A question

[dwinkjr]

Why is it that a loving god is so infatuated with us being so devoted to him? God gave us an intelligence to use. So why does he tell us to ignore it and have faith? Intelligence is NOT evil.

Hi Agnostic good to meet you.

G-d loves us as a father loves His children.

He wants us to know His ways and to walk in them.

Just as a father teaches his children what is right and safe to do.

It is so that we might enjoy the life set before us...to the full extent.

We are more than just flesh and blood

We need to walk in the Spirit.

We do not have to commit intellectual suicide to follow Him

And it is untrue that He tells us to forget about intelligence or wisdom

But praise G-d we don't have to pass some degree before He accepts us.

Very well said Botz,

Agnostic are you a father? You said you believed in the Lord Jesus for 10yrs? What made you turn from him?

God Bless,

Dave

[nebula]

Why is it that a loving god is so infatuated with us being so devoted to him? God gave us an intelligence to use. So why does he tell us to ignore it and have faith? Intelligence is NOT evil.

Wouldn't you want your girlfriend to be devoted to you? When you are married, wouldn't you want your wife to be devolted to you? When you become a father, wouldn't you want your children to be devoted to you?

As for intelligence - ignore it? Believe it or not, this is a misunderstanding of what the Scriptures are saying.

"We all believe in something greater than ourselves, even if it's just the blind forces of chance."

~G'kar, Babylon 5

Intelligence is awesome! But it can only carry you so far.

Intelligence will never heal a broken heart.

Intelligence will never give hope to the hopless.

Basically, intelligence is an awesome tool - but it is only a tool. It is not everything we need to make it through this life. And there are times intelligence fails. Where do you go then?

Faith, though, can make the weak strong, give the hopeless a reason to carry on, bring comfort to pain, . . . .

If life were all about intelligence, we'd make better robots than people!

[nebula]

OK, I'm back to annoy you. :sweating:

I was thinking about the things you have been posting here and other places, and I was thinking - which is more valued: knowledge or wisdom?

It's like this, when you are out driving and your car breaks down, who would you go to first, the PhD with a book on car repair, or the 8th grade educated hick who's been working on cars for 25 years?

Who do you think will make for you a better meal, the person who learned to cook via a cookbook, or the person who trained under a master chef?

Sure, anyone with an IQ of 100+ can boast of his high score - but can he use that IQ to actually do anything?

Who would make a better medical professional - the person who made straight A's in school, or the person who knows how to assimilate that knowledge into action, can think quick on his/her toes, can diagnose how factor A stems from condition C? (I've taken Anatomy & Physiology - I know it is a lot easier to regurgitate facts than it is solving a case study.)

Will intelligence help the orphans in third world countries who spend their days at garbage dumps looking for food in the garbage just so they can survive?

Will intelligence restore a broken marriage?

Can intelligence tell you that someone loves you?

See what I'm showing you here? :!!!:

[Dad Ernie]

Great posts Nebula et al.

When I was about 10 I accepted Christ and as I reflect on that, indeed it was a true conversion. However, I had no support system once I returned home from Bible Camp and I was soon back in the world doing the same things I was doing before. That was back in about 1955. I began to wander further and further from the truth until I readily admitted I was an "agnostic". I became egocentric and saw science and pseudo-science as the real gods.

I got involved in the Edgar Casey group which is a New Age "spiriticism" group. I was in the Navy at the time and there was one particular young man, a Christian with whom I determined to convert to the "true religion" of Edgar Casey. Almost every day, I presented him with "real life" stories and all sorts of mumbo-jumbo. I did my dog-gonedest to engage him in a serious debate. He would politely listen and then would give me a verse of scripture. He would never argue no matter how much goading I used. As I look back on this time of my life, I know that he was getting a "word from the Lord" that was JUST FOR ME.

