The Truth of Christianity vs. All Other Belief Systems

[dlorde]

My former girlfriend who is no longer with us died twice.

OK, you're using a fairly flexible and loose meaning for 'dead' there. It is well known that people can and have come back 'from the dead' when 'death' is defined appropriately. The determination of the legal and clinical point of death is open to interpretation. True death is only determinable with hindsight, i.e. posthumously - as the state from which a return to (biological) life is not feasible. But prior to this - is it the cessation of breath? the cessation of the heart? being physically unresponsive? Lack of brainstem reflexes? No detectable electrical activity in the brain? These are not necessarily indicators of 'permanent death', even in combination. If you draw the lines loosely enough, we can all die and be resurrected.

So you and your girlfriend clearly didn't die, but you may have shown one or more of the popular or even clinical indicators. You don't give enough information to even guess which.

 

[dlorde]

I was always curious how the kangaroos made it to the Middle East in order to get on the Ark.

Noah sent out a couple of chimps in the tender to pick them (and some other marsupials) up.

 

[GlennB]

Noah sent out a couple of chimps in the tender to pick them (and some other marsupials) up.

Ah! That clears things up for me. Ta.

 

[Moochie]

God brought me back from the dead and I did not know why, when it happened. (Just in case anyone is wondering this is another story and not one from the uselessness of prayer thread. I said a long time ago that I was only starting on my miracle stories. I got stopped after the first three) Anyway, so here I am alive and I am a witness to the fact of God raising the dead. Does that help any? Jesus in his parable of the rich man and Lazarus has Abraham telling the rich man if anyone came back to warn them, it would do no good. Despite that I am here as a witness against you. My resurrection will not save you but it will condemn you. I am testifying that God has the power to do what he wants and if he chooses he can have anyone he wants come back to life and accuse you of your faithlessness.
I tell people that I do not have much faith because I have plenty of evidence in my own life that God is real. There are people who have faith and have never had anything unusual happen to them that would make them believe. I have been stuck with another responsibility, one that goes beyond only believing. (That would be something of a luxury to me) I have to actually do something. My doing something does not save me. I am as human as anyone and God could raise me up for a purpose and I could still fall and die just like anyone. It does not matter at this point and is not something for me to worry about. People who are busy worrying about themselves are useless to God.
What does Jesus say? The harvest is ready and few are the reapers. Maybe God could not spare one. So my life is but for one purpose. Faith is not in myself and is void in that respect. Faith for me is the grabbing onto the promise, for example; Receive my instruction, and not silver; and knowledge rather than choice gold. For wisdom is better than rubies.

I'd settle for some rubies right now.

KK said:

WOW! When did Jesus bring you back from the dead?

To which CB offered:

Wanna buy a bridge?

But I think a brain would be the better purchase.

I was always curious how the kangaroos made it to the Middle East in order to get on the Ark.

Being True Aussies, they surfed all the way.


M.

 

[RoboTimbo]

But I think a brain would be the better purchase.

You think the rest of her cult would actually let her buy one?

 

[Roadtoad]

You think the rest of her cult would actually let her buy one?

Not any time soon.

 

[Hokulele]

"Died for good" is what most normal people simply call "died".

[Miracle Max]

It just so happens that he was mostly dead. See, there is a big difference between mostly dead and all dead.

[/Miracle Max]

 

[Roadtoad]

[Miracle Max]

It just so happens that he was mostly dead. See, there is a big difference between mostly dead and all dead.

[/Miracle Max]

Mostly dead. So, he was an Abba fan?

 

[Paulhoff]

Mostly dead...........



Paul

 

[kurious_kathy]

We agree you aren't living proof of resurrection to me, but only to yourself. And honestly? That's fine. You are free to live your life as foolishly or as wisely as you wish.

That said, here is a question I want to ask, and a point I want to make:

We didn't come to you.
You came to us, to tell your stories, and to press home to us some sort of point about your belief in some version of god.

Why? I mean, I can't speak for others here, but I know I certainly don't care what you believe in. I don't want to take it away from you, either. I only want you to keep it away from me, to go live your life believing whatever foolishness warms the cockles of your heart, but to leave me out of it. Yet you insist on dragging it in here, time after time.

