OK Christians. your chance. Convince me of God.

[Drich]

Do you want to?
Then ask God to show you.

Because that has totally worked before.

Seriously, you spent your ENTIRE post saying "Find God seek him out yourself you're lazy". I wonder how many millions of people have done that and came up with nothing?

It's a promise. If one asks seeks and knocks as luke 11 points out then you will find what you have been told to look for.

Those who do not find do not follow the instructions.

[The Grand Nudger]

Except when they do, and for some reason still don't.

"I love you, why do you make me hit you"

Garbage Drich.

[Drich]

Atheist version of prayer:

O God, if you exist while I don't think you do
And if you answer prayers which I don't think you would if you existed
And if Christianity is true, which I don't think is true for various reasons
Then Guide me to it.
And if any religion is true.
Then Guide me to it.
Amen.

It doesn't hurt.

Didn't work. Any suggestions, Drich?

Why not follow the instructions found in Luke 11.

[The Grand Nudger]

Because there aren't any instructions to be found in that passage. Just a big slimy con.

[Drich]

LOL, no, it isn't.

Valid doesn't mean sound.

For example

If I eat oranges, it means I am a dog.
I eat oranges.
Therefore I am a dog.

Is a valid argument but it's not sound.

The argument is valid:

(a) Book From God
(b) people would find in book Contradictions

Not A -> B
Not B
Therefore A.

Not A -> B = Not B -> A

It's not sound argument, but it's a valid argument.

Oooo Burn, Rhythm

---

Because there aren't any instructions to be found in that passage. Just a big slimy con.

Luke 11:5 And He said to them, “Which of you shall have a friend, and go to him at midnight and say to him, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves; 6 for a friend of mine has come to me on his journey, and I have nothing to set before him’; 7 and he will answer from within and say, ‘Do not trouble me; the door is now shut, and my children are with me in bed; I cannot rise and give to you’? 8 I say to you, though he will not rise and give to him because he is his friend, yet because of his persistence he will rise and give him as many as he needs.
9 “So I say to you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. 10 For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened. 11 If a son asks for bread[d] from any father among you, will he give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent instead of a fish? 12 Or if he asks for an egg, will he offer him a scorpion? 13 If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him!”

[Ryantology]

So, all we have to do is ask?

Doesn't sound like difficult instructions. Yet it still never works.

[pocaracas]

zen..........
I think the metaphor has reached it's end. Speak in plain terms, no analogies, no comparisons, no metaphors.

I am using Christ's metaphore about the mustard seed.

Again The mustard seed repersents the smallest amount of faith needed to yeild a result. For the mustard seed was one of the smallest seeds and from it quickly grew a very tall and agressive plant.

A little bit of faith is the same as faith.

And an aggressive plant grew... aye, agreed. More than one.
One for the Church, one for the muslims.... and countless others for each and every deity ever imagined by humans.

I didn't do anything.

Then what are you expecting? God has told you to Ask, seek and knock for Him.

He told me no such thing!
He told me nothing. You told me that. In case you haven't noticed, I don't buy your story.

According to your stories, god speaks to some people.

How do you know He has or currently isn't speaking to you now? Just read what you wrote a few quotes down. You are all too egar to dismiss everything as some psycological event. God is the God of the natural/known universe. Why would He only be able to speak or do things in an unknown way?

If he is, then he's being inept at it.

Why not to all?

Because that would deny you your ablity to choose a fate other than eternal life with God. (self preservation)

Then why write a book about it? And why try so hard to make people follow what's written on that book? So hard that about 80% of the world's population believes in some form of deity!

Why must I seek him out?

Because you have been commanded to do so. God is not a buddy of yours, He's not your friend He is Lord and Master of all of creation and He has demanded that you seek Him out.

Hold your horses. I've been "commanded"? As far as I'm aware, I haven't been commanded to do that. If I have, then the message has been passed ineptly. IS that how you claim your god to be? Inept? Incompetent?

Abraham didn't, but god talked directly to him.
Or so the story goes....

