(March 14, 2015 at 12:36 pm)robvalue Wrote: According to Miles, god has decided that Miles will come here and try and convince us, and god decided that he will fail and we won't be convinced. And god decided Miles will be annoyed about that and think we're unreasonable.
Why god wants to do that is unclear. But he'll be punishing me later for my complete lack of choice.
No, I've never said that I am trying to convince you or anyone else. I also said that no one can be convinced but by the grace of God.
Belief in God isn't something one simply decides to do, or anything one person can inspire in another. It's self-righteous and presumptuous for anyone to think they can convince someone else of God's existence, or even that they themselves are capable of spreading the Gospel. While God uses men to plant the seeds and water the plants, only God can make them grow. (1 Corinthians 3:6-7)
You will be punished (and in fact, you have been and are currently being punished) not for your lack of choice, but because you don't follow His commandments.
You might say "you're wrong; I'm perfectly happy." I say you've never known true happiness, nor has anyone outside the body of Christ. The happiness found in the world is fake and temporary, a high that keeps you chasing the dragon and never truly fulfilled.
That's not to say that life in Christ is all peaches and cream; it certainly isn't, and anyone who claims such is a liar. Taking up the cross is always painful, but it is the only means of obtaining everlasting life, the only true life there is.
