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A couple things with the bolded part of your quote. First off, why would God do this? Doesn't He want to see people saved? Isn't there a way He can show them to where they'll believe?
Does this answer (expecially) your second question:
John 12:37 Even after Jesus had performed so many signs in their presence, they still would not believe in him.
Why would God ..
why did God harden Pharaoh's heart making him unable to release the Isrealites
John 12:39-40
For this reason they could not believe, because, as Isaiah says elsewhere:
“He has blinded their eyes
and hardened their hearts,
so they can neither see with their eyes,
nor understand with their hearts,
nor turn
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Originally Posted by ditchlights
Second, you say "those who are hostile to the truth". I presume I am included in this group. I don't consider myself hostile. I just don't blindly accept everything I see and hear without any type of reasonable proof. If that make me a blasphemer and of "unstable mind" in your eyes, I guess I'm guilty as charged.
If you presume it, it's because you are placing yourself in that group. However, Thomas also demanded proof and Jesus said what .... "blessed are they who have not seen and yet have believed."
The fact is most of humanity does not get to see "reasonable proof". And for those who do, very few believe it anyway.
So why is it incumbent upon God to show enough proof to you now in order to meet your demands?
You do understand that such demands is a losing dare if you care to research that in the Bible.
Quote:
Originally Posted by ditchlights
Third, you use the word "truth" as though you know it for fact. If all the events in the Bible were known facts of history, there would be no need for blind faith. Blind faith is needed when there is no guarantee of facts.
Yes I do know it for a fact. "scriptures cannot be broken" + "your word is truth" = all the events in the Bible happened despite the nay sayers
Quote:
Originally Posted by ditchlights
Lastly, you say God gives people a mind that is "stupor" for the words in the Bible. What in the world does that mean? I know how to read just fine. The words say the same thing whether I am the way I am, or if I was a churchgoer. I wasn't always the doubter that I am today TS. I was raised in a church, spent 8 years in AWANA's, and taught about Christ in a Christ centered home till I was 18. The Bible read the same way back then as it does now. The main difference now is that I know a lot more about the world and many other things, and when your perspective on the things around you change, so does your mindframe. The words in the Bible are the same today as they were 25 years ago for me. I don't believe the concept that someone has to be on some type of Holy quest to be able to properly explore the Bible. This is utter nonsense.
What does that mean ... it means
Romans 11:8 as it is written: “God gave them a spirit of stupor, eyes so that they could not see and ears so that they could not hear, to this very day.”
it means one that those who are hostile toward the truth, the person will have like a mental dullness \ dazed, shock, grogginess towards grasping the truth of God's Word found in the Bible.
God does not have to wait for a person to die for that person to be condemned, as Jesus said:
John 3:18 Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.
I was raised in a fundamental Christian household. Hellfire and brimstone - Black and White. I was taught from an early age that the Bible is the innerant, infallible Word of God. I was also taught that if you believe any parts of the Bible are not true word for word, in a literal sense, you might as well not even waste your time reading it because you are technically calling God a liar. So, my question is this:
Do you believe that an individual can read the Bible and believe some of the things in it but not others? And if this is the case, are they wasting their time and calling God a liar by doing so?
I bring this question to CD because of a conversation I had with my mother the other day. I told her that I just can't believe many of the stories in the Bible. Most of what I don't believe is in the Old Testament. I'm sorry, but people who get put into fiery furnaces burn up, people who are put into cages with lions get eaten, people who get swallowed by sea creatures don't live in their belly for days on end and survive, and cutting someone's hair off doesn't render them defenseless. The list can go on and on, but there is no need to write it. She says back to me "This is where faith comes into the equation". I guess I lack faith. I tend to lean towards common sense and reason. So, my second question is: Does faith in God and belief in other parts of Biblical scripture hinge entirely on whether or not you believe the whole Bible, literally, word for word?
If this is really true, it has done more to drive me away from Christianity than any other thing.
Well, all I can say is that none of the things you mention here as unbelievable can touch the story about a dead Man rising from the tomb. How about an Almighty God who exists outside of time and space and who by a Word created the universe out of nothing? This is what it says in the bible. "The things of God are NONSENCE to the natural man". The ability to believe and to understand the bible is a miracle in it's self. It's not until God "REGENERATES", a person who is by nature spiritually DEAD that that person has the ability to understand and to believe. It's for that reason that Jesus tell us to, "Preach the gospel". We are not told to explain the bible to nonbelievers or to try to prove anything in it as true. It's a waste of breath to do so. God uses the simple message of the Gospel to convict sinners and to bring them to faith through His sovereign Grace. It's at that point, at the very begining of wisdom that the now regenerated person can begin to understand the things of God.
Why would God ..
why did God harden Pharaoh's heart making him unable to release the Isrealites
This is a darn fine question. Why would God harden Pharoah's heart, instruct him to release the Isrealites (knowing full well that Pharoah would not have the capability to do so now), and then kill all the firstborn (amongst many other malicious plagues) when the request was impossible to fulfill from the get go? The OT God is a twisted individual.
Quote:
So why is it incumbent upon God to show enough proof to you now in order to meet your demands?
Why can't He. He's the ruler of the universe. It's not like I ask for a whole lot these days.
Quote:
Yes I do know it for a fact.
Just because you believe something is true with all of your heart does not make it fact.
Quote:
it means that those who are hostile toward the truth, the person will have like a mental dullness \ dazed, shock, grogginess towards grasping the truth of God's Word found in the Bible.
God does not have to wait for a person to die for that person to be condemned, as Jesus said:
John 3:18 Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.
I guess I'm damned then. I just can't compete with that. Satan wins.
No, I don't believe the bible is the inerrant word of God. God is Spirit. He can teach us truth via scriptures. But there is a reason why fundamentalist/literalists are so messed up. The most loving, giving, and humble Christians I know reject all that malarkey that fundamentalists abuse out of their desire to lord it over others and try to withhold God's grace from the masses. It is a very unholy thing and that is made quite manifest by their works. The bible is a tool in God's toolbox (among many other tools) and not a thing to be worshiped.
there are certain parts like stoning your children for disobedience, marrying your rapist,gang rape and dismemberment of a concubine, and other parts that are quite alarming..that i don't know how to feel about
No, I don't believe the bible is the inerrant word of God. God is Spirit. He can teach us truth via scriptures. But there is a reason why fundamentalist/literalists are so messed up. The most loving, giving, and humble Christians I know reject all that malarkey that fundamentalists abuse out of their desire to lord it over others and try to withhold God's grace from the masses. It is a very unholy thing and that is made quite manifest by their works. The bible is a tool in God's toolbox (among many other tools) and not a thing to be worshiped.
Wow - now that's scary. A serpent produced from a ****'s egg!!! I don't even want to know any more about this. I mean - nothing good can come out of a ****'s egg, right? If I ever come across a ****'s egg I'm going to destroy it immediately.
The Hebrew word is re'em meaning wild ox.
Another bad translation was the word sa'ir.
But its basic meaning (se'ar) is hairy one, or that of a wild goat.
(I believe, we would agree that it was not a mythical beast, which was part man/part animal)
Is this not written in the Book of Jashar?
"The sun stopped in the midst of heaven and did not set for about a whole day."
You will have to prove that the earth stopped-rotating, otherwise its merely conjecture.
The beast is a hairy animal, I agree.
Most bible-eans likely don't believe in any book of Jasher because it is not included in the B-I-B-L-E
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If I ever come across a ****'s egg I'm going to destroy it immediately.
