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RE: In your opinion what causes christians to believe in Jesus
April 30, 2025 at 6:06 pm
Whistling past the graveyard in thread, and in life.
I am the Infantry. I am my country’s strength in war, her deterrent in peace. I am the heart of the fight… wherever, whenever. I carry America’s faith and honor against her enemies. I am the Queen of Battle. I am what my country expects me to be, the best trained Soldier in the world. In the race for victory, I am swift, determined, and courageous, armed with a fierce will to win. Never will I fail my country’s trust. Always I fight on…through the foe, to the objective, to triumph overall. If necessary, I will fight to my death. By my steadfast courage, I have won more than 200 years of freedom. I yield not to weakness, to hunger, to cowardice, to fatigue, to superior odds, For I am mentally tough, physically strong, and morally straight. I forsake not, my country, my mission, my comrades, my sacred duty. I am relentless. I am always there, now and forever. I AM THE INFANTRY! FOLLOW ME!
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RE: In your opinion what causes christians to believe in Jesus
April 30, 2025 at 9:30 pm
(April 30, 2025 at 3:09 pm)John 6IX Breezy Wrote: (April 30, 2025 at 2:52 pm)h4ym4n Wrote: Why do xian soldiers hide in foxholes when they know paradise is just a bullet away?
Because I'm right, and Christianity does not provide immunity from the fear of death or the pain of dying.
You can get a flu vaccine and still get the flu. A prescription is not a guarantee, especially such a shoddy vaccine as blind faith. Just because they're afraid to die doesn't mean that Christians don't gravitate to their faith in order to ameliorate their fears.
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RE: In your opinion what causes christians to believe in Jesus
April 30, 2025 at 10:53 pm
(This post was last modified: April 30, 2025 at 10:55 pm by The Grand Nudger.)
CS Lewis referred to it as the centrality of resurrection. Habermas continues to refer to it in contemporary apologetics. Both in the christian message, and in the everyday life of believers. We don't have to take their word for it, though.
Quote:Now if Christ is preached as raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ has not been raised; if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain.
-Magic Book.
I am the Infantry. I am my country’s strength in war, her deterrent in peace. I am the heart of the fight… wherever, whenever. I carry America’s faith and honor against her enemies. I am the Queen of Battle. I am what my country expects me to be, the best trained Soldier in the world. In the race for victory, I am swift, determined, and courageous, armed with a fierce will to win. Never will I fail my country’s trust. Always I fight on…through the foe, to the objective, to triumph overall. If necessary, I will fight to my death. By my steadfast courage, I have won more than 200 years of freedom. I yield not to weakness, to hunger, to cowardice, to fatigue, to superior odds, For I am mentally tough, physically strong, and morally straight. I forsake not, my country, my mission, my comrades, my sacred duty. I am relentless. I am always there, now and forever. I AM THE INFANTRY! FOLLOW ME!
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RE: In your opinion what causes christians to believe in Jesus
April 30, 2025 at 11:35 pm
(April 30, 2025 at 10:53 pm)The Grand Nudger Wrote: CS Lewis referred to it as the centrality of resurrection.
You can't be resurrected, as it turns out, unless you die. Not the most appealing proposition for anyone afraid of dying.
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RE: In your opinion what causes christians to believe in Jesus
April 30, 2025 at 11:37 pm
(This post was last modified: April 30, 2025 at 11:37 pm by The Grand Nudger.)
Hallelujah, let's you and me go church to church and tell people resurrection isn't appealing. Why are you doing this? This is beyond the pale, even for af.
I am the Infantry. I am my country’s strength in war, her deterrent in peace. I am the heart of the fight… wherever, whenever. I carry America’s faith and honor against her enemies. I am the Queen of Battle. I am what my country expects me to be, the best trained Soldier in the world. In the race for victory, I am swift, determined, and courageous, armed with a fierce will to win. Never will I fail my country’s trust. Always I fight on…through the foe, to the objective, to triumph overall. If necessary, I will fight to my death. By my steadfast courage, I have won more than 200 years of freedom. I yield not to weakness, to hunger, to cowardice, to fatigue, to superior odds, For I am mentally tough, physically strong, and morally straight. I forsake not, my country, my mission, my comrades, my sacred duty. I am relentless. I am always there, now and forever. I AM THE INFANTRY! FOLLOW ME!