Now, you want to back up your mundane story, fully explicable in medical terms, with emotional appeals of how it was actually god who spared you. Because out of all the people who actually did die and stayed dead on that day, you were somehow special enough to rescue. And you keep pushing it on us, on we who will not believe you on your word alone, with more and more details about it as if that will encourage us to believe what's still only your word alone.

Why? You know we don't believe you. You know we won't believe you. So why?

Next: The reason you were "resurrected."



Amazingly enough, plenty of Atheists who believe in no god or gods at all do the same thing all the time. We don't need a god to know we should help those in need. I've had more tangible help from this forum and its members in the last two years than I ever got in 30 years as a christian from any church.

As an abused wife, I took my problems to my church fellows all the time. "My husband is beating me, he's cheating on me, he's drinking and using drugs, in god's name help us!" But they only told me that I obviously wasn't being a good wife, and that I should pray more; that it was my fault he was doing these things to our family and to me, and that I was apparently asking for it, That was the sum total of the "help" I got from decent Christian people, from several churches. Not just one building full of closed-minded bigots, but many of them.

You aren't special enough for a god to spare your life. None of us is, because if any of us were, and if there was a god, the good, decent, caring people who died needlessly today before what they could do was finished would still be alive!

So. Why do you keep pushing your belief on us? To what purpose?

Sling I am sorry you were mistreated with your past congregation. My friend Cindy went through the very same thing when she got divorced from her first husband and she fell away from church for many years. Now she is back walking with Jesus again and happily married to her second husband because God turned her life back around after so many years of falling away. She would love to tell you herself how the Lord is faithful to restore those lost years. At least she got to a place in her life where she did not blame God for other peoples sins that affected her. This is the point I hope you can get to.

Also I do not think it's fair of you to discount other peoples testimony of what God has done in their life. Just because you weren't there as an eyewitness does in no way mean these things didn't happen and aren't true. Jesus saves people everyday but you choose to disbelieve rather than believe. If Jesus stood in front of you like he did doubting Thomas you would believe, but you weren't there to see so you deny him.

I know from my own experience how real he is, and I also know his word in truth but he is the one that gifted me to know this. I could only pray that for people like you who doubt him.

 

[Fiona]

You get around to admitting you were wrong about the law in the uk yet, Kathy? I missed it if you did, sorry

 

[Hokulele]

I could only pray that for people like you who doubt him.

If only this were true...

 

[joobz]

Sling I am sorry you were mistreated with your past congregation.

no your not. It's clear you judge her and blame her for "blaming god."

My friend Cindy went through the very same thing when she got divorced from her first husband and she fell away from church for many years.

No She didn't. Your assumption that Cindy's experience is like Sling's is insulting.

At least she got to a place in her life where she did not blameGod for other peoples sins that affected her. This is the point I hope you can get to.

SEE! You aren't sorry at all. You judge Sling and BLAME HER for what she experienced. That is rather horrible of you.

By the way, it is clear that Slingblade doesn't BLAME god any more that she Blames Voldemort for her problems.

Who she does blame are the blindly devote horrorfreak shows who went on BLAMING her for the pain her husband was causing her. That she "wasn't a good enough christian." and the like.

The only lesson here is how foolishly you toe the line with these lost, reprehensible souls.

Also I do not think it's fair of you to discount other peoples testimony of what God has done in their life. Just because you weren't there as an eyewitness does in no way mean these things didn't happen and aren't true.

And I don't think it's fair that you assume to understand Sling's life because your friend supposedly experienced something similar. Funny how that is, eh?

Jesus saves people everyday but you choose to disbelieve rather than believe. If Jesus stood in front of you like he did doubting Thomas you would believe, but you weren't there to see so you deny him.

So why does Jesus save some and not others?

I know from my own experience how real he is, and I also know his word in truth but he is the one that gifted me to know this. I could only pray that for people like you who doubt him.

And there you go!
You finish off with even more of your judgmental views. Your one post contradicts your supposed compassion. Well done.

 

[slingblade]

Sling I am sorry you were mistreated with your past congregation. My friend Cindy went through the very same thing when she got divorced from her first husband and she fell away from church for many years. Now she is back walking with Jesus again and happily married to her second husband because God turned her life back around after so many years of falling away. She would love to tell you herself how the Lord is faithful to restore those lost years. At least she got to a place in her life where she did not blame God for other peoples sins that affected her. This is the point I hope you can get to.

