Ask, Seek, Knock

[Darkstar]

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Actually, that was what I was reffering to. Not a general good mood, per se, but a good event that breaks a trend.

you still don't get it. Do you want me to try and explain it again? At it core what i am telling you is their isn't a 'good event.' Nothing breaks the trend. We just find contentment and the rest is window dressing for this life. for whether good, bad hardship, or excess I am given over to contentment.

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You are more satisfied with your life after joining a religion, therefore god?

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I've heard the 'gumball machine' argument before. Firstly:
Matthew 7:7 “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you."

This is the defination of cherry picking. for Christ has a whole lot more to say on the subject than what was written in the one verse you desperatly need to focous on in order for your arguement to work. When you are ready to look at the rest of them and compile all that is written let me know and we can proceed.

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One verse, eh?

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Matthew 21:22 "If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer.”

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Mark 11:24 "Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours."

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John 14:13-14 "And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. 14 You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it."

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John 16:23
"In that day you will no longer ask me anything. Very truly I tell you, my Father will give you whatever you ask in my name."

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1 John 5:14-15 "This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. 15 And if we know that he hears us—whatever we ask—we know that we have what we asked of him."

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I have compiled what was written. However, there seem to be terms and condtitons besides it being god's will, to the point where no prayer should be answered except under extreme cirumstances.

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Of course, some prayers that are never answered.

Every PRAYER is answered. Not all petitions are Prayers as luke 11 points out.

How is there a difference between god answering prayers when he feels like it and not doing it at all? There is no way to tell the difference.

kinda already answered this one.
http://atheistforums.org/thread-14138.html[/quote]

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Ah, yes, the fine print. Just enough conditions to allow the excuse "you did it wrong" to apply in any situation.

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Me: Uh, god? There are some starving kids in Africa, and ones dying of diseases you created, so could you please help them? I'm just a poor college kid, I don't have much money to give.
god: pfft, yeah right! Do it yourself, fill that need! I have better things to do, like help Tebow score some touchdowns.

Actually if you knock on that door an oppertunity will arise. If you are faithful to that oppertunity then another will arise. and so on. If you are not then the door will be closed to you.

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You can say this, but you can never prove it, but you can give god credit for any successes, and say "you did it wrong" for any failure.

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I see... How exactly did Abraham have [more] impressive faith if god didn't reveal himself to other people?

how do you know that He didn't appear to other people? History is recorded by the victors. Aberham and many sons won. Therefore their story was told. That doesn't mean their weren't any other stories.

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"History is written by the victors"... Now apply that to god for a moment...if he is evil, couldn't he have scewed the biblical accounts to make him look good? (Which he did a very poor job of, by the way)

Why did god never advocate peace?

Because peaxce is not in the heart of man.

A bald philosophical statement, generally rejected by reality. As history progresses, humanity becomes less and less violent.

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Or did he purposely allow paganism to spread as a test of faith?

Paganism spread because God built a god shaped hole in All of our hearts. When people willingly turn from God, they still need to fill the hole. So they create gods they can control with whatever is currently passing as morality.

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You're missing my point. I'm not asking why some people turned to pagansim after god appeared, I'm asking why god let paganism appear to begin with. People weren't 'turning from god' when they became pagans, because the pagan gods were the only gods they ever knew.