Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I assure you that God exists. I further assure you that Allah does not exist.
I mean absolutely no disrespect for the above statement, but in the Muslim faith wouldn't they say exactly the opposite?
I'll be up front about my beliefs..... I was baptized/confirmed Episcopalian but at this point in my life I'm more truly agnostic than anything else for better or worse. Again, no disrespect intended but rather an honest question trying to understand.
Well, in the sense that Allah is God (not to say that he is Holy in terms of the Bible), that's right. Allah means God in Arabic.
And, just curious: Why be agnostic? I mean, I know that the atheists are so because they can't find concrete proof of Our Lord existing. But, why the agnosticism?
Like I have said, and he doesn't seem to understand, we don't know for certain. And I can see how you could see it as an argumentum ad circulum. The definition of which is, "a logical fallacy where the consequence of the phenomenon is claimed to be its root cause." The statement is admittedly fallacious. Believe me, we just studied all of these in my 11th grade AP English Composition and Literature (and Rhetoric) class.
We can't find any proof. We can't! Like I say, all we have is faith. We have faith in our God. Most Christians need no proof. Unfortunately, some people have trouble with believing what isn't concrete exists; what they can't see, touch, or feel. And that's perfectly fine. All that is is a simple case of overanalyzing that which needs not be overanalyzed.
Look to history for the proof of the fulfillment of the prophecies of the Bible. Look to history of the early church. These churchs under the authority of the Apostles came into existance in less than two months after the resurrection of Christ. One of the early church leaders was Jesus' own half brother, James. Legends don't develop in two months. The churchs were established because they knew that Christ had been resurrected. Look to the change in the Apostles after Christ was resurrected. Look to the fact of the Jews continued existance in the world despite every Satanic effort to destroy them. Look to the fact of the continued existance of the Bible despite every Satanic attempt to destroy it. Look into what was involved with the Roman guards that had to guard the tomb of Jesus for proof of His resurrection. Research these things. Or remain a skeptic. Your choice.
Faith is not blind. It is based on knowledge. All that the Bible declares to be true is true. History is full of proof. But those who are determined not to believe will not be convinced by anything.
Well, in the sense that Allah is God (not to say that he is Holy in terms of the Bible), that's right. Allah means God in Arabic.
And, just curious: Why be agnostic? I mean, I know that the atheists are so because they can't find concrete proof of Our Lord existing. But, why the agnosticism?
I guess to be honest I don't know.... I know that's not a real answer but at this point in my life I'm just questioning a lot of things......
I mean absolutely no disrespect for the above statement, but in the Muslim faith wouldn't they say exactly the opposite?
I'll be up front about my beliefs..... I was baptized/confirmed Episcopalian but at this point in my life I'm more truly agnostic than anything else for better or worse. Again, no disrespect intended but rather an honest question trying to understand.
The God of the Bible is revealed throughout history. The Arabic moon god Allah is one of a pantheon of Arabic gods that Mohammed gave a makeover to, he discarded the other 'gods' and promoted Allah to what the muslims worship. He doesn't exist. He is not the God of the Bible.
Give serious in depth study to the prophecies of the Bible that have already been historically fulfilled and honestly ask yourself if they could have been fulfilled apart from God.
I'm glad to see you're honest about it. And I hope Mike555 will be honest about it as well. I'm going to give the Christians reading this a very good tip so pay attention, if you'd like. When you try to preach and "convict" us of the existence of God, remember that you don't know anything for certain. Be honest that you don't know what's really out there (if anything at all). By all means, feel free to speak with relative certainty but don't tell me (or others like me) that you know such a thing exists.
Be humble about it and don't assume that because you think you know something that it's the same thing as knowing you know something. The former at least allows for honest philosophical debate and is far less polarizing. The latter only makes people such as myself hit the "mute" button.
To the contrary. The existance of God is more certain than anything else in life. That you do not have it within you to acknowledge that fact speaks to your nature. Philosophy has nothing to do with God. Philosophy is man's attempt to understand the nature of life apart from divine revelation. And His existance is not a matter of debate. The arrogance is in denying His existance. If you want to hit the 'mute button', then by all means do so. No one is trying to convince you. I have provided information and that is that. I don't know how to make it any more clear than that. The sad fact of the matter is that the majority of the human race is going to reject God and wind up in the Lake of Fire forever. I invite you to leave the thread and go your own way.
Research these things. Or remain a skeptic. Your choice.
Believe me. I am the furthest thing from a skeptic. I fully believe in the works of God, his punishments, and his rewards. I'm simply speaking to the atheist crowd and trying to bring them closer to our Lord.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Mike555
But those who are determined not to believe will not be convinced by anything.