I blame you, Kathy. There is no god to blame. There is only you, and the people like you.

Also I do not think it's fair of you to discount other peoples testimony of what God has done in their life. Just because you weren't there as an eyewitness does in no way mean these things didn't happen and aren't true. Jesus saves people everyday but you choose to disbelieve rather than believe. If Jesus stood in front of you like he did doubting Thomas you would believe, but you weren't there to see so you deny him.

Oh, wah, I'm not fair.

You've said in another thread that President Obama doesn't look like a Christian to you.

Guess you're not very fair, either.

I know from my own experience how real he is, and I also know his word in truth but he is the one that gifted me to know this. I could only pray that for people like you who doubt him.

And I know from my experience that god is a lie used by people to control others. It no longer works on me. I thank myself for that, every single day.


P.S. Thank you, Joobz.

 

[dlorde]

My friend Cindy went through the very same thing when she got divorced from her first husband and she fell away from church for many years. Now she is back walking with Jesus again and happily married to her second husband because God turned her life back around after so many years of falling away. She would love to tell you herself how the Lord is faithful to restore those lost years. At least she got to a place in her life where she did not blame God for other peoples sins that affected her.

Yup, this is how it works - when anything bad happens it is because someone has 'fallen away from the church' or done something for which they should beg forgiveness (even if they don't know what that thing is - perhaps 'Satan' has tempted them - but naturally it's still their fault). Whenever something good happens, it's Jesus or God turning their life around, saving them, bringing them back, for which they should be grateful. All they're given credit for is 'accepting' or allowing God or Jesus 'back into their lives'.

It's a manipulative guilt-based power game, and a stupid miserable rollercoaster...

 

[Foster Zygote]

Yup, this is how it works - when anything bad happens it is because someone has 'fallen away from the church' or done something for which they should beg forgiveness (even if they don't know what that thing is - perhaps 'Satan' has tempted them - but naturally it's still their fault). Whenever something good happens, it's Jesus or God turning their life around, saving them, bringing them back, for which they should be grateful. All they're given credit for is 'accepting' or allowing God or Jesus 'back into their lives'.

It's a manipulative guilt-based power game, and a stupid miserable rollercoaster...

Kind of like when a woman is beaten by her husband yet again she knows that it is her fault for not being a good enough wife for him.

 

[RandFan]

I know from my own experience how real he is, and I also know his word in truth but he is the one that gifted me to know this. I could only pray that for people like you who doubt him.

I know from reason and logic that you believe in a god that is a petty, jealous, vindictive and malevolent being (it's fact, just read the bible).

Thank goodness it doesn't exist.

 

[Marcus]

Who knew you could blame an imaginary being? We know from our thesists here, of course, that it is perfectly normal to be mad at one, although they can never seem to come up with an example of a being they believe to be imaginary that they are mad at.

Perhaps if I asked nicely Kathy could provide an example of a being that she believes to be imaginary that she blames for something?

 

[Dancing David]

Okay showing others the light is what's important here, but how do you suppose I do that on a forum like jref? I could share what I have found with everyone till the day I die but it's up to them to have ears to hear and receive the love of God's truth. Jesus is the only truth I have ever found that really matters but most of you here on jref don't believe in him and I do not know what I could ever say or do that could help you want to change your mind.

Oh that I hope and pray God would open all of your hearts and eyes the way he has opened mine but it's not my gift to give, it's Gods gift for you if you'll ask and receive him. The true miracle in this life is his wonderful gift of salvation!

And because you presuppose to know the only truth, you can not and wil not be respectful to me and my beliefs.

I have prayed, I have afsted, I have meditated, I have bancished, purified, consercrated and initiated.

But because you on hung up on your form, you say I go to hell.

But you lnow what KK the rain fall on the just and unjust alike. In a drought children die as well as child molesters.

Why is that?

Do you respect that maybe I have had a transforming experience that is as improtant to me as your is to you. No, it does not seem that way.

And so your dishonor the source, you dishonor the creations of the source. You dishonot the whole of creation by saying that you have the one right answer.

You have no self respect, if you truly knew God then you would not say that fear leads to wisdom.

But I can lead you to the light, I can not make you see.

The truth is Kathy, that all paths are true paths.

 

[realpaladin]

Hmmm, the title made me think about 'gambling systems'...

And just as with gambling, the odds are stacked in favour of the house; Nature.