Invitation to atheists

[systemstrike_7]

atheist can't accept that being what they are is a religion because its a belief in that there is no God or life after death. It is a belief system that is false. If you present logic, facts of based on archeology (sp) and recorded history of biblical events it confonds them . They believe in the KISS system. Other iwse they have stress headaches.

While I do believe atheists are wrong in their beliefs, we must not make sarcastic remarks about their beliefs. Ridicule, finger-pointing, and circular arguments will never win an atheist over to God. The best thing we can do to help the situation is to LOVE them. If you remember, Jesus told sinners that God loved them; I believe it is up to us to follow in his footsteps....

[None]

As I predicted, we are running in circles. I agreed that there must be one Truth when concerning everything, even the existence of God. My only argument against that statement was simply that truths such as these will never be collectively proven to either way. So that absolute truth is left open. Left open for us as individuals to decide.

I just thought it was amusing that we just had an argument over philosophy 101....

LOL! You'd be surprised, though, by how many people I have met who do not understand, or who refuse to accept, this basic philosophy and hold to a concept of relative truth such that whatever they choose to believe is "true for me" as they put it. Of course, that they believe in mutually exclusive, diametrically opposing positions doesn't seem to bother them.

And you are, of course, correct in in observing that it is open to every individual to decide where truth lies. It is my contention, though, that because truth of necessity cannot be known for certain by limited humanity in and of themselves, and can only be known by an omniscient, omnipresent, eternal being, then it is a good start, for a person seeking to know truth, to look for such a Being and find out if He has made any claims to reveal truth. Which is exactly what God revealed in the Bible has done, as has His Son Jesus. It was for very good reason that Jesus prefaced so many of His words with: "verily, verily I say unto you..." or "truly, truly...." and that He claimed to be THE TRUTH. In short, revealed truth from an almighty God is the only certainty of truth that any human can ever have.

Ruth

You know, that last paragraph is right on spot! I've been having some discussions with my friend who has trouble believing, and I think this very statement will help him understand what I've been trying to tell him for the past 6 months. If you don't mind, I might paste this paragraph in word and print it out for him to read. I'll give you kudos of course...

Wow, I'm still amazed at how well you worded that... bravo, bravo..

My dear System,

If I speak any words that have about them some wisdom, then it is not mine, it is the Lord's, and therefore it is not copyrightable and is freely available to be reproduced without any recourse to me! However, if I speak trash, I take full responsibility, and you are more than welcome to offer my name as the offending culprit! Does that help!!??? lol!

Ruth

Amen!!

I, also, have been dealing with this issue for a time now, about the fact that Jesus made it very clear when His words were "in fact" and not parable. Some people I've been discussing this with have used the overuse of metaphors as an excuse to discredit some of what's written in the Bible. This is one of the things, I believe, Jesus came down to earth to straighten out.

Prophets are a prime example of the overuse of metaphors and underlying meanings and they rarely stressed when they were speaking "plainly". What Jesus did was planned perfectly for, not only that generation's understanding, but the many generations to come.

[Him_Crucified330]

Prophets are a prime example of the overuse of metaphors and underlying meanings and they rarely stressed when they were speaking "plainly". What Jesus did was planned perfectly for, not only that generation's understanding, but the many generations to come.

Wow, thats a pretty awesome statement. I've never thought about it like that before, but it makes much sense. If Jesus talked to them in their culture's vernacular, they would have probably understood everything perfectly, where our generation would suffer to understand what he was trying to say. Jesus was/is an incredibly intelligent being to know such a thing as that. He is awesome!

[None]

Prophets are a prime example of the overuse of metaphors and underlying meanings and they rarely stressed when they were speaking "plainly". What Jesus did was planned perfectly for, not only that generation's understanding, but the many generations to come.

Wow, thats a pretty awesome statement. I've never thought about it like that before, but it makes much sense. If Jesus talked to them in their culture's vernacular, they would have probably understood everything perfectly, where our generation would suffer to understand what he was trying to say. Jesus was/is an incredibly intelligent being to know such a thing as that. He is awesome!

