Why didn’t God make his original message clear?

[naomi24]

Since Jesus arrived on earth with his new message, many ‘prophets’ have surfaced - Mohammed, Joseph Smith, and Charles Taze Russell, to name but a few – and the millions that follow these people are all convinced that their own brand of religion is right. Since logically they can't possibly all be right, there is undoubtedly still much confusion, so wouldn’t it have been more sensible of God to dispose of the necessity for new prophets by making his message absolutely clear in the first place?

[ludwig]

// Why didn’t God make his original message clear? //

Impossible to say. Why did he create us all in the first place? Was he bored or lonely or something? It seems a fairly pointless game he's playing with us, this strange testing process that results in heaven or hell.
Perhaps he doesn't like the game to be too simple, and the ambiguities make it more puzzling for us, but more fun for him.

[FredPuli43]

Oh, I won't panic, vetuste. I am an atheist; Christians' arguments about Christian dogma and what the bible, or Jesus, meant, puzzle and amuse me, but sometimes disturb me, since they have been the reason, or the excuse, for conflict, violence and wars.

But religious people undoubtedly find some comfort in their own faith, whatever the religion.

[goodlife]

How are you to know which is the right religion? Simple there are hundreds of different religions and each one claims to be the right one. You don’t have to study every religion in order to choose the right one. It would be like trying to find a needle in a haystack!” Thus do some answer in substance when Jehovah’s witnesses call on them at their doors. Though their attitude is understandable, the problem is not so formidable as they resignedly think. It is a matter of proper procedure.

To find a needle in a haystack one need not pick up and examine each straw. Probing with a powerful magnet that would clutch the needle but reject the straw would hasten success. Or a fire would quickly consume the straw while leaving behind the needle.

Similarly, to find the right religion one need not exhaustively examine each one of the hundreds of religions. The Bible will serve as a figurative magnet to which the true religion will adhere while the haystack of false ones is rejected And has not the previous article shown Jehovah’s Word to be like a fire that consumes the straws of falsehood while leaving the purified truth? Yes the proper procedure is not to inspect every straw or every religion, but to study the Bible and let it make manifest the truth while destroying the falsehood. (John 17:3)

[naomi24]

Goodlife, //And has not the previous article shown Jehovah’s Word to be like a fire that consumes the straws of falsehood while leaving the purified truth? //

How are we to answer that? You forgot to copy and paste the previous article for our consideration.

[Old_Geezer]

Had a clear message achieved what was needed then presumably it would have been made. We therefore conclude that being unsure has the desired affect.

[goodlife]

Yes, It the magazine Awake! in its issue of November 8, 1952,

[beso]

Well the needle in a burnt haystack certainly explains the nature of goodlife.

Put a needle in a fire for a while and just see how well it is preserved.

[naomi24]

Curious name for such a magazine - 'Awake!'

[mibn2cweus]

//Since Jesus arrived on earth with his new message, many ‘prophets’ have surfaced - Mohammed, Joseph Smith, and Charles Taze Russell, to name but a few – and the millions that follow these people are all convinced that their own brand of religion is right. Since logically they can't possibly all be right, there is undoubtedly still much confusion, so wouldn’t it have been more sensible of God to dispose of the necessity for new prophets by making his message absolutely clear in the first place?//

Since when has God ever managed to get anything right in the first place . . . or in any place for that matter? But then how could He possibly be any more competent than those who presumed His existence . . . in the first place?

[naomi24]

//Since when has God ever managed to get anything right in the first place . . . or in any place for that matter? //

Infallible he's not. He's certainly made a few mistakes.

[mibn2cweus]

//Infallible he's not. He's certainly made a few mistakes.//

Hell yeah, He has. I mean . . . just look at me?!

[keyplus90]

So nothing new then and exactly as I thought. You are asking a question but you do not know anything about what you are asking. You believe that the message was not clear but you have no idea what the message was. But then again what else can I expect?

[naomi24]

Mibs, stoppit willya!!!!! Smacked legs - and a custard pie to boot! Sperlatt! :o)

Keyplus, // you have no idea what the message was.//

Neither do you.

[jomifl]

Keyplus, can we get this 'few' thing sorted out. I believe that in your most recent post you said 'few' when you really meant 'a few' or 'some'. 'Few' by itself means 'not many' or 'an insignificant number'. You are not helping what there is of your argument by using imprecise language and i (and probably others) can't be @rsed. to puzzle out what you are trying to say.

[jomifl]

Naomi, if the bible is to be believed, god did make his message clear inasmuch as the ten (or however many) commandements were the only writings directly attributable to god. All the rest is just a garbled history of the jews with a lot of hearsay and supposition tacked on. It is curious that church seniors and christians in general seem to think that their opinions have more weight than the (alleged) word of god since they bless war machines and kill people in time of war.

[Khandro]

//these people are all convinced that their own brand of religion is right. Since logically they can't possibly all be right, there is undoubtedly still much confusion//
It could be that it is you that is confused by the meaning of "right"; Differing religious beliefs may be right for different societies and different times, just as rules of law may vary, but are appropriate for the given circumstances.

[vetuste_ennemi]

The question is not about the sociology of religion, Khandro, but about the ambiguity in the religious texts (esp. the Bible) and the apparent need, from time to time, for God to select people with entrepreneurial flair like the three named to beef up earlier revelations with their own take on the divine plan and their role in it.
The sects, heresies, anathemas, persecutions, reformations etc. of the Christian religion, all based (if not exclusively) on differing interpretations of the same texts, is strong evidence (the questioner suggests, and I agree) that the bible is not the revealed word of God. As for the later "revelations" the slightest acquaintance with their historical origins reveals clearly their human manufacture and self-serving intent.

[jomifl]

Khandro, if all religions agreed with one another they would all be the same religion. There do however appear to be points of disagreement created by the believers, not by sceptical atheists.

[Khandro]

vetuste, //The sects, heresies, anathemas, persecutions, reformations etc. of the Christian religion, all based (if not exclusively) on differing interpretations of the same texts// How is the 'Word of God' as postulated by Islam (via the prophet Mohammad) an interpretation of biblical texts?

[jomifl]

^ It isn't, why should anyone think it is?