Curious Christian

[USALady]

I am a devout Christian. I believe the Bible is the infallible, inerrant Word of God. I believe in Jesus Christ as my Lord and Saviour. I don't think I have ever met a true athiest. I am curious as to how you think, what do you believe will happen when you die? Where do you think the beauty that bestows us each and every day with the sunrise to the sunset came from?

[keyplus90]

Wiz � What does this 66 indicate?

1 � Were you born in 1966 or even 1866?

2 � You are 66 years old?

[jake-the-peg]

Wiz

This is an interesting article

http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,91 71,995465,00.html

see also Bouchard and the minnisota seperated twins experiment.

USALady

A common error religious people make about athiests is in thinking that their disbelief is a matter of faith.

Any "atheist" who absolutely denies the possibility of a God is guilty of this. Most who've thought about it realise that in order to be rational you have to accept the possibility of error.

In terms of probability of God you might think

religous person: 100%
Atheist:<1%

That doesn't stop them from being atheists

[keyplus90]

You are my big brother by one year then wiz

[chakka35]

USALady, since you started this, don't you think that you should reply to my post (and others) which show how extraordinary it is that you should think that the Bible is the 'infallible, inerrant Word of God'? And, if you do, what appalling attitudes you are supporting?

I asked you questions about the contents of that Bible. Why are you running away from them?
Do you not like being challenged?

[WaldoMcFroog]

Sorry Wiz.

Again, use of 'brother' to indicate percieved contemporaneous relationship, which is well established.

Where is a use of 'brother' (or 'sister') to indicate a relationship over a period of time?

[USALady]

jake-the-peg: Point taken. Thanks for the clarification.

[keyplus90]

I thought USAlady might be popping out for Christmas shopping as its about lunch time in USA.

[naomi24]

USALady, when you come back to answer Chakka's questions, could you please answer the question asked earlier on in this thread. You attribute the beauty in the world to God, but do you attribute the ugliness in the world to the same source?

I just wanted to say I think you'll be quite surprised by the amount of religious knowledge the atheists on here have - usually far more than those who follow a religion. I believe most of us came to the conclusion that God doesn't exist, not by listening to others, but by fully investigating the available literature for ourselves.

Thank you for initiating such an interesting discussion.

[keyplus90]

I was surprised that a very important and omnipresent link was missing. Very rare though.

[USALady]

I believe the bible is inerrant, infallible Word of God because the Bible tells me that it was indeed written by man but was "God-breathed" meaning it is the inspired Word of God. "(2 Timothy 3:16-17)All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work" . Also, some critics of the Bible say it is simply a collection of man's writings. Others believe it is a great "literary masterpiece," but not the "Word of God." Those are the people who do not believe there is a God. Others believe God's Word is in the Bible but that the entire Bible is not God's Word. However, scholars have proven that the Bible is accurate in its depiction of historical events that have been documented elsewhere, so the rest of it should be considered true as well, in spite of the critics. On the other hand, even if none of the Bible had any secular evidence, we still should believe it rather than the world's knowledge, because it is the Word of God and is reliable.
I don't understand what the problem is with the accounts of Jesus' birth between Matthew and Luke. Both of these books were written by different men but there is nothing that is totally different. One book may not have all the facts of the other but it doesn't make it wrong or different to where if you believe one account you can't believe the other. The bible is to be taken figuratively and Proverbs 13:24 does not mean to literally beat your child to a pulp but to discipline him. Just as you, as a parent, will discipline your child (I hope) because you love him and know what is best for him.

[USALady]

As far as the ugliness & devestation in the world, I believe that with the fall of Adam, sin entered the world at that time and every person born since is born to sin. That is the reason for ugliness & devestation....but when you look upon something as breathtaking as the sunrise/sunset, something such as the Grand Canyon or Niagara Falls (in the US) or see the birth of a child...my question to you is HOW can you not believe in God? God is good and everything about him is good. If studied closely, you will see that everything done by God is for our good.
If any of you are in the vicinity of Keswick, I would urge you to visit Keswick Congretational Church, Pastor Eric Alldritt tele # 017687 78311. Also, check this out: http://www.rhchurch.org/pages/cardboard-testim onies/

[naomi24]

USALady, do you not answer questions?

[naomi24]

Sorry, we cross-posted there. My apologies.

[naomi24]

The beauty of the Grand Canyon and Niagara Falls (and I've seen both) doesn't negate the ugliness of a tsunami or an earthquake. So is God also responsible for that ugliness?

I can't see how you can say everything about God is good. He was a complete monster - and if you believe the bible, then you can't be under any misapprehension. His track record is there in black and white for anyone who cares to read it. Or perhaps you don't believe those bits?

[sara3]

nature produces some fantastic sights, sounds, smells, etc..

but I'd be hard pushed to praise the Lord for the good things when the world is full of horrendous, shocking and bad things. (badly worded, but there you go!)

when I die? I guess I'll be cremated but I'm not terribly bothered.

The End.