AAF:
you decide that all those people (with the same reasoning and justifications as you) were wrong and you are right, without offering up any rational defence of your belief, puts you on the same shelf of supersticious ignorance as all those with similar reasoning.
Please elaborate. Thank youThe Bible teaches us Christians NOT to put our God ever to the TEST! I respect/esteem this admonishion very much!
The Bible is not God! You have ASSUMED the Bible to be the word of god and thus see any doubt or test of the Bible to be a doubt or test of God.
This is a fallacious assumption, circular reaoning on the same level as a JW defending the inspired nature of the Bible by quoting "All scriptures is inspired and beneficial...".
Logically that's ridiulous, as ANY book, be it the 'Haynes Manual for the Ford Cortina' or 'The Story of 'O'' could slap in such an assurance and it would mean NOTHING in itself.
Only by examination of scripture can we determine whether it is of human origin or inspired.
When it talks of the Boreans checking the beliefs they were presented with against scripture, do not be decieved into thinking this was a nicely bound Old Testament. The Bible as we know it is the creation of a council of men who selected the texts in circulation that fitted in with their view of what was inspired. Had the Council sat one hundred years earlier or later, then maybe the Gospel of Thomas would be in the Bible and the Gospel of John would not be; beliefs in the Christian community were in a state of flux at the time.
The Borean didn't have a neatly bound book, they had a selection of literature; it's very likely they consulted manuscripts that are not part of today's Bible. They would have discareded manuscripts that did not fit with their conscience as they recognised the importance of thoughtful consideration of what is true rather than unthinking acceptance. Anything which was obviously wrong, either factually or morally ,would not have been considered.
Today a Borean would see through examination of the Bible much that is obviously factually wrong and actions accredited to god that contradict the very character of god as explained elsewhwere in the Bible. I think a true 'Borean' would discard a manuscript as being purely man made when he read it explaining how god told a tribe to kill another tribe and take their virgin girls as booty, rather than asumpijg it was 'inspired of god and beneficial.'
Now, you can choose to accept the false, the illogical and the immoral on the grounds that it happens to have all been bound together and attributed to God. This is a choice on your part. A Borean today would not take the same attitude, in my opinion. Hell, we are told everlasting life is an 'accurate knowledge..', yet you have so far avoided explaining why god sanctions the activities in Leviticus I have previously described. The simple fact is you CANNOT, yet this doesn''t diminishe your faith as your faith is unalloyed and unquestioning.
Thus I feel you have supplied no rational defence of your beliefs; I feel the same way about you quoting me scriture to prove a point (which it can't as I dispute the inspired nnature of scripture), as you would feel about a Seikh quoting from his Holy Book to prove something to you on the grounds that such a statement was inspired; you wouldn't accept such a statement as inspired because there is no proof it is inspired.
The same applies to the Bible, but you've chosen to believe otherwise ,largely by even refusing to question anything. Talk about tickling your ears; truth need not hide from examination.
If god had wanted unthinking robots Adam and Eve would still be here. You have a mind. You believe god gacve it to you. In god's name, USE IT!
From reading a recent thread here on this forum, I discovered that you posted a comment on a thread here where you made an observation that you are an atheist . I respect you as you are. From what I gathered from reading that particular post , you were once a Christian. Why are you questioning me a Christian/my Christian Faith now that you have left the Christian faith? Is it for the solo purpose of winning arguments that you come here to disturb me, knowing very well that you ONCE were a Christian yourself and you perhaps think that you are now astutely versed in your newly- found beliefs and you can insubordinatly put me to shame because I am a Christian? Have some integrity in yourself, Abaddon.
That's a little hypocritical and indicative of very poor critcal thinking. And you use 'insubordinately' out of context; you have no authority over me how can I be insubordianate to you?
You come here to try and show others the error of their ways. In a sense, I am trying to show you the error of your ways.
I don't just come here to 'devangelise', I normally just do it when people start preaching. You come here to preach; come to preach to a cult recovery group... and you mention integrity? I should mention vultures circling sickly animals then... or drug dealers hanging out side de-tox clinics
You're trying to get people to believe something (and this is what's really crazy) not of what God says, cause he's not saying anything... not on the basis of inspired scripture, as you can no more prove the Bible is inspired than one could prove the Quaran is inspired, not on the basis of anything other than YOUR opinion, and one you cannot back-up logically.
It's like a WItness calling on a neighbour whose lost a loved one to preach; a deliberate cold-hearted attempt to get your beliefs into someones head whilst they are vulnerable, even if you dress it in clothes of christian concern. People here have normally recovered enough to ignore your attempts at conversion to your beliefs, but some may actaualy not have progressed enough to see they'd just be jumping from the frying pan into the fire.
Yet you have managed through circular logic to equate the Bible with God's inspired word, your opinion with God's, and refuse to 'test God', when most of what God is in your mind is made up soley by your opinion. You have ended up equating testing your opinons with testing god. Isn;t that a lkittle sacriligious? You could no more have set your own opinion up on an alter and asked for others to worship it than had you been Nebuchadnezar.
And, yes, rather obviously I have opinions. I love debating things with people. But at the end of the day if they disagree with my opinions, provided they are not advocating something that could harm another, they are no less a 'rightous person' than I, there hopes for the future are no less rosey on account of that disagreement, so my opinion is not being advocated for worship in the way that you, the JW's and many other religonists advocate their opinions for unquestioning worship.
I am here to gain Christians for Jehovah God, and Not to debate with atheists who refuse to accept the True God again.
So, now you've decided a/ atheists aren't worth saving (gee, thanks Mr. Christian! I thought you 'respected me as I am'), and b/ any failure to convince an atheist of what you believe is down to their refusal rather than the inadequacy of evidence you provide. Great, fine...
I am not qualified to argue/debate with people who consider themselves atheists with regards to religion, other than if they show an interest to return to the True God: in this case they are welcome to discuss Christian matters with me - I will love them dearly for that.
So much for 'accurate knowledge'. You're using excuses to not defend your beliefs in certain areas, just as the Witnesses use evasion to avoid areas they cannot defend well.
