Christians: Convince me that God is Real

bidoof (39) in religion • 8 years ago

Hi steemit! I've been an agnostic atheist for about a decade now. I see no reason to believe in god, but I'm curious to hear what Christians have to say about it.

Why do you believe what you believe? Do you have proof that god exists? What makes your religion more credible than others like Islam or Hinduism?

religion philosophy jesus bible atheism

8 years ago by bidoof (39)

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stan (71) · 8 years ago

Funny you should ask.
Here's my answer in my Blog from yesterday:
There is no Proof!

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2 votes

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jimmco (60) · 8 years ago

For a believer, almost everything can be proof, for disbeliever almost nothing can be proof. Simply said all the good in the word is a significant proof of God and all the bad things is a significant proof there are also other entities. I believe that belief/disbelief is significantly depending on each individual sensitivity and perception.

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stan (71) · 8 years ago

Nice!
I just posted the following similar argument in another thread, but you said it more succinctly!

One of the things we all do is see a world view that we like and immediately adopt it in a great leap of faith. After that, every new fact is viewed through that lens, and often rejected if it doesn't fit. Only if we encounter overwhelming evidence to the contrary will we allow ourselves to be dynamited out of a world view. Any world view.

That's why Christians and Atheists look at each other with disdain. Our world views are incompatible and misfit facts just bounce off.

But remember, we first chose our world views because that's what we liked.

After a long time we have a nice filter where all the people who like the idea of God being in charge have gravitated to one world view and all those who reject Him have gravitated to the other.

And that's why God does not provide absolute proof.
It would mess up His very clever filter for "separating the sheep from the goats," as He puts it.

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jimmco (60) · 8 years ago (edited)

Well written and really good chart, I'll borrow it for the future.

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kanonymous (50) · 8 years ago

Hey :)
I also don't believe in god, i dont't want to order myself into the Atheism part, that's the reason i say I just don't believe in god.
There is much more behind the idea of god than just believing. I wrote a little piece of text about my thoughts and my past in this direction, if you are interested you are welcome to read it (https://steemit.com/religion/@kanonymous/the-engineer-as-atheist)
Anyway there is no use in convincing someone to believe in something which doesnt really exist. It is not like science where you can show somebody facts about, why the world works how it does. It's not like you want to explain electricity and magnetism and the correlation between magnetism and current in conductors.... It is something that some people need, so they have a clue about the whole thing which is called "life" or they think they do. Some people need this to be "god" others use "science" instead and other just don't need things like that to live their life. I like this discussion if anyone is interested to bring this to another level, please respond :)

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1 vote

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bkkshadow (70) · 8 years ago

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spookypooky (55) · 8 years ago

Jesus was as tall as a dinosaur? This keeps getting weirder.

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bidoof (39) · 8 years ago

Well, there were some really small dinosaurs!

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anjoke (53) · 8 years ago

Try to experience God in your own body & follow the instructions given:
https://steemit.com/jesus/@anjoke/jesus-prayer

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raphma (43) · 8 years ago

There is no way to prove the existence, just as there is no way to prove the inexistence... So, just respect.

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bidoof (39) · 8 years ago

I agree! Respecting other people's beliefs is the most constructive thing we can do.

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spookypooky (55) · 8 years ago

Blind respect won't lead you anywhere. It has to be earned by merits or values... When a certain religion contructs certain progress and certain freedoms, it's hard to respect it.

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pabitel (35) · 8 years ago

I'm not a Christian, nor do I follow any religion or dogma, but I will give you my proof for a higher power, which you can call God or nature or whatever:

One undeniable truth is nihil fit ex nihilo; that is, nothing comes from nothing. Therefore, something created or initiated everything (including the Big Bang). Something that has always existed.

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bidoof (39) · 8 years ago

But if something cannot come from nothing, then where did that something that always existed come from?

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daveks (77) · 8 years ago

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theperfect2 (5) · 8 years ago (edited)

Hi Bidoof.....God is very much real and is very much alive, if I had to search for proof then I could not call it faith however there is evidence from around the world that God does indeed exists and has been acknowledged through the ages by individuals and goverments alike the official USA motto is "In God We Trust" and its even printed on their money and is deeply rooted in thier constitution.

There are numerous books by previous atheists that tried to disprove God existed only to eventually become believers themeselves, there are numerous historical facts that point to Gods existance, for me though I know God exists first I knew him by faith and then I came to know him by his voice which I have heard as have many others.

Here are some books to read to help you on your journey.
Man, Myth, Messiah By Rice Broocks (W Publishing)
Cold-Case Christianity J Warner Wallace
http://coldcasechristianity.com/
Lee Strobel
http://leestrobel.com/

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bidoof (39) · 8 years ago

The christian god has been acknowledged by governments, but so have other gods. The flag of Israel has the jewish star of david on it, for instance, and many muslim nations have the islamic star and crescent on their flags.

Out of curiosity, what has god's voice told you? What does it sound like?

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stan (71) · 8 years ago

Have you ever been in a Skype chat session with two other people?
Picture turning off the labels so you can't tell whether you, Satan, or God typed something into your stream of thought.

Yeah. It's exactly like that.

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bidoof (39) · 8 years ago

That sounds a bit spooky. How can you trust any of your thoughts if Satan might be causing them?

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stan (71) · 8 years ago (edited)

Absolutely not. You should examine every thought.

Here is one such mental Skype session which shows how to handle it:

Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry.
Satan came to him and said, "If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread."
Jesus answered, "It is written: 'Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.'" = Matthew 4:1-4

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bidoof (39) · 8 years ago (edited)

How would god react if you got it wrong and assumed an idea from satan really came from him? Would he be angry? Surely the devil is clever enough to masquerade as god to make you sin sometimes.

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stan (71) · 8 years ago (edited)

Oh yes! The devil is very tricky! Here he is actually quoting Scripture to Jesus:

Then the devil took him to the holy city and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. "If you are the Son of God," he said, "throw yourself down. For it is written: " 'He will command his angels concerning you, and they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.'" Jesus answered him, "It is also written: 'Do not put the Lord your God to the test.'"

You need to have everything that is written at the tip of your tongue to stand any chance at all.

As to how God will react... like any good Parent he will critique how you processed it, since that entire Skype session is available for review. It logs your responding thought process with everything else. But if you are His child, screwing up does not get you shut out. You just might not get that brand new bicycle you had coming. :o)

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theperfect2 (5) · 8 years ago

There are are 3 ways I am aware of that he speaks Audible (which I have not heard yet) Inner Man which is like a voice inside yourself that drowns everything out in and around you (this I have had on a few occasions) and then by his spirit which is like a nagging / urging feeling within yourself that you must do something for instance like you must help someone, or apologize to someone its a knowing feeling kinda hard to describe, the inner man voice is very gentle but you cannot deny its power or authority and it really does tend to stop you in your tracks.

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theperfect2 (5) · 8 years ago

Just reading over your comment again do you know that Jesus the Son of God was a Jew and God considers Isreal the apple of his eye so to speak ? the star of David was believed to match / represent King Davids shield and King David in the bible was known by God as a man after Gods own heart :)

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stan (71) · 8 years ago (edited)

The LORD said, "Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the LORD, for the LORD is about to pass by." Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the LORD, but the LORD was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the LORD was not in the earthquake. After the earthquake came a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper. When Elijah heard it, he pulled his cloak over his face and went out and stood at the mouth of the cave. Then a voice said to him, "What are you doing here, Elijah?" - 1 Kings 19:11

Also referred to as "a still, small voice" in the King James translation.