Believe in God (as a matter of precaution)!! (souls, ghosts, behavior)

[littlewitness]

Shalom...
A wealthy man and his son loved to collect rare works of art. They had everything in their collection, from Picasso to Raphael. They would often sit together and admire the great works of art..

When the Vietnam conflict broke out, the son went to war. He was very courageous and died in battle while rescuing another soldier. The father was notified and grieved deeply for his only son.

About a month later, just before Christmas,

There was a knock at the door. A young man stood at the door with a large package in his hands..

He said, 'Sir, you don't know me, but I am the soldier for whom your son gave his life. He saved many lives that day, and he was carrying me to safety when a bullet struck him in the heart and he died instantly... He often talked about you, and your love for art.' The young man held out this package. 'I know this isn't much. I'm not really a great artist, but I think your son would have wanted you to have this.'

The father

Opened the package. It was a portrait of his son, painted by the young man. He stared in awe at the way the soldier had captured the personality of his son in the painting. The father was so drawn to the eyes that his own eyes welled up with tears. He thanked the young man and offered to pay him for the picture.. 'Oh, no sir, I could never repay what your son did for me. It's a gift.'

The father hung the portrait over his mantle. Every time visitors came to his home he took them to see the portrait of his son before he showed them any of the other great works he had collected.

The man died a few months later. There was to be a great auction of his paintings. Many influential people gathered, excited over seeing the great paintings and having an opportunity to purchase one for their collection.

On the platform sat the painting of the son. The auctioneer pounded his gavel. 'We will start the bidding with this picture of the son. Who will bid for this picture?'

There was silence...

Then a voice in the back of the room shouted, 'We want to see the famous paintings. Skip this one.'

But the auctioneer persisted. 'Will somebody bid for this painting? Who will start the bidding? $100, $200?'

Another voice angrily. 'We didn't come to see this painting. We came to see the Van Gogh's, the Rembrandts. Get on with the Real bids!'

But still the auctioneer continued. 'The son! The son! Who'll take the son?'

Finally, a voice came from the very back of the room. It was the longtime gardener of the man and his son. 'I'll give $10 for the painting...' Being a poor man, it was all he could afford.

'We have $10, who will bid $20?'

'Give it to him for $10. Let's see the masters.'

The crowd was becoming angry. They didn't want the picture of the son.

They wanted the more worthy investments for their collections.

The auctioneer pounded the gavel.. 'Going once, twice, SOLD for $10!'

A man sitting on the second row shouted, 'Now let's get on with the collection!'

The auctioneer laid down his gavel. 'I'm sorry, the auction is over.'

'What about the paintings?'

'I am sorry. When I was called to conduct this auction, I was told of a secret stipulation in the will.... I was not allowed to reveal that stipulation until this time. Only the painting of the son would be auctioned. Whoever bought that painting would inherit the entire estate, including the paintings.

The man who took the son gets everything!'

G-d gave His son 2,000 years ago to die on the cross. Much like the auctioneer, His message today is: 'The son, the son, who'll take the son?'

Because, you see, whoever takes the Son gets everything.

FOR G-D SO LOVED THE WORLD HE GAVE HIS ONLY BEGOTTEN SON, WHO SO EVER BELIEVETH, SHALL HAVE ETERNAL LIFE.....THAT'S LOVE.

The Blessings of The Eternal One bring you The Peace of His Christ...









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[catman]

Very poor analogy. The change in subject almost gave me whiplash. There went a couple of minutes I'll never get back.

[littlewitness]

Originally Posted by catman

Very poor analogy. The change in subject almost gave me whiplash. There went a couple of minutes I'll never get back.

Shalom...in Christ, it will be a couple of minutes reconciled without regret. The Blessings of The Eternal One bring you to prayerful recovery...

[Joe90]

Originally Posted by littlewitness

Shalom...in Christ, it will be a couple of minutes reconciled without regret. The Blessings of The Eternal One bring you to prayerful recovery...

Recovery from what?

[Shibumi]

Originally Posted by littlewitness

'The son, the son, who'll take the son?'

Because, you see, whoever takes the Son gets everything.

FOR G-D SO LOVED THE WORLD HE GAVE HIS ONLY BEGOTTEN SON, WHO SO EVER BELIEVETH, SHALL HAVE ETERNAL LIFE.....THAT'S LOVE.

The Blessings of The Eternal One bring you The Peace of His Christ...

Oh my lord! what a lengthy way to beat around a very dead bush! Seriously: do you think this metaphor is in some way intellectually convincing to anyone except a kindergartener?

Perhaps that's the real issue here: many Christians simply do not critically think past that over-simplified level: they all hear this little ditty, and turn to each other and smile and nod....

As to "the matter of precaution" thing (Pascal's silly Wager), too many others here have said it already, but it seems to require endless repetition: the only motivator the OP provides is one of generating a primal fear of some sort of future vengeful reckoning, which is hardly the basis for a successful, humanistic spirituality.

Fear of retribution and chastizement unless you do exactly what the local Church tells you to do and say.

A truly frightening bit of fanaticism, to my mind.

[jackmccullough]

Nice story, but you left out the part where the father sentenced everyone who didn't want the picture of the son to eternal torture.

[Rafius]

Originally Posted by Shibumi

Perhaps that's the real issue here: many Christians simply do not critically think past that over-simplified level: they all hear this little ditty, and turn to each other and smile and nod....

Like their silly little stories about 'the professor and Einstein' or the 'soldier that slugged the atheist professor because God was busy'...

They really believe those silly stories have some merit!!

[catman]

Originally Posted by Joe90

Recovery from what?

Recovery from mental health.

[Woodrow LI]

A very common error us theists make is we assume that an atheist does not believe in the existence of God(swt), because they refuse to believe. We often fail to acknowledge that the reason they do not believe is because they can see no logical explanation for the existence of God(swt), in other words we did not present proof they can verify independently.

We make the error of thinking that our reasons for believing constitute proof.

None of us know what would suffice as proof to any person. What is proof to me may seem silly to another person. The simple fact is, We can not make a person believe anything. They can only believe when they themselves have seen or heard something that convinces them God(swt) does exist.

In educational psychology there is a concept of "Learning Readiness" when a person is at the point they are ready to learn a new fact, skill or thought, they will learn it with minimal outside influence. at that point all that is needed is to present the learning materials. A teacher does not teach, a student learns, the teacher simply facilitates the learning by knowing when to present the proper material.

So it is with an Atheist, we need to identify when they are ready to learn of the existence of God(swt) and be available to present the needed material. For some people that moment may never come or the person refuses to follow it. We need not see that a a personal challenge. Have faith that Allaah(swt) will lead those who desire to be led.

All we, as theists, can do is act with true love, not condemnation nor admonishment, accept their right to not believe and overlook any thing we may see as ridicule of our belief. We need to act with love, concern and respect, not with threats nor condemnation. We need to relax and allow Allaah(swt) to do what he does best.

[crisan]

Originally Posted by squall-lionheart

As we all know atheist don't believe in God .. we do (religious people)
They don't believe in life after death ..we do ..
They don't believe in heaven and hell .. we do ..
But what if you are wrong ?
What if we are wrong too ?
If we are wrong then nothing well happen to us .. but if you are wrong you will go to hell
So as a matter of precaution Why don't you try to believe in God even theoretically ... Just try ... who knows !!
you have nothing to lose anyway don't you ?!!!

I have everything to lose if I live my life in fear.