Actually Genesis has a different account. Abram was told to leave his home his 'comfort zone.' and Go out into the unknown, and he did all based on some promises he had no 'evidence' in backing up. You and he are in the same situation. The reason abram is now known as Abraham is held in high regaurd with God and his people is because he obeyed his God. While you do nothing and wait for God to serve you.

Yeah... and who is supposed to have told him to leave his home?

My guess is that the story is just a story.
You believe it's a truthful account and become convinced of all those things about your sins.... becoming easier to repent (WTF?) and that "He will show [you] what has to be done to accomplish a given task" (I call that experience).

So if I want to say open my own company and employ a bunch of people grow it to the point where it makes tons of money, make contacts and do business all over the world, and yet have no experience in doing any of those things, and then I see a list of sins (that at the time don't seem to have anything to do with anything else, certainly nothing to do with running a company) and I work on those 'religious things' yet things like a business man that i only met one time in passing out of the blue gives me 25K to start my company (while I was working for someone else) or the fact that bids and contracts just so happen to fall to me, that is experience?

Beginner's luck

one time we need money, i saw a whole host of questions that need to be answered on this board and i answer them. rather than go out and sell. Because something told me this is what I needed to do. (counter my experience) Then we got some big on line order (off a web site google doesn't even list on the first 10 pages of a search even if you put our company name in the search), from some south american country... is what you call experience? Perhaps it is. Perhaps after ten years of experiencing this kind of thing i am well "experienced" and somehow are making things happen by prayer and following the bread crumbs that i have been left to follow. Even though my intincts tell me to do other things.

Yes, usually, the first few hits on google aren't very good. That's why I have it configured to show me 100 results per page.
BTW, what business are you working on? Maybe I know someone who could order something from you guys!

Why? Why do you believe in such nonsense which is most likely a fabrication of your mind (helped around by the accumulated fabrications of thousands of minds before you)?

Because for the last 10 or so years I have been wandering the wilderness spiritually speaking and found God apart from any one's effort or help.

Well, spiritually, I don't wander. My spirit stays firmly inside me. But I understand that there are some people who can't control their emotional side and just let it wander and grow insecurity and some bad karma comes in and stuff...

Why do you assume that a supernatural being exists, when a simple psychological explanation for that effect is at hand? Why? I sincerely cannot understand it.

Do you want to?
Then ask God to show you.

No answer. Seems he's busy. Like in the last boy scout:

00:54:00 It starts out...

00:54:03 ...painkillers.

00:54:05 Using Demerol because your knees are shot!

00:54:09 Before you know it, you're chewing codeine with breakfast.

00:54:15 Then a truck comes out of nowhere...

00:54:17 ...and you're talking to God, saying, "Help me out, Big Guy.

00:54:22 I pay taxes and go to church.

00:54:24 What's with this dead wife and kid shit?"

00:54:28 But He ain't answering.

00:54:30 He ain't taking calls that day.

00:54:32 Instead, I get a call from the fucking league.

bla bla bla

The voice in your head is not god. See a shrink.

[The Grand Nudger]

Burn what cretin? Not only are you incapable of arguing your own points you are incapable of ascertaining the success of others. I still don;t see any instructions, just a con man repeating a con that conned him. gratz.

[Cyberman]

Luke 11:5 And He said to them, “Which of you shall have a friend, and go to him at midnight and say to him, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves; 6 for a friend of mine has come to me on his journey, and I have nothing to set before him’; 7 and he will answer from within and say, ‘Do not trouble me; the door is now shut, and my children are with me in bed; I cannot rise and give to you’? 8 I say to you, though he will not rise and give to him because he is his friend, yet because of his persistence he will rise and give him as many as he needs.
9 “So I say to you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. 10 For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened. 11 If a son asks for bread[d] from any father among you, will he give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent instead of a fish? 12 Or if he asks for an egg, will he offer him a scorpion? 13 If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him!”

I've not come across this idea before but anyone else thinking that the emboldened part is an interpolation? Notice how removing 9 and 10 has no effect on the rest of the text except that it now flows better.

[Erinome]

Ask and ye shall receive!

I asked once, and all I got were more questions. Now I'm an atheist.