For us christians, it's instilled into us by the Holy Spirit to trust and believe by faith. For the unregenerate, non-believer....this is impossible because the things of God must be spiritually discerned.
So....to the non-believer:
Why not put your logic and your 'need for physical proof' on the shelf and try to leave some things up to mystery? Does absolutely everything in creation need an explanation in order for you to believe that it's real?
God has revealed Himself to us through His prophets, through His Word, through creation, and most importantly.....through Jesus Christ who is the eternally blessed God (Amen).
You cannot see the air that you breathe but yet....you trust that it's there. Why not believe that it is God who put that air there to begin with....after all....you can't see Him either, correct?
-Primo
2007-02-23 01:09:07 · 31 answers · asked by primoa1970 7 in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
Dear Primo,
You've asked an excellent question!
I liken the unbeliever's desire to wanting an explanation for everything to what I experienced nearly 43 years ago before I was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes.
I was constantly thirsty but nothing seemed to quench my thirst. I was rapidly losing weight and so weak that I couldn't go up the stairs to my bedroom. The family doctor was treating me for a virus and gave me shots of penicillin. One of my brothers already had been diagnosed with Type 1 and he said that is what I had. But the doctor said No, there wouldn't be more than 1 in the family.
I was babysitting one night and the parents had left pop for me as usual. I opened my favorite flavor hoping to quench my thirst but ended up spitting it out after the first sip. Yuck! I decided to try my second favorite flavor but spit that out as well. I no longer remember if I tried my third favorite or not but I do remember that I had an unsatisfied thirst.
Two days later, when I was close to a coma or perhaps death the doctor finally ran a blood test and rushed me to the hospital where I got insulin injections. It was only after the insulin made its way through my body that my thirst eventually got satisfied.
It has been the same with spiritual diabetes. I had been hungering and thirsting but NOTHING satisfied for more than a few moments. When I tried filling the void in my life with things and experiences the void just grew.
It was only when I cried out to the LORD that healing came. There is still much I don't understand but I have seen that my understanding follows obedience. My heavenly Father knows what He is doing and He is trustworthy and that sets me free from needing an explanation for everything.
That is why I have rejected the material that Watchtower Witnesses present. Yes, they are nice. Yes, they are sincere. But their teachings are like treating Diabetes with cotton candy.
2007-02-23 03:08:52 · answer #1 · answered by JOYfilled - Romans 8:28 7 · 2⤊ 1⤋
You have every right to believe whatever you choose, Primo, as do I. There’s plenty of mystery in the Universe for nonbelievers & no, not everything needs an immediate explanation. However, by your statements it looks like you automatically default to something like “God did it” for anything you don’t understand. But we learn so much from the research such nonbelievers do that it’s well worth the effort. If humans kept the “God did it” attitude, we would still believe that the world was flat & the center of the Universe; we would have three elements; and, we would not have vaccines or antibiotics because diseases would be the wrath of God for just a few examples of what our world would be like. I think blind faith is just as wrong as no faith. Read about Sir Isaac Newton, a very religious man who strived to explain our Universe & in the process, changed religious thought.
Re. the bible: I have a problem with believing the bible as written. There are too many cases of mistranslations and politically-motivated changes to the text for me to take it seriously.
2007-02-23 10:13:26 · answer #2 · answered by Celt 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
You certainly are the critic aren't you wise guy. You speak as though you do leave things 'to mystery'. Well you don't. To you these are facts when they certainly are not. People like you (the judging) tell me, "but the bible says". I don't believe in the bible, so why would you tell me that. As if that statement is going to have some kind of profound impact on my way of thinking. You, using the words 'non-believer', sound very much like a taliban leader. Why do you care what I believe? Are you trying to save my soul? While doing so you are breaking your own religous laws. What jesus really God himself? and you know this because you read it in the bible? Was marry truly a virgin? I guess it is a fact because you read it in the bible.