This is "off topic" - but -

I'm sure you know, Jesus said many things in parable to purposely keep things hidden from those around Him.

I was only agreeing with methinkshe's wonderfully articulated points.

[systemstrike_7]

Prophets are a prime example of the overuse of metaphors and underlying meanings and they rarely stressed when they were speaking "plainly". What Jesus did was planned perfectly for, not only that generation's understanding, but the many generations to come.

Wow, thats a pretty awesome statement. I've never thought about it like that before, but it makes much sense. If Jesus talked to them in their culture's vernacular, they would have probably understood everything perfectly, where our generation would suffer to understand what he was trying to say. Jesus was/is an incredibly intelligent being to know such a thing as that. He is awesome!

This is "off topic" - but -

I'm sure you know, Jesus said many things in parable to purposely keep things hidden from those around Him.

I was only agreeing with methinkshe's wonderfully articulated points.

This is very true. God obviously wanted us to think. He didn't make things as easy as some people believe. He appeals to all people, even the critical thinkers...

[methinkshe]

Know what, (and please feel at liberty to refute me) I think that it is this type of discussion that is a necessary precursor to the evolution/creation debate. At least, it is for those who claim to be critical thinkers (to use your description, System!) Once one is persuaded that there IS a truth, whether or not it is known or perceived, and that logic disallows diametrically opposing positions to simultaneously equate to truth, then any further debate on truth (an accurate record of existence and events) can be very honed and directed.

What do you think?

Ruth

[None]

[thesorgo]

atheist can't accept that being what they are is a religion because its a belief in that there is no God or life after death. It is a belief system that is false. If you present logic, facts of based on archeology (sp) and recorded history of biblical events it confonds them . They believe in the KISS system. Other iwse they have stress headaches.

Saying that atheism is a belief in no god is just like saying that knowing there are no green men on mars is a belief too

[MorningGlory]

atheist can't accept that being what they are is a religion because its a belief in that there is no God or life after death. It is a belief system that is false. If you present logic, facts of based on archeology (sp) and recorded history of biblical events it confonds them . They believe in the KISS system. Other iwse they have stress headaches.

Saying that atheism is a belief in no god is just like saying that knowing there are no green men on mars is a belief too

Actually, atheism means just that; 'a' denotes the absence of, 'theism' means belief in God or gods.

[methinkshe]

atheist can't accept that being what they are is a religion because its a belief in that there is no God or life after death. It is a belief system that is false. If you present logic, facts of based on archeology (sp) and recorded history of biblical events it confonds them . They believe in the KISS system. Other iwse they have stress headaches.

There isnt a religion that is an absent of belief. However, it is your job to meet once a week to keep reinforcing your beliefs. Why is that?

To qoute G.K. Chesterton:

"When a man stops believing in God, he does not believe in nothing, he believes in anything."

Religion is no more or less than a codified set of beliefs. Moreover, it takes as much belief to state there is no God as it does to state there is a God. Any formalised system that is predicated on the non-existence of God is as much a religion as a formalised system predicated on the existence of God. Thus, the theory of godless evolution qualifies as a religion because it is a formalised set of beliefs. We know that evolution is a belief system because it is in a constant state of flux and has been since Charles Darwin first proposed the theory. Evolution is not dependent on the evidence, per se, but on the interpretation of the evidence, and that is subject to the preconceptions/beliefs of the one doing the interpreting. If evolution were true, then the interpretation of the evidence would not keep changing with every new piece of evidence that is unearthed, because truth does not change. It is a 100% accurate record of all existence and all events. However, true Christianity is NOT a religion because it is not a codified set of beliefs, it is the personal, spiritual presence of the risen and living Lord Jesus Christ, manifesting His life and character in Christians. In short, evolution is a religion, Christianity is not.

Ruth