Man created god in his own image

[RaptorWizard]

God is simply a much more highly evolved life form than us, because with great age comes great wisdom, so he must be an old man.

 

[1487610420]

All hail [MENTION=8029]man[/MENTION]. Good job.

 

[RaptorWizard]

What is God?

 

[garbage]

If you want the approval of the people in this thread, then go ahead and seek their approval.

Yeah, I definitely don't care in the slightest about that. I happen to get approval because some people happen to largely agree with my approach--which is bound to happen in a thread targeted at atheists.

But if you want the approval of God, then believe in his Son, Jesus Christ.

I'm not interested in opinions, speculations, or interpretations. And I'm not giving opinions, speculations or interpretations.

I've done little more than quote the Scriptures in this thread.

You quote passages of your choosing and include your commentary with them. Moreover, you specifically targeted me and one other poster. I'm still not sure what you're after from me.

If you agree with the Holy Scriptures, every word of it, the Old and New Testaments, then we are in agreement. If you do not agree with the Scriptures then we are not in agreement.

Do you agree with the Scriptures or not?

I do not agree with every word of the scriptures, no. I would go further, that I believe that it would be outrageous to do so; I am surprised that anyone agrees with every word of the scriptures.

So we're far from agreement. If your goal is to get me to agree with every word of the scriptures.. suffice it to say, we're going to be here for a while. Better get started now.

I'd first ask: Every word of which translation of which canon set of books?

 

[Coriolis]

You reject the Word of God himself, in the Holy Scriptures. Does that mean that God is going about it the wrong way?

Are you wiser than God?

God is not the one regurgitating gratuitous Bible verses on an online forum. He would know and do far better than that. Unless, of course, you are going to equate yourself with God.

God has always done much better, providing humanity with many sacred scriptures, and many manifestations of his nature and truth, to reach out to us across the span of times and cultures. Most of all, though, he provided us with his creation. We are the ones going about things in the wrong way if we pretend that all he gave us was the Bible.

 

[Hazashin]

[...] but i got no problem with people needing the comfort of "god".

I do when they impose their religious beliefs onto others and it negatively affects us "non-believers", because we're somehow less moral or trustworthy, and also because, especially since living in the United States, many people won't vote for anyone, no matter their personal beliefs or policies, that was atheist. Plus, many Christians seem to demonize sexuality, and I am strongly against that.

 

[INTP]

I do when they impose their religious beliefs onto others and it negatively affects us "non-believers", because we're somehow less moral or trustworthy, and also because, especially since living in the United States, many people won't vote for anyone, no matter their personal beliefs or policies, that was atheist. Plus, many Christians seem to demonize sexuality, and I am strongly against that.

yes, but thats not about needing the comfort of god anymore, but much more

 

[INTP]

What is God?

baby dont hurt me

 

[Spurgeon]

You have made this about me since your very first post in this thread. So, yeah, if this is about one of us, this is about me. Specifically, it's about my relationship with God.

You alone do not have the power to convince me that your interpretation of God is the correct one. The thing is that I'm telling you exactly why your message is unconvincing to me. If you want to reach me, you have to listen to me.

I hear you loud and clear.

You want to be reached. You want to be heard and understood. And you want to be told you're alright.
But you're not. You're on the road to Hell, and you know it.

You're afraid to die without God, and you're afraid to approach God because of your sin.

But I'm telling you that you MUST approach God through his Son Jesus Christ if you want to be saved from your sin.

Now hear the words of the Lord Jesus Christ, and be saved:

John 5:24
“Most assuredly, I say to you, he who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death into life."

 

[garbage]

I hear you loud and clear.

You want to be reached. You want to be heard and understood. And you want to be told you're alright.
But you're not. You're on the road to Hell, and you know it.

You're afraid to die without God, and you're afraid to approach God because of your sin.

But I'm telling you that you MUST approach God through his Son Jesus Christ if you want to be saved from your sin.

Now hear the words of the Lord Jesus Christ, and be saved:

John 5:24
“Most assuredly, I say to you, he who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death into life."

I want to be heard and understood. You finally understand that.

But you don't understand my intention--I want to be understood only because that's a prerequisite for actually holding a conversation.

I don't care to be told that I'm alright as I am--that's not the right way to live. I know what confirmation bias is and I actively try to avoid it by actively seeking out worldviews and ideas that differ from my own. That is where you and I differ.

You were better off when you had simply posted a Bible verse, before you had edited it to include your imperfect opinion--your imperfect representation of the Word.

 

[garbage]

Oh, and also

"Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye." --Matthew 7:3-5​

 

[Spurgeon]

I want to be heard and understood. You finally understand that.

But you don't understand my intention--I want to be understood only because that's a prerequisite for actually holding a conversation.

I don't care to be told that I'm alright as I am--that's not the right way to live. I know what confirmation bias is and I actively try to avoid it by actively seeking out worldviews and ideas that differ from my own. That is where you and I differ.

You were better off when you had simply posted a Bible verse, before you had edited it to include your imperfect opinion--your imperfect representation of the Word.

Honesty and forthrightness are also prerequisites for a conversation.

