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Unbelievably, I agree with you completely. One can be a Christian only by pure blind faith. No reasoning required. As a matter of fact, its discouraged.
Faith in Christ is not blind. My faith has been confirmed many times.
As far as reasoning, an educated, reasonable person would not believe in Christ with no proof.
How do you know if you are a Christian, Agnostic, Theist, Spiritual person or just Atheist in disguise?
for instance, in my case, I've always believed there to be a God, but how do I know which one it is?
for sure, the Bible and all the general literature surrounding Christianity makes the most appeal and sense to me, but then do so many other similar things.
for example: Gnostic Christianity, some parts of Hinduism and Buddhism, and general Paganism/spirituality etc..
so how does one separate the wheat from the chaff so to speak?
Why such a need to label oneself?
Why can't we be always exploring & never completely "arriving" at THE truth?
Faith in Christ is not blind. My faith has been confirmed many times.
As far as reasoning, an educated, reasonable person would not believe in Christ with no proof.
I could challenge these confirmations, but I doubt that you would objectively evaluate them. Though, one example of a time your faith was confirmed would be an excellent opportunity for informative discussion.
I could challenge these confirmations, but I doubt that you would objectively evaluate them. Though, one example of a time your faith was confirmed would be an excellent opportunity for informative discussion.
With proof, one needs no faith.
Jesus provided much proof when He walked on this Earth.
I can agree with all you say, monumentus (don't faint). I know many Buddhists, atheists, heathens and even a non-radical Muslim (Wood) who seem more Christian than some of the professing Christians on this forum.
Indeed though certainly some of the opinions put out by such people, including wood, are pretty horrendous. Woods opinions on suicide for example I found particularly horrific.
Quote:
Originally Posted by jimmiej
Only by faith in the redemptive work of Christ can one be a Christian.
Your definition - not mine. Which is indeed the whole crux of this thread. To know you are a "Christian" you have to know exactly how you are defining that. Your definition might not match that of another.
To use a sporting analogy someone might consider being a Mets fan as being someone who goes to all the games. Another person might consider being a fan just following the results, reading about the games, and hopeing the team wins and wins. The former might not consider the latter a "fan" at all by their own definition. The second would disagree.
So essentially if you want to be a Christian you need to find out what defines that in your own mind and then decide if you fit that definition. If - like me - you think a Christian is someone who studies the works and words of Christ and incorporates them into their own way of life then I am just as much a Christian as many Christians I have met - and more so than many Christians I have met too.
Jesus provided much proof when He walked on this Earth.
It's a neat trick. Write a lot of miracle claims that no -one can now check and claim that as proof. If we ask for something now 'The proof has already been provided'.
We do get the ongoing search for miracles. Someone had an out of body experience, someone got inexplicably better, a pilot got his plane down in one piece, I got offered a job just at the exact moment I said a prayer.
The fact is that such anecdotes can't be checked. We don't know what we are not being told. I have had a couple of remarkable coincidences in my life which I could have put down to prayers being answered -except that I wasn't praying. They were just luck.
Indeed though certainly some of the opinions put out by such people, including wood, are pretty horrendous. Woods opinions on suicide for example I found particularly horrific.
Your definition - not mine. Which is indeed the whole crux of this thread. To know you are a "Christian" you have to know exactly how you are defining that. Your definition might not match that of another.
To use a sporting analogy someone might consider being a Mets fan as being someone who goes to all the games. Another person might consider being a fan just following the results, reading about the games, and hopeing the team wins and wins. The former might not consider the latter a "fan" at all by their own definition. The second would disagree.
So essentially if you want to be a Christian you need to find out what defines that in your own mind and then decide if you fit that definition. If - like me - you think a Christian is someone who studies the works and words of Christ and incorporates them into their own way of life then I am just as much a Christian as many Christians I have met - and more so than many Christians I have met too.
That's the Biblical definition, as I showed you. My definition, or your's, matters not.
It's a neat trick. Write a lot of miracle claims that no -one can now check and claim that as proof. If we ask for something now 'The proof has already been provided'.
We do get the ongoing search for miracles. Someone had an out of body experience, someone got inexplicably better, a pilot got his plane down in one piece, I got offered a job just at the exact moment I said a prayer.
The fact is that such anecdotes can't be checked. We don't know what we are not being told. I have had a couple of remarkable coincidences in my life which I could have put down to prayers being answered -except that I wasn't praying. They were just luck.
You missed the point. Faith is not blind. Jesus performed miracles to show that He was from God. No reasonable person is going to continue to believe in something that shows no evidence of being true.
Faith in Christ is not blind. My faith has been confirmed many times.
As far as reasoning, an educated, reasonable person would not believe in Christ with no proof.
The blindness is in ignoring 2000+ years of accumulated knowledge and understanding of reality and the human condition by adhering strictly to that which was interpreted and recorded by our ignorant primitive ancestors. That is NOT faith . . . that is deliberate ignorance in defense of "precepts and doctrines of men."
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