'Seeking' God

[salty]

I'll be gentle, I promise.

one has to be true, but which is it?

Want to correct you here. Only one could be right, but they can all be wrong.

If we decide there is no higher moral code or way than our own then we actually decide to worship ourselves

Not worship. It shows independence and intelligence. Morality can so easily come from intelligence.

, even though we can't stop ourselves from dying, getting sick or becoming victims of crimes. So what do we do?

Do what we can with the available science and technology. Faith and prayer does nothing. So we are left with only one effective method.

I guess we have to decide if we need God.

How can we rely on god if he does not exist?

Yes, we have to use our feelings.

Feelings cannot tell reality from fantasy. Often they cloud your judgement.

Some people, like you Ace, are very satisfied with the life they have and may not feel guilt for the past or relive their pain,

I have no guilt or pain. If there was any, I'd try to undo or make up for it somehow, independently.

some people have their own methods to stay positive and do things as they like to do them, using their common sense to make decisions that will create a better life for them while they're here and viewing the world as it is, full of life and rebirth, seeing nothing more.

Seeing the world as it is. No spirits, no crazy imagination, just the natural world that's painfully obvious to the human eye.

But not everyone sees the world like this, some of us want to know that there is justice for people who have died in pain or on a whim, like myself.

'Want'? Reality won't rearrange itself for you. If there is no afterlife then there is no afterlife. Only our perception of reality changes not reality itself.

We want to know that the millions of people who perished in turbulent weather, turbulent times, in misery, in hunger, in shock, in sadness, that they will have their time of reckoning and they will be in a better place.

Want is one thing. What is, is quite another. I want cancer to go away and never return. That no one ever suffers from it again. Many others want the same thing, but this won't affect reality.

Some of us want to know there is a way to stop the anger or hatred we have, to control the fear or the envy, to stop us from hurting ourselves and others with the circle of slefish decisions we tend to make. Some people need God because they know that in their own hands their lives are wasted, but in God's hands their lives flourish and they will be renewed.

Like a child who has grown up and realised that the big wide world is cold, hard and lonely. I suspect you like many others are looking for a parent figure. We are always looking up to others more capable than ourselves. There for, it's understandable that people will invent a 'god' to look out for them so they feel comforted and safe. A blanket to hide from reality.
People don't waste their lives without belief in god. I'm fine, so are countless others godless heathens.

Christianity was the only place where I was told that God loved me, cherished me, gave up his life for me, made a path for me, will guide me, will change me, will never leave me and even if I commit inexcuseable evil he'll forgive me, and I don't deserve any of this, which is why it's so amazing, because I know I don't deserve it.

You're living in a fantasy world. It's all a delusion. You perceive a world where everything is taken care of, you have a big daddy looking out for you and that you and your loved ones will continue to exist in a better place. It is all too good to be true. Reality isn't like that, or even close to that. It's hard and tough. That's why we have religions. People fear a hard and tough reality. It's not all bad, it has it's many wonders and beauty.

Also one other thing, how can god die and still exist? He can't really give anything up really. He's all powerful, no limitations.

You can call someone's thoughts delusional, but until you've set foot in their shoes, until you understand what they have been saved from your point will never be made.

And as long as you hold tightly to your blanky, you'll never see the real world. To see reality for what it is. No dreams come true, no pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. Reality.

You simply cannot convince someone who has experienced the transforming power of Christ to stop living for him, but you can easily derail someone religious.

Many atheists were once strong believers. Devout, head deep in it and still managed to discard the illusion. It is one big illusion. We are pattern seeking primates, we are hard wired to look for patterns and purpose that aren't there. We also naturally tend to ignore unpleasant thoughts instead of facing them.
We can and have many times pulled apart religious nonsense. Making it ever more obvious that it's an illusion. A lie to comfort the uneasy and the fool, by keeping them from seeing reality.

I believe that the only forces allowed to influence people on Earth are God and Lucifer (and his followers). God has made the choice cut and dry, either you're with him or you're against him.

Before you can claim that a god done anything you must first demonstrate that a god exists. A does not prove B without first proving A.

500 million life capable planets. 200 billion galaxies. Yet you'll ignore that because of your perception of reality. Your presupposition. That is closed minded.

I wish I could answer you point by point, but I don't have the time to do that on my phone. I may attempt to do it later. I want to make it clear that even though Christianity seems lovey dovey it's far easier being an atheist than being a Christian. You say that some were devout, they were religious actually because anyone that has experienced Jesus Christ doesn't just fall away when Dawkins writes a book or someone shows them a picture of the universe. People who have been renewed and restored are not influenced by the world's limited view of creation. Have you ever marveled at the power of the human body to unconsciously make a baby, that it just gets to work? How limited someone must be to decide that all of that innate ability is random. I don't need to prove the existence of God to state my beliefs. I only need to prove it if I wanted you to believe me, but Ace, you and many others are not able to meet me in the middle because you haven't decided that God is worth defending. If you did, at some point, than you and I would have more to discuss.

Also, do you know how terribly Christians are persecuted across the world? Do you know how hard it is to stand against the tide? Serving Christ is no joke, sometimes it costs us our lives and the lives of the people we love. You can mock my desire to draw close to God, but have you ever met a missionary family? Have you ever met people who barely escaped with their lives or were beaten to a bloody stump because they were telling people about how God changed them? I just read an ad on the metro talking about north Koreans that are beaten and arrested for being Christians and the bible tells us its going to get way worse. No matter how you try to make my beliefs sound like an illusion there are people out there dying for this message because a piece of people literally hate what we're saying and hate our God which is a powerful confirmation there is a devil, there is evil in this world and he can't wait to kill us so that no one else will be restored or renewed.