A challenge to xtians persuade me

[Jenny A]

And in all seriousness, they won't, and they can't. Because faith never comes from reasoning, but from feelings and indoctrination. It's an emotional crutch forced on kids. It takes a lot to let go of it once you buy into it, and it comes back to haunt you afterwards whenever you're emotionally weak.

Turn about is fair play. Atheism is based on wishful thinking that you can do as you please without being accountable to any divine or natural law.

How is it wishful thinking to dismiss what can't be demonstrated as even remotely probable?

But even allowing divine law, why would divine law not take the balanced of one's actions into account? Most people I know do neither good nor evil most of the time, and the good they do far outweighs the bad.  Why should they fear final judgment?

[dyresand]

I'd believe in a higher power if dyresand learned about commas.

Yeah... i really do need to learn to the power of the comma.

[Faith No More]

Yeah... i really do need to learn to the power of the comma.

You could work on your capitalization, too.

[Drich]

What if 'we' like the path your on? Or what if Christianity is not about being persuaded? What if Christianity is about giving those an opportunity to those who truly want to be with God the means to do so. God is not about forcing belief or worship. either you want to or you don't. if you don't then maybe 'we' don't want you to.

Then why have the Christians on this site spent so much time and effort in trying to persuade us if that's not the point.?

Yes, I guess you do like the path we're on. Just as Jesus told his disciples that he spoke in parables so that outsiders would not be able to understand and be forgiven their sins.

I was actually speaking to just dry sand.

[Rhondazvous]

Then why have the Christians on this site spent so much time and effort in trying to persuade us if that's not the point.?

Yes, I guess you do like the path we're on. Just as Jesus told his disciples that he spoke in parables so that outsiders would not be able to understand and be forgiven their sins.

I was actually speaking to just dry sand.

Of course. You never clarify what you mean until after you've been misunderstood. Let's you slip out of anything, huh.

[Drich]

You also are told to emulate christ. But you fall very short in that regard.

Yes to emulate Christ, and not your version of him.

Ask yourself, did Christ ever comdemn anyone? Did Christ ever rebuke anyone? Did Christ ever embarrass anyone by making them look foolish? Did Christ ever strike or strike at anyone?

Your version of Christ may never have, but the biblical version of Christ has done everyone of those things.

Because you we also told to love thy neighbor as they self, which means that if your neighbor is sick you heal, if he is hungry you feed him, and so on.

Ah, no. Again the command is to love everyone as you would love yourself. NOT Love everyone in the way they would like to be loved. If I'm hungry I want to be told to get off my @ss and get a job, or I want to be given an opportunity to make money. If I'm sick I want to be left alone. I don't want visitors nor do I want a parade of people to visit. But, here the thing Sandy is not sick noe is he hungry. Sandy doesn't even want what this thread is about. Sandy wants an argument that he feel he can win. otherwise why not set parameters as some of the other atheists have pointed out? Like convince the bible is accurate. or some other perminate goal.. no sandy wants to be able to move the goal posts when ever someone gets too close, and the whole time limit of three days on further underscores his intention. He wants the final word, but does not want to be tied to this thread for weeks. If I did all of that I would want someone to tell me what I told Him. In that maybe God does not want people like that around him.

Look at Christ and those He turn away from discipleship. The Rich young ruler comes to mind. This guy had everything except a contrite heart that put Christ first. He put his money first and was turn away by Christ because Christ knew his money would always come first. Now measure that down on what sandy said in the OP. Can you see Christ turning away the rich young ruler who could have brought so much to the ministry of Christ, and yet accept Sandy and his challenge? So why not make it clear to Sandy that a measure of change has to happen before he can expect someone to take him on as a project?

Instead you come on here and where jesus was humble (even when angry, he was humble) your so self-righteous it is sickening.

My 'righteousness' does not come from with in my self. all that is right with me comes from God. Now I will take responsibility with all my own faults and short comings. Yes they are mine, but at the same time the contrast of what is my short comings and the truth God provides should only point to Him when what I have said is found to be right.

oh, and you think it was humble of Jesus to fashion a whip and chase out religiously sanctioned money changers out of God's temple? You think it was humble of Christ to openly Challenge the Pharisees and Saducees everytime they met? You think it was Humble of Him to openly rebuke them calling them fools and blind guides? Maybe your version of Jesus never did any of those things, but the bible version of Him did, and those insults to the religious leadership of that day is the reason they killed Him the worst possible way.

Do you ignore the parable of the seeds on the path?

The parable is about casting out the gospel. In doing so the 'broadcaster' freely distributed seed in an open field which contained different kinds of soil. Sandy, is not an open field. Sandy (ironically) is not sandy at all but the hard packed soil where the seed is quickly taken away by the birds.

Now granted hard packed soil can be farmed, but first it must be broken. My harsh words were meant to put a crack in the soil to see if it could be farmed.

Or jesus sending out the 72?

In that story Jesus also tells us to not waist out time with those who do not want to heard the good news (to shake the dust from our feet and move on)

The writing of the apostle peter? Or paul's urging to spread the good news?

They too tell us to do the same thing.

If you do not throw your pearls to the swine then why did paul travel to many cities that were hostile to his message?

Because of the one or two who wanted to hear it. they did not waist their time with those who wanted to argue for arguments sake. Paul even warns other to stay away from those 'philosphers' who think the gospel is just foolishness.

Jesus came to us a teacher so poor that many of us living in the west now would find it hard to even imagine his life. Do you remember what jesus said to the rich man that asked "what must I do to get into the kingdom of heaven?" Well this question is not so different, and jesus's answer certainly wasn't "I dont cast pearls to swine."

His message was to tell the rich young ruler (as I said before) to sell everything He had then come back to him. Jesus did not tell the young man He was a swine, He did not tell Him anything which is my point. If He has He would be throwing His pearls before a swine. Rather He put discipleship far out of the reach of the rich young ruler, because He knew where his Heart was. If the young man could sell everything and follow Christ, he would have been what Christ needed, in order to share what was then the secrets (pearls) of the coming Kingdom, but because his heart was in his money the young man went away sorrowful..

Yet here you sit with more wealth and power then that rich man could have ever imagined and you lecture us on the true path to heaven.

The lecture is just being relayed. it's not mine. I write as I have been given over to write. And even I'm supprized when it is critically examined how closly it follows the biblical examples given.

[Drich]

Not all of you are without hope. Not all of you are hard pack rocky soil. however most do need to be 'tilled' or worked with before any seeds can grow. I have been here several years, and never once avoided answering a question or sought an opportunity to correct a miss conception on a biblical precept. Not intentionally anyway. But, at the same time there is nothing written that says I must answer all challenges. Especially given the history and work I've put into some of you. I may not know all of you down to the last detail, but I do know most of you well enough to know when I'm being baited with a pointless mountain of work.

My time is limited. I use to be able to spend all day doing this, but now I have to get to work a couple hours early so I can get to any of this. I was going to take the summer off, but I decided to just come in early instead. That means I have to be selective and not waist time with people who want to argue for the sake of argueing. That does not mean if I don't respond to you I think your argueing for the sake of doing so. It may just mean I can get to you. In any case I'll do my best to meet the needs as I see them. If I miss your post or comment send me a PM I answer those first.

[Drich]

I was actually speaking to just dry sand.

Of course. You never clarify what you mean until after you've been misunderstood.  Let's you slip out of anything, huh.

Clarity has been provided several different times. you just missed them or hadn't got to them yet