Can you 100% explain every tiny detail in this Multi-Uni-verse? If you can, I would honestly enjoy reading "the details".

Firstly... let's take a step back from the Multiverse. It's only a theory and an unfalsifiable one at that. Secondly, no I cannot account for all the tiny details in the universe - but unlike the creationalists, I don't pretend to.

IRM

reply to post by boondock-saint

you know
the Bible speaks of this very moment.
When others ridicule Christ and blaspheme
his name and asks you if you are a Christian.

And then God said, if you deny me here
then I will deny you in heaven before
my father.

So I'm gonna stand up right now and say:

God is my heavenly father, he gives me strength to
endure and overcome. He teaches me
to love every day and be compassionate
to my fellow man. He is my savior and
my God and I will NOT deny him

Well done.
Can you tell me how painful that was.?

If you seek him, you shall find him!

What I know one could write on a postage stamp. The sun rises in the east and 2+2 is=4. But, my intuition tells me Jesus is real. So I believe Jesus is real. As far as the Bible goes I don't believe the whole of the Bible is true. Men wrote it and men edited it. Men often get things wrong. I don't know where the metaphor ends and the truth begins. But I do believe there is great and eternal truth in the Bible. ( I have read most of the Bible-it is tedious in some spots to say the least. Still workin' on it. Should be done in a couple of months.) As far as heaven and hell and eternity, how is a man supposed to understand that?

If not for the superstitious there would be no civilization. First people need art and music, then religion, then civilization can happen. Mathematics, science, engineering, philosophy comes after religion. Many (if not all) of the great universities were started by the Church.

Practically all of the monuments from antiquity were made for religious purposes. I highly doubt that athiests and agnostics built the pyramids. Bach the king of the musicians and Michelangelo the king of the artists were both devout Christians. What could make a man work so hard? Truth is beauty, n'est pas?

Religion provides a society with a complex system of coordinatied beliefs which is necessary in order to organize large groups of people. Hierarchy and division of labor are results of religious thought. Athiests and agnostics, although individually they have some achievements, can not unite and do things requiring the organization of lots of people like building a temple. Without religion civilization would fall apart.

(It is possible that the 'cavemen' were happier, healthier and lived longer than modern man. They almost certainly had better teeth. I have heard that the only reason people went to agriculture was to acquire copious amounts of fruits and grains in order to make beer and wine. Why else? There is plenty of food in the forests and waters. So, maybe civilization is not a good, healthy thing. But if it is a good thing.........)

Anyway, I believe in Jesus. I think it is possible to not believe in Jesus and still be a good person. I believe it is possible to believe in Jesus and still be an evil person. But, if you like civilization with hot and cold running water, big time sports, scientific investigation, Mozart, chocolate Sundaes and lets not forget television, then you owe God, or at least the people who believe in such things, a thank you.

I have faith in Jesus but I still suffer from depression. My wife is an invalid and I am broke and in debt. I smoke pot every chance I get ( thank you God for marijuana.) I have never tasted any materialistic success. But, I am happy. Go figure

There is plenty of dogma to go around and I certainly smell some coming from the humanist side of the arguement. The big bang theory and evolution have serious logical flaws. (But evolution belongs in science class and intelligent design does not.)

Personally, I believe God created the heart of man so that he might have a mystery to ponder.

Thank you God. I love my life. And thank you to whoever read my rantings.

reply to post by The_Undertaker


Well you assume God gave me the gift of life. And if he gave it to me, I'm going to use it the best I can, like I said in the post.

To not harm others and be there for them when they are in need..etc.

reply to post by randyvs


Ahaha ... good luck with your ego man
2nd

reply to post by alien


Very nice post
I like your point of view... Thank you.

After reading all the post I understand a lot more about what 'moves' the religious person and what gives him strength.

reply to post by Solidus Green eye



Hello Solidus Green eye-

I read your whole post and I understand what you are saying. I think that you need to start your thinking over from the beginning. Think of God as the rules that are not spoken, I will use an example.

Light for instance, does not care if you brush your teeth, take a shower or go to the bathroom. Light does what light was meant to do by mathematics. Mathematics does what it is supose to do because it is the law that light follows.

God gave us everything we need, but why do we keep asking for more? Shouldn't it be enough that we can live? To be able to understand who we are? Learn from our mistakes? These are just a few things that God has given us. For a long time I thought life on Earth was "HELL", and then I got to thinking, everything I need is here on Earth, so this must be "Heaven", but so many turn it into their own "Hell". Why would you look to God for the answer? For if God is everything, shouldn't you already know the answer? Look inward, not outward.

Originally posted by TheOracle
OP and every doubter
If you understood what God is, you'd understand such question has no sense. The true nature of God is far from the picture organized religion tries to portray (or badly doing it).

and you know this how?