(September 29, 2016 at 12:55 pm)robvalue Wrote: How do you determine whether God is good or evil, if you're using God as your standard? If God says "go ahead and rape", then rape is good? Or do you have your own morality already, and God is good if he confirms it?
I'm assuming, maybe incorrectly, you consider your actions and determine their effect on everything and make a decision based on that as to whether or not something is moral or immoral. I experience God in me and through that relationship I determine whether I believe in that God and whether he is trustworthy and good. I've also evaluated his actions as set forth in the bible and determined them to be good and just. I'm not of the mind that suffering or just punishment is unloving or is bad morality.
Quote:I still don't know how I would go about putting my faith in a higher power. I have literally no idea. I don't know what I would be trusting to them, and what difference it would be supposed to make.
When I get on an airplane, I'm handing my life over completely to the pilot. I first had to be convinced in my mind that the airplane is dependable and that the pilot is well-trained and isn't suicidal or whatever. I'm handing it all over to that person. I'm not doing it blindly, but have assessed the situation first. When the plane is in the air, if the pilot tells me to put my seat belt on because of turbulent conditions, I don't try to connect to the Weather Bureau and verify if he's right or not, I just do it. We've all put our faith and our lives in someone or something beyond ourselves.
When I first joined this forum, I was a christian, but really didn't have faith or trust in God. I had read scripture and had been taught about God and Jesus Christ, so I declared myself to be a christian. I was never challenged much on my views. I decided it was time to test my beliefs, by taking every rocket and arrow that could be thrown at me. I wanted to really know for sure that my faith was well-founded. After a while of having my previous suppositions challenged and refuted, I was getting pretty shaky about my christian faith because you all were knocking my foundation apart. I had no pull at all towards atheism because it just didn't make sense to me. I was very drawn to general theism or deism, but finally just could not accept the existence of a god who would just make a universe and then not car; that he would make people with spiritual inclinations and not relate to us. I heard a bible teacher say a couple times that being a christian isn't about reading the bible and deciding it's right and following it. It's about havingChrist. That's when it all came flowing in. God lives in me in the Spirit of Jesus Christ. I not only know God, but I possess his Spirit. Every minute I spend, he is here with me. That is when I realized what it means to give myself over to God. It's not like he tells me when to brush my teeth or whatever, but rather as long as I walk according to the Spirit, within me he is part of all my decisions. He is involved in every decision I make. That's how you put your faith in God.
