Well, this is such a broad subject that it might be rather difficult to give you an answer that is as thorough and coherent as I'd like; it would just take so long and I'd wind up writing a book. I have a few questions for you before I can respond though, if you don't mind.
When you say you "study the Bible everyday", can you define "study"? When I use the word study, I am meaning to think about what it is saying and leaving apologetics out of it; reading it critically not just for memorization. I asked questions when I studied, questions such as "is this moral", "how was this miracle accomplished", and so on. When I ask "how was this miracle accomplished" I'm not asking the question "how was this trick performed" as one would after observing a illusionist. I'm asking what physical laws and properties had to change in order for this to happen. For example, when Jesus turned the water to wine... what happened to the molecules in order to be transformed... what did Jesus cause to happen at the molecular level? In Exodus, when the staff was turned into a serpant obviously the wood fibers, cellulose, and plant cells had to somehow change into animals cells. How did water gush forth from a stone?
Other questions one must ask, and many children DO indeed ask as the stories are so fantastic that they just aren't believable to someone that hasn't gained the ability to rationalize. That was my problem as a young child in sunday school. I believed the stories happened, I just wanted to know how. A prime example is Noah's Ark. I'm sure you've heard the questions before: "how did they fit all the animals onto the ark", "how did they get all of them onto the ark", "how did they keep them from killing each other", and "how did they distribute the kangaroos to Australia, the penguins to Antarctica and the alpacas to South America after landing on Mount Ararat"? These are the types of questions I asked as a kid and I KNOW I'm not the only one. Usually the type of answers I would get were "we weren't meant to know", "we will have to ask God when we get to heaven", "it's all part of his plan", "we weren't meant to understand", "we can't possibly understand God", etc. All of which were non-answers. There were a few times where I was actually scolded by a sunday school teacher and told to stop asking questions because that's what the devil wants us to do.
I've deviated from your questions a bit... I apologize. In response to your claim that if people would read the Bible, they'd all find faith in Christ. Did you know that a large percentage of people that enter seminary become atheists? That's what happens when you learn about Bible history, the obscure tales, the real nitty-gritty of it all. One thing I noticed while still a Christian, is that most Christians see religion and the Bible as a buffet; they pick the stuff the like and ignore the rest. This leads to even more contradictions. A very VERY common example is the genocide, stoning, and other immoral actions mandated in the Old Testament. People almost always say, "well when Jesus came we no longer needed the old testament. That doesn't apply anymore". Well obviously it does because the Ten Commandments are in there and I don't know any Christian that thinks we should get rid of THEM. We would also have to scrap all the prophecy that fortold of the coming of the messiah. I could give other examples, but I want to avoid being as verbose as I tend to be.
I found real joy in seeing the world as it really was. I discovered I didn't need God to explain ANYTHING and the explanations which didn't include "God" made a lot more sense than those that did. The feelings I had when I was a Christian, I feel them now as an atheist. The same feelings you get when you hear Shout to the Lord by Darlene Zschech is exactly the same feelings I get when I hear American Pie by Don McLean. With that said, I dare say that in Christianity the only reinforcement to faith is feelings. Feelings had absolutely nothing to do with me becoming atheist. I wanted to believe, I wanted to know God and his will, I prayed to him for guidance and to show me his true religion. This went on for at least a decade, probably much longer. If God wanted my trust and my devotion, why did He make it so hard to understand Him? Why did he hide? Why would he do things to confuse me and "test my faith"?
The thing I've heard from so many Christians when they ask me about my beliefs is "why would you want to believe that? I'd rather believe...". You say it's not based on feelings, but what else do Christians really have? They have hopes and desires for a better life, for cosmic justice, to see family again. These are emotional at the very core; dispair, anger, lust for revenge, lonliness, etc. Most Christians aren't even honest with themselves when it comes to what faith really is. I once heard the example, "I have faith that this chair will hold me up when I sit on it". That's equivocation; please look it up if you don't know what it means because it is important. When Christians say they have "faith" what they are really saying is the following: This story is so contradictory to what I know of the universe, it is so fantastic as to be unbelievable, but I will believe it because that is what I have to do to get into heaven. The more outrageous the story I believe, the more faith I have and I will be rewarded for it.
Do you believe in alien abductions?
If I understand right, according to the end of your post, you chose to follow Christianity because of it's perceived benefits and rewards? Don't you think God would see through that. Isn't that being a bit insincere?
To be honest, I had a career in academia for a while and I could probably count on one hand the number of people I met that believed in any god. Take the book "In Seven Days" I cannot remember the author. In this book there are many "scientists" that supposedly give evidence for God. ALL literally ALL of the evidence is junk science and I doubt so very seriously that any of the contributors are respected in their field. The funniest thing though was that most of the contributors were talking as an authority on subjects outside of their field. There was a botanist talking about geology for example. She compared deposits under bridges to stalactites in caves. "See! It doesn't take hundreds of thousands of years for stalactites to form, this bridge has them and it is only ten months old." That's not a direct quote, but a very accurate paraphrase.