I am open and transparent about everything I believe. But you are consistently ambiguous and even purposefully deceptive at times.

Therefore, conversation with you is impossible.

 

[Totenkindly]

I hear you loud and clear.

You want to be reached. You want to be heard and understood. And you want to be told you're alright.
But you're not. You're on the road to Hell, and you know it.

You're afraid to die without God, and you're afraid to approach God because of your sin.

But I'm telling you that you MUST approach God through his Son Jesus Christ if you want to be saved from your sin.

Telling other people what they are thinking and feeling is a pretty lousy way to communicate. Frankly, you have no idea why a stranger might think or feel as they do. This is even bad communication form in a marriage relationship with someone you might know well; Christian marriage counselors will tell you as much themselves. The basic gist is that regardless of your intentions, you are not listening to what someone says, you are merely treating them as objects over which you can impose your own beliefs, and you leave no avenue by which your own beliefs can be challenged and potentially grow (unless, of course, you feel that you already understand everything perfect and cannot benefit from discussion with other human beings).

This is not how communities or love works, and the main result of your approach is that you will first be (1) argued with and then (2) ignored and finally (3) be alone. Jesus might have been blunt and argumentative with the conservative religious leaders of his day, but he treated down to earth people and even those outside his faith with respect and love.

 

[INTP]

I hear you loud and clear.

You want to be reached. You want to be heard and understood. And you want to be told you're alright.
But you're not. You're on the road to Hell, and you know it.

You're afraid to die without God, and you're afraid to approach God because of your sin.

But I'm telling you that you MUST approach God through his Son Jesus Christ if you want to be saved from your sin.

Now hear the words of the Lord Jesus Christ, and be saved:

John 5:24
“Most assuredly, I say to you, he who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death into life."

+

http://news.discovery.com/human/near-death-brain.html

makes more sense

 

[garbage]

Honesty and forthrightness are also prerequisites for a conversation.

I am open and transparent about everything I believe. But you are consistently ambiguous and even purposefully deceptive at times.

Therefore, conversation with you is impossible.

I'm working on fixing my end, and I'm asking you to do the same.

I was ambiguous in order to spur you to ask me questions as the successful missionaries do--to teach you firsthand to do so. That was my intent. I apologize if my delivery was offensive, that I came across as deceptive in order to get my point across.

I did attempt to adjust accordingly, however. Since I wasn't getting asked questions, I stopped being ambiguous and started laying it out there for you to see. Unfortunately, even when I told you my thoughts and intentions, most of what you perceived about my thoughts and intentions came from your own assumptions (that I seek approval, that I want to be told that I'm alright as I am) rather than what I've explicitly told you.

I've asked you several questions, seeking clarification, and haven't received a response from them. I'm truly trying to understand your point of view--and, in the process--to get you to understand your own views and how to deliver them.

Given all of this, are you absolutely sure that you're taking a step back, seeing things objectively, and delivering the message of God with no commentary, opinion, or personal bias?

 

[Coriolis]

You were better off when you had simply posted a Bible verse, before you had edited it to include your imperfect opinion--your imperfect representation of the Word.

Actually, I would rather hear Spurgeon's own thoughts on the matter. I have a Bible, a few in fact, which I have actually read and studied more than many Christians I know. What I don't have on my own is the diversity of interpretations and perspectives that an open discussion of the topic can bring.

 

[garbage]

Actually, I would rather hear Spurgeon's own thoughts on the matter. I have a Bible, a few in fact, which I have actually read and studied more than many Christians I know. What I don't have on my own is the diversity of interpretations and perspectives that an open discussion of the topic can bring.

This thread took a turn toward prosthelytizing. His goal is to point me to the light, rather than to have an open discussion. I'll clarify--in that particular instance, he had responded to me at first with a simple Bible verse, then later edited it to include a condemnation of me. I'm trying to get him to see that absolutely nobody has a truly objective stance.

However, even still, by his own definition, a truly objective stance would involve only quoting the Word with no editorial or opinion involved--especially not a judgmental one--because, to him, the Word is objective.

If this thread were about having an open discussion and sharing our perspectives on an equal playing field, then I'd absolutely be in agreement with you.

Maybe we can start another thread where an open discussion is possible, because he and I have ruined this one

 

[Coriolis]

I don't disagree. I wasn't claiming this to be an open and productive discussion, just trying to stave off another onslaught of unaccompanied Bible verses in the perhaps misplaced hopes of finally having one. As someone remarked in a rep, I can read my Bible whenever I want.

 

[Lark]

I don't disagree. I wasn't claiming this to be an open and productive discussion, just trying to stave off another onslaught of unaccompanied Bible verses in the perhaps misplaced hopes of finally having one. As someone remarked in a rep, I can read my Bible whenever I want.

I'm sorry what?

How many times has that happened? How many times has it happened before the thread that happpened to be posted long after this one? How then could you say this?

 

[Coriolis]

I'm sorry what?

How many times has that happened? How many times has it happened before the thread that happpened to be posted long after this one? How then could you say this?

Now I'm totally confused. How many times has what happened? Before what thread that was posted long after this one?