Oh, ye of little faith! Why don't you spend less time being pessimistic and frustrated and whatever else about these people, and more time trying to bring them to the Lord. Believe me, He will take care of everything else. BELIEVE IT!
Here's a verse you could take a look at to understand what I mean:
Quote:
All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out.
John 6:37
Here's some verses:
Quote:
Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down: for the Lord upholdeth [him with] his hand.
Psalms 37:24
Thou shalt guide me with thy counsel, and afterward receive me [to] glory.
Psalms 73:24
Hearken; Behold, there went out a sower to sow: And it came to pass, as he sowed, some fell by the way side, and the fowls of the air came and devoured it up. And some fell on stony ground, where it had not much earth; and immediately it sprang up, because it had no depth of earth: But when the sun was up, it was scorched; and because it had no root, it withered away. And some fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up, and choked it, and it yielded no fruit. And other fell on good ground, and did yield fruit that sprang up and increased; and brought forth, some thirty, and some sixty, and some an hundred.
It's the greatest news there ever was. Jesus Christ went to the Cross on your behalf. As your substitute, He paid for your sins. He took care of your sin problem. He's the Son of God. He died in your place and rose on the third day. And now the free gift of salvation is offered to you. You don't have to work trying to please God to get into Heaven. All you have to do is to believe in Jesus Christ and God's own righteousness is imputed to you. You can be absolutely confident of your ticket to Heaven. The ticket is punched through faith alone in Christ alone. You don't have to walk an isle, you don't have to join a church. There are no works involved. All you have to do is make the greatest decision in your life. Understanding the issue, just form the words in your mind. ''Father, I'm believing in Jesus Christ.'' In that moment, you are born again and you become a member of the royal family of God. Then the issue after that is to grow in grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
John 3:16 'For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life.'
Acts 16:31 And they said, ''Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you shall be saved...'
1 John 5:13 ''These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, in order that you may know that you have eternal life.''
As a new believer you need to understand the principle of 1 John 1:9
Doctrine of Rebound (http://jrcyouth.com/loved1.htm - broken link)
Merry Christmas
Hi Mike, thanks for your post. But I wanted to ask you about repentance from sin.
Many preachers today say that one must repent of their sin and believe in Christ in order to be saved. Or, they'll say that a special kind of faith, repentant kind, is what saves, not just mere acceptance of the facts.
So, wanted to ask you about what you believed about genuine saving faith. What does it mean to *really* believe in Jesus?
He obviously is. It's just like standing in a car showroom pointing out all of the bad things you have heard about the car they're trying to sell you. He obviously is interested, or he would have went away of his own accord.
And, I have stated, and overstated, this: WE AREN'T HERE TO DRAW PEOPLE FURTHER AWAY FROM THEIR LORD! Why are you trying to turn these atheists into "devout" atheists? Not that they haven't already, by folks like you preaching nothing but hellfire and brimstone. I'm trying to do the Lord's work but helping people come to the Lord. They obviously aren't smart enough (no offense to any atheists) to do that themselves.
Well that is kind of offensive. Just as you know God does exist, I know God doesn't. And it's because I'm smart enough to know this I realize I don't need your "god" to be a part of my life.
Most of the suggestions here are HILARIOUS! I will personally tell you that most atheists and agnostics will simply just laugh at the suggestions here because I am one myself.
Taking religion for a "test drive" and trying to sell it like a car is stupid since most atheists have already done the research and come to the conclusion that the Bible is the only authority on Jesus' existence and "proof" that miracles occurred, and as such cannot be refuted or confirmed and thus religion has to be taken on "faith" which is a shaky argument. It's like the lotto. Better double down or else!
Further, trying to argue with them that they're going to suffer fire and brimstone will simply harden their positions. It will not work. Scaring people into believing went out of fashion fairly recently since most people are educated now to question their faith. Arguing with them will go something like this:
Believer: "You're gonna go to hell! Believe in God and be saved!"
Atheist: "What proof do you have?"
Believer: "The Bible!" or "Personal witness!"
Atheist: "Considering the Bible is a sole source of knowledge, that's not enough for me." or "Well that's nice that you have a personal experience to use - I do not, and thus, it does not apply to me."
Science and logic are the religion of most atheists and agnostics. As such you have to argue with them on logical and scientific fact and demonstration. Since the Bible cannot be refuted or confirmed, science is useless to use to argue with them.
The best argument you can make to have someone join a religion is to appeal to the emotional side and demonstrate through acts of kindness and charity. Even if they do not choose to be "saved" by saying they believe, they will do good acts and then come to their own conclusions.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
