(November 19, 2013 at 5:00 pm)Avodaiah Wrote: What you're asking me to do is impossible, regardless of God's existence, Jesus's existence, the Bible's reliability, Christianity's veracity, or anything else.
You're not just asking me to prove God's existence, you're asking me to prove that I have a personal relationship with Him. In order to do this, I would have to produce some form of communication with Him, because what is a relationship without communication? But the way God communicates with people is in their hearts and minds, which cannot be detected by other people.
Even if I was to prove this personal relationship I have, I would also have to prove that this person I have a relationship with is God. How can I do that without even mentioning a source that tells who created the universe and who he has a relationship with?
But let me point out something about that challenge you gave me: You did not refute any of my arguments. You said I wanted to believe, you said I was blinded by confirmation bias, you said my arguments were unconvincing, but you did not refute even one of them.
So why do you expect me to throw my Bible out the window?
Regardless, I think I'll have to bow out of this one. Sorry.
Because people that have not been indoctrinated by your bible don't recognize it's authority.
To address the first half, you've just described a relationship with an imaginary friend. Then you illustrated that only a book validates it. This doesn't strike you as odd?
Isn't it odd that the only reason you associate this "relationship" with God is because a book tells you to?
Are you saying there's not the slightest bit of a chance that you haven't wrongfully placed the source of your feelings? Even when you recognize that the only way to prove otherwise is to refer one to a book that says you haven't?
Nothing about this shoots up any warning signs that you may be mistaken?
I find that odd.