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(July 1, 2010 at 12:15 am)tackattack Wrote: He's guided and directed me towards a better life, deeper love, and stronger peace and provided for my every need.
Why can't you believe that you yourself are responsible for this.
Humans are more than capable of being their best without any help from an invisible friend.
All they need is faith.......... in themselves.
If you're not supposed to ride faster than your guardian angel can fly then mine had better get a bloody SR-71.
July 1, 2010 at 7:42 am (This post was last modified: July 1, 2010 at 7:43 am by tackattack.)
I am responsible for a lot of it, not all of it though. Some things I have are solely not sought or gained by my own intention, though. I have faith in myself and I know my abilities and failings fairly well. I do give myself credit for the things I've struggled for and gained, and we all have great potential with/without God, however he is the guide by which we (theists) seek to better ourselves and Christians use the bible as a tool to forge a better understanding of that path.
"There ought to be a term that would designate those who actually follow the teachings of Jesus, since the word 'Christian' has been largely divorced from those teachings, and so polluted by fundamentalists that it has come to connote their polar opposite: intolerance, vindictive hatred, and bigotry." -- Philip Stater, Huffington Post
always working on cleaning my windows- me regarding Johari
July 1, 2010 at 8:22 am (This post was last modified: July 1, 2010 at 8:23 am by tackattack.)
Because there are things which have been a real boon in my life which I would have never wanted.
Some things have come into my life without me seeking them.
When going over my introspection I can't find the want or desire subconsciously for some of the things.
Though a serious of synchronistic events I've had some very serendipitous happenings.
"There ought to be a term that would designate those who actually follow the teachings of Jesus, since the word 'Christian' has been largely divorced from those teachings, and so polluted by fundamentalists that it has come to connote their polar opposite: intolerance, vindictive hatred, and bigotry." -- Philip Stater, Huffington Post
always working on cleaning my windows- me regarding Johari
(July 1, 2010 at 8:22 am)tackattack Wrote: Because there are things which have been a real boon in my life which I would have never wanted.
Some things have come into my life without me seeking them.
When going over my introspection I can't find the want or desire subconsciously for some of the things.
Though a serious of synchronistic events I've had some very serendipitous happenings.
Similar experiences here, but I don't ascribe it to god.
If you're not supposed to ride faster than your guardian angel can fly then mine had better get a bloody SR-71.
(July 1, 2010 at 12:15 am)tackattack Wrote: @Thor & dpb-I don't know that God is the "good one". If I didn't have God 's laws written on my heart and the Holy Spirit, then I'd only have the Bible to go off of. I'd probably then think God as an awful lot like a human dictator.
A pretty awful dictator, at that.
Quote:I believe he's good because he's never done anything bad to me personally.
And you know this..... how? I'm quite sure that bad things have happened in your life. I have no doubt you've had an illness (even if it's nothing more than a cold) or suffered some sort of injury. You've also probably had some bad experience where your car broke down, you didn't get that job you wanted, you missed a flight, you lost your wallet, etc, etc... How can you be sure "God" wasn't responsible for any of these things?
Quote:He's guided and directed me towards a better life, deeper love, and stronger peace and provided for my every need. Why would I not see him as good?
And how has he done any of this? Did he appear to you and tell you what decisions you should make? Did he speak to you and describe what you need to do in order to find "stronger peace"? Did he fill your kitchen cabinets with food and pay your rent? Or are you just crediting a fictional being for things in which he had no involvement?
Science flies us to the moon and stars. Religion flies us into buildings.
God allowed 200,000 people to die in an earthquake. So what makes you think he cares about YOUR problems?
(July 1, 2010 at 8:22 am)tackattack Wrote: Because there are things which have been a real boon in my life which I would have never wanted.
Some things have come into my life without me seeking them.
When going over my introspection I can't find the want or desire subconsciously for some of the things.
Though a serious of synchronistic events I've had some very serendipitous happenings.
So basically you've found that in life, sometimes unfavorable things happen, as do coincidences. The only logical conclusion would be at that point proclaim that an all-knowing, all powerful man in the sky is doing this to/for you.