Because the Edgar Casey uses the Bible to support their doctrine, I too had a Bible, and every day that this young man would give me a verse, I would go to the Bible and look it up. It took about 3 months, but one day, whatever the verse I was given, finally hit home. I went to my bunk and wept and cried before the Lord. I felt convicted of my sin. I felt I had betrayed the One Lord and God of the whole universe. God seemed to know what was going on because I was allowed time to myself in our compartment, just to flood my pillow with tears and heart rendering cries to the Lord. I do not remember how long this continued, but when it was over, I finally felt cleansed AND FORGIVEN. I knew that God LOVED ME!

Well, I immediately went and collected all the books by Edgar Casey and all the "spiritist" books I had and threw them off the fantail of the ship. I still struggled hard for the next several years, and I am still struggling to get closer to Christ, but I have come a long ways and am confident that Jesus shall see me to the very end. So I am reminded of this:

1 Cor 3:6-7 I have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase. 7 So then neither is he that planteth any thing, neither he that watereth; but God that giveth the increase.

Blessings,

Dad Ernie

[keslc]

I did for ten years. Until I realized that I was wrong, and all of you are.

Until I saw things like this. http://www.landoverbaptist.org/news1199/potter.html

I looked at that site and have to say that I do not know the validity of that site, but do not base an overall view of all christians by a site like that one. It seemed pretty extremist and questionable to me. It would be like me basing my opinion of all Muslims on stereotypes the media perpetuates.

You are right in saying that God did give us intelligence, however, I don't think we are ever asked to "leave our intelligence behind". Yes, we are asked to live by faith. Sometimes the things we need to have faith about do not make logical sense to us or it may go beyond our understanding. That is simply because God is a lot bigger than our human minds can fathom.

Take care!

[ServingHim]

agnostic, i'm gonna give you a little information that might surprise you.

landover baptist church does not exist. that site created put up as SATIRE. it is some athiest's attempt to undermine christianity.

God doesn't want us to be ignorant, and intelligence is a GIFT.. a gift that God bestows upon us all in varying degrees. God would prefer we all use that gift of intelligence to separate the garbage (such as websites like landover baptist) from the truth.

exactly, ladyC...there are thousands and thousands of bogus websites trying to undermine Christians, such as Jack Chick, et al. Satan is busy busy busy....

[ServingHim]

As for intelligence - ignore it? Believe it or not, this is a misunderstanding of what the Scriptures are saying.

"We all believe in something greater than ourselves, even if it's just the blind forces of chance."

~G'kar, Babylon 5

Intelligence is awesome! But it can only carry you so far.

Intelligence will never heal a broken heart.

Intelligence will never give hope to the hopless.

Basically, intelligence is an awesome tool - but it is only a tool. It is not everything we need to make it through this life. And there are times intelligence fails. Where do you go then?

Faith, though, can make the weak strong, give the hopeless a reason to carry on, bring comfort to pain, . . . .

If life were all about intelligence, we'd make better robots than people!

that was lovely~!

[Guest LadyC]

for anyone who questions whether landover baptist is real or not, here is a quote from the "preface" paragraph of the site's terms of service:

All content on landoverbaptist.org is protected by federal copyright laws. The Landover Baptist Church is a complete work of fiction. It is a satire/parody.

Landover Baptist TOS

and servinghim, you're right. there is an organization trying to get the site shut down because it is intentionally trying to damage christianity.

[senerhu]

for anyone who questions whether landover baptist is real or not, here is a quote from the "preface" paragraph of the site's terms of service:

All content on landoverbaptist.org is protected by federal copyright laws. The Landover Baptist Church is a complete work of fiction. It is a satire/parody.

Landover Baptist TOS

and servinghim, you're right. there is an organization trying to get the site shut down because it is intentionally trying to damage christianity.

praise the Lord, LadyC

[keslc]

for anyone who questions whether landover baptist is real or not, here is a quote from the "preface" paragraph of the site's terms of service:

All content on landoverbaptist.org is protected by federal copyright laws. The Landover Baptist Church is a complete work of fiction. It is a satire/parody.

Landover Baptist TOS

and servinghim, you're right. there is an organization trying to get the site shut down because it is intentionally trying to damage christianity.

is there a site or somewhere we can sign a petition or something about this? Thanks!