No, I've never EVER met anyone that had a good reason for believing in God. Zaehet can appreciate this I'm sure, "There can't be a practical reason for believing what isn't true. [...] Either a thing is true or it isn't. If it is true you should believe it and if it isn't you shouldn't. If you can't find out whether it is true or whether it isn't you should suspend judgement. [...] It's treachery to intelluctual integrity to hold a belief because you think it's useful and not because you think it's true."
As a believer that has seen "miracles" and was pursuing a career based on my beliefs, don't you think I would have very good, logically sound reasons and have thought about it very VERY thoroughly before I throw away my faith? I spent years looking for the answers. I went to nearly every denomination that exists to talk to them hoping they could help me. Christadelphians, SDA, LDS, so on. Also I spent time with other non-traditional religions such as Eckankar, Raelians... yikes!, and the "Hare Krishnas".
Maybe that answered some of your questions. I hope you were really wanting an answer and weren't just waiting for your turn to reply to expected answers. Just one more thing that I find very interesting and important to me at least. Mother Teresa and I are a lot alike, did you know she was pretty much an atheist herself? If any of my answers didn't make sense, please let me know. I was just writing as it occured to me, so it may not always flow well.
I'm not going to write a full reply until tomorrow, but a part of me feels like it would be dishonest for me to read this and not immediately respond.
It's almost 6 a.m. here, and i have had trouble sleeping, so apologize if this is not a perfect abbreviated response.
I will continue this discussion with you tomorrow and look forward to doing so.
Study means to read and decipher as much truth and wisdom as possible from the subject matter.
To meditate upon.
Like squeezing lemon juice* from lemons.
I also wonder about the miracles,
but I also understand that miracles are miracles because they can't be explained by physical laws.
The power of God is endless and non-tangible.
The arc question is great,
I'm thinking God created animals on different continents,
Kind of like how the bible says that Adam and Eve were
the first man and woman, but then when Cain kills abel
Cain goes to other humans.
Either Adam and Eve were the first
Hebrew Individuals.. Or while they were alive God was busy creating others.
It seems strange to wonder how God makes water appear from a stone or turns water into wine when He created the entire universe with just His Words.
The Holy Spirit is the proof that the promise of Christ is true..
The Holy spirit is the white light that shines out of the whites of the eyes.
Usually one eye is brighter than the other, unless you have been very diligent in your walk with God
And studying His word everyday, for a decent amount of time and being careful not to sin.
You can feel the Holy Spirit in you, I know i said not to base your faith on feelings.
But if we have to start with sensory evidence, then this is where we will start.
If you spend time reading the Holy Bible for while it will charge your spirit and you will be able to tell that inside you there is a part of your spirit that is more cold and Holy than the other spiritual matter inside your being.
It will correspond with whiteness in the eyes,
The side where the Spirit of God is the strongest will shine more brightly out of the white(s) of your eye(s).
Notice how the eye on your right, her left eye is more blue and white in the white part of her eye?
That is the Holy Ghost.
This is a touchy subject, but i feel compelled to talk about it.
The Old Testament.
To keep God's people uncorrupted and uninfluenced over a long period of time it was necessary to purge Israel of all of the former inhabitants.
You must remember that while God is kind, He is also very severe. i.e. Hell
Romans 11:22
New Living Translation (NLT)
[SUP]22 [/SUP]Notice how God is both kind and severe. He is severe toward those who disobeyed, but kind to you if you continue to trust in his kindness. But if you stop trusting, you also will be cut off.
When it comes to morality, you must remember that we are talking about God.
Who can judge Him?
He is all knowing, therefore regardless of his actions we know they are perfect.
We are ants in His ant farm,
And i suppose if He wants to do as He pleases with us, Who are we to argue.
The LORD gives, the LORD takes away.
Also sometimes sorrow and pain is good because it leads us away from sin
2 Corinthians 7:8-10
[SUP]8 [/SUP]I am not sorry that I sent that severe letter to you, though I was sorry at first, for I know it was painful to you for a little while. [SUP]9 [/SUP]Now I am glad I sent it, not because it hurt you, but because the pain caused you to repent and change your ways. It was the kind of sorrow God wants his people to have, so you were not harmed by us in any way. [SUP]10 [/SUP]For the kind of sorrow God wants us to experience leads us away from sin and results in salvation. There’s no regret for that kind of sorrow. But worldly sorrow, which lacks repentance, results in spiritual death.
Where are you getting this data about a large percentage of people entering seminary become atheists?
I find this to be non-logical and unrealistic.
If you are getting the same feelings to american pie as you are worship music,
then when you see a Picaso does it give you the same feelings as looking at a Michelangelo painting?
I find this to be very extreme and this makes me question your ability to delineate sensory experiences.
Are you completely serious? Or are you just using an off-hand example?
Or maybe you don't think of God reverently.
Still though.. either way it still sounds off to me. With total respect.
I will answer the rest of your inquiry tomorrow.
Just a question for you. Are the building blocks in nature made of energy, matter, and consciousness?
