Something you can't forget about
Helpful teachings, either mine, or someone else’s.
This was a very interesting question I had never been presented with before, and at first I found it very perplexing. But after consideration and prayer, it actually lead me to greater faith.
First, we need to clarify that someone can do wrong without necessarily understanding why what they did was wrong. For example, if you tell a child not to throw stones, and they throw a stone, they have …
Your question at first seems reasonable and your assertion correct, but even in our small human lives we don’t do what you are asking God to do.
Imagine you are man fortunate enough to have a great wife. You and your wife love each other immensely and are also intensely passionate toward each other. Your marriage is every person’s dream. Also imagine you are a father and you have a …
Again, this question is really answered in the previous two posts, and , but I want to take the opportunity to explain something very important about the Bible.
When you take something from the Bible, you must take it from the context of the entire Bible, Old Testament and New Testament, and try to understand it from the perspective of the true author, which I believe is God, so he …
In order to say God is unjust for choosing the Israelites, you would have to first answer the question: Chosen for what? People who are unfamiliar with the Bible make the assumption the Israelites were chosen for preferential treatment, and that is not what the Bible says at all. The Bible clearly says that God chose the Israelites to be a “blessing to all the peoples of the world.” Really, …
I’ve heard this statement so many times, but when pressed for examples, most people can’t come up with concrete contradictions at all, they come up with discrepancies. The difference is that with a contradiction, it is impossible for both statements to be true. With a discrepancy, the statements do not agree, but they could both be true. An example would be in Matthew 20:30 two blind men sought Jesus, but …
I have seen list of Bible contradictions, and for me, the hardest one to clarify is this one. Most of the rest are simple discrepancies and not contradictions at all. The difference is that with a contradiction, it is impossible for both statements to be true. With a discrepancy, the statements do not agree, but they could both be true. This turns out to be a discrepancy, because it is …
Actually, this is a great question, but it does need a little clarification. You say all the gods of the different religions are the same, but the examples you site are not the gods themselves, but people’s experience with those gods. The difference is crucial. I will concede that people involved in different religions have very similar experiences. I think this does show a universal need for humans to find …
I think your question is simply a misunderstanding of what “free-will” is.
Most of us have played some type of competitive game or sport. For this example, I’ll use volleyball. Volleyball has rules that determine how the game is played and how you can win or lose. If you break the rule, you are penalized in some way. If you do a good job within the rules, you score points. …
This is partially explained by the previous question and post: However, I decided this deserved a little further explanation because God directly ordered the Israelites to kill non-soldiers. My answer assumes you have read this previous post, and the so if you have not, please do so before proceeding.
First, lets remember God’s perspective: all humans, who are immortal, over all time and who have forever in heaven or hell …
There are several tenets of Christian philosophy at work here, but I believe that even the most difficult questions should be answered with simplicity or the answer simply brings confusion. Going with that theme, some will find this answer woefully wanting, and I apologize if that is the case. However, we can discuss it in more depth through the comments if you like.
The answer to this question is more …