Believing in God and than believing in Christianity are two different things. I believe in God. I just don't thump the bible. I live a very honest life. I raise my children to be moral and loving. I dont hurt or steal from anybody. I am loyal to my wife. I am not nearly as judgmental as you are. I just don't take the bible as some sort of factual guide line to live my life. Either way, I am going to be judgmental now and call you and idiot. Have a nice day. Enjoy those pearly gates when you get there since you have the golden ticket.
2007-02-23 09:19:27 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 1⤋
Who wrote or compiled the bible? When was it compiled? Why was it compiled?
If everything burned- computers, books, archives- except harry potter, he would be a god in a hundred years time.
It's not about the proof in the pudding, it's about the taste the pudding leaves. Christianity has done more bad than good in its existance. It needs a face-lift- a modernisation of its concepts because History has changed. We are not living in 300AC.
The bible is filled with metaphors, yet radical believers take every word as fact. It is hurting our way of life, our human nature. Just because one lonely guy went up a hill and said he saw the light and set the rules down for the rest of the world to follow does not mean he is absolutely right- nor absolutely wrong, either. We just have to take the good lessons that are still valid today and throw the rest out.
Ghandi tried modernising it, Martin Luther King, Jr tried modernising it, but the Church still refuses to budge- even with its waning membership!
And what is Christianity but a modernisation of Jewism?
We need to collect the teachings of all Earth's religions and write a new bible for the sake of our future's generations otherwise all these religious wars will continue forever.
We are intelligent enough now to realise this truth!
2007-02-23 09:26:06 · answer #4 · answered by canguroargentino 4 · 1⤊ 2⤋
Because as long as you have this unquestionable belief in faith then you are going to be deceived by people who will exploit this attitude. Some examples are Jimmy Swaggart, Ted Haggard, Jim & Tammy Bakker, etc. These people are going to go out and do the very things that they have been preaching against. I would say that to have absolute, unquestioning faith in everything that you are told from the pulpit is a good example of an old saying of P.T. Barnum - "There's a sucker born every minute." A popular expression nowdays is "the truth shall make you free". That may be true, but first you have to validate the "truths" that you are being given.
2007-02-23 09:20:48 · answer #5 · answered by randy_plrm 4 · 1⤊ 1⤋
Are you not a rational creature? Did you never ask the question Why?
To answer your question. No I don't need to know the explanation for everything. But, I do know that there is a rational explanation for everything. That explanation is always a natural one, not supernatural.
As for not being able to see air, I still know that is has substance even though I can't see it. One of the many proofs of air's existence is air pressure. The fact we have air to breathe is not proof of God's existence. There might be a planet somewhere whose atmosphere is entirely helium, and a creature may have evolved to breathe that gas, so your argument is nonsensical.
If I die and find myself in heaven and God asks me why I didn't believe in Him, I'll say, "Not enough evidence."
2007-02-23 09:16:07 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 1⤋
True the none believer seems, to have to work harder and harder at none belief, these days with all the facts out there that, they just keep dismissing as Christian, or Creative Science, hog wash I don't believe in Atheist either, at least not in the fox hole, because thats when their disbelief is tried the most, and falls the hardest. like a child angry at a parent, for being punished, they try to punish God with their disbelief, so called disbelief because, I don't believe it's genuine. many scientist that tried to dis prove the bible, ended up Christians, because you can't dis prove a fact. the bible is true, and Jesus said heaven and earth may pass away, but my words shall last forever. and they have against the test of time, against the Roman Empire, against persecution, against everything that came against, it to this very day , and what ever will come in the future, it shall last until he comes again, and won't that be beautiful, for those of us that love the lord...
2007-02-23 09:54:36 · answer #7 · answered by MOPE DE VOPE 2 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Go back to the the womb and realize the consciousness in every particle which gave you an identity without any arguments or explanation. It needs lots of meditation on the reality of this planet. God's presence in every particle will be realized . God reveals through this Mother Earth and not the mankind prophets.Prophets need human arguments and explanations by humans. God is omni present for all creations