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RE: In your opinion what causes christians to believe in Jesus
May 1, 2025 at 12:00 am
The resurrection can be the most appealing proposition on earth and still not offer any solace to anyone afraid of dying. It's not even the only way of getting to heaven, since the Bible tells several stories of individuals being translated directly to heaven without ever dying, like Enoch and Elijah.
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RE: In your opinion what causes christians to believe in Jesus
May 1, 2025 at 12:03 am
(May 1, 2025 at 12:00 am)John 6IX Breezy Wrote: The resurrection can be the most appealing proposition on earth and still not offer any solace to anyone afraid of dying. It's not even the only way of getting to heaven, since the Bible tells several stories of individuals being translated directly to heaven without ever dying, like Enoch and Elijah.
Why the obsession with the fear of dying?
You are just throwing things at the wall here to see what might stick. Like so many others, you need to read the room.
I'm your huckleberry.
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RE: In your opinion what causes christians to believe in Jesus
May 1, 2025 at 1:01 am
(This post was last modified: May 1, 2025 at 1:02 am by The Grand Nudger.)
There we have it. The bible is wrong, christian theology is misconceived, apologetics are nonsense, the evangelical pitch is a non starter, and the lived experience of dying christians is irrelevant.
The Gospel of John.
I am the Infantry. I am my country’s strength in war, her deterrent in peace. I am the heart of the fight… wherever, whenever. I carry America’s faith and honor against her enemies. I am the Queen of Battle. I am what my country expects me to be, the best trained Soldier in the world. In the race for victory, I am swift, determined, and courageous, armed with a fierce will to win. Never will I fail my country’s trust. Always I fight on…through the foe, to the objective, to triumph overall. If necessary, I will fight to my death. By my steadfast courage, I have won more than 200 years of freedom. I yield not to weakness, to hunger, to cowardice, to fatigue, to superior odds, For I am mentally tough, physically strong, and morally straight. I forsake not, my country, my mission, my comrades, my sacred duty. I am relentless. I am always there, now and forever. I AM THE INFANTRY! FOLLOW ME!
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RE: In your opinion what causes christians to believe in Jesus
May 1, 2025 at 1:34 am
(April 30, 2025 at 11:35 pm)John 6IX Breezy Wrote: (April 30, 2025 at 10:53 pm)The Grand Nudger Wrote: CS Lewis referred to it as the centrality of resurrection.
You can't be resurrected, as it turns out, unless you die. Not the most appealing proposition for anyone afraid of dying.
As it turns out, every single human who's ever lived before us has died. Fear of death is part of the human condition. Constructing faiths which posit an afterlife is not a uniquely Christian thing. That indicates to me that positing an eternal afterlife is a selling-point for those faiths.
John 3:16 promises Christly resurrection to all believers, so long as they believe. That is the quid pro quo; that's the bait.
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RE: In your opinion what causes christians to believe in Jesus
May 1, 2025 at 1:48 am
(This post was last modified: May 1, 2025 at 1:52 am by Thumpalumpacus.)
(May 1, 2025 at 12:00 am)John 6IX Breezy Wrote: The resurrection can be the most appealing proposition on earth and still not offer any solace to anyone afraid of dying. It's not even the only way of getting to heaven, since the Bible tells several stories of individuals being translated directly to heaven without ever dying, like Enoch and Elijah.
Bible stories of Enoch etc aside, dying with the prospect of being resurrected looks better than dying without that prospect, don't you think?
Let's put it another way: if, no matter what you believe here on Earth, when you die you will still be doornailed forever, would you still cotton to Christianity? If so, why adhere to Christianity?
There's a reason why Christian doctrine promises a reward in the "afterlife". It's to assure your adherence in the here-and-now. And it markets that fear of annihilation in order to sell you on their wares, while never having to pay out on it, because dead is dead, dead people can't sue for redress, and being dead in the first place scares the shit out of most people.
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