Awesome.
Ladies and Gentlemen, you have just witnessed the God of the Gaps argument. Things we can't readily explain are explained with a more complex non-demonstrable entity for the sheer sake of psychological satisfaction and comfort.
(July 1, 2010 at 8:22 am)tackattack Wrote: Because there are things which have been a real boon in my life which I would have never wanted.
Some things have come into my life without me seeking them.
When going over my introspection I can't find the want or desire subconsciously for some of the things.
Though a serious of synchronistic events I've had some very serendipitous happenings.
Similar experiences here, but I don't ascribe it to god.
And I do, to each their own.
(July 1, 2010 at 9:39 am)Thor Wrote:
(July 1, 2010 at 12:15 am)tackattack Wrote: @Thor & dpb-I don't know that God is the "good one". If I didn't have God 's laws written on my heart and the Holy Spirit, then I'd only have the Bible to go off of. I'd probably then think God as an awful lot like a human dictator.
A pretty awful dictator, at that.
Quote:I believe he's good because he's never done anything bad to me personally.
And you know this..... how? I'm quite sure that bad things have happened in your life. I have no doubt you've had an illness (even if it's nothing more than a cold) or suffered some sort of injury. You've also probably had some bad experience where your car broke down, you didn't get that job you wanted, you missed a flight, you lost your wallet, etc, etc... How can you be sure "God" wasn't responsible for any of these things?
Quote:He's guided and directed me towards a better life, deeper love, and stronger peace and provided for my every need. Why would I not see him as good?
And how has he done any of this? Did he appear to you and tell you what decisions you should make? Did he speak to you and describe what you need to do in order to find "stronger peace"? Did he fill your kitchen cabinets with food and pay your rent? Or are you just crediting a fictional being for things in which he had no involvement?
1-Well I haven't really had a huge amount of bad, but yes some things have been. However I have yet to run into a "bad" event that didn't lead to something fortuitous, typically with direct links to God. For one example, I lost my wallet one day a few years ago. It had my Social security card and some other really key things in it. I was cancelling things and all that rucous, really quite pissed about it. 4 days later the person who found it drove it by my house while I was on the way to dinner with the pastor of another church. I invited him to dinner to repay him for the kindness and he ended up going to that church of the other pastor after a long dinner convo.. The money for the dinner was the exact contents of the wallet plus a little left for tip.
2-Actually yes he has filled my cabinets with food. He's also clothed me. He has spoken to me to tell me to go places or talk to people I wouldn't normally do or go. He's helped me find the words to speak when I have none. He's healed me and those I love. Doctors also do theese things as does grocery stores and jobs. But where those fail he doesn't.
(July 1, 2010 at 12:54 pm)tavarish Wrote:
(July 1, 2010 at 8:22 am)tackattack Wrote: Because there are things which have been a real boon in my life which I would have never wanted.
Some things have come into my life without me seeking them.
When going over my introspection I can't find the want or desire subconsciously for some of the things.
Though a serious of synchronistic events I've had some very serendipitous happenings.
So basically you've found that in life, sometimes unfavorable things happen, as do coincidences. The only logical conclusion would be at that point proclaim that an all-knowing, all powerful man in the sky is doing this to/for you.
Awesome.
Ladies and Gentlemen, you have just witnessed the God of the Gaps argument. Things we can't readily explain are explained with a more complex non-demonstrable entity for the sheer sake of psychological satisfaction and comfort.
Well I would say it is a God of the Gaps arguement. I'm not saying though that God only operates in the gaps left by science. God is immanent and works in all ways so maybe it's a God of all, including the gaps arguement ?
"There ought to be a term that would designate those who actually follow the teachings of Jesus, since the word 'Christian' has been largely divorced from those teachings, and so polluted by fundamentalists that it has come to connote their polar opposite: intolerance, vindictive hatred, and bigotry." -- Philip Stater, Huffington Post
always working on cleaning my windows- me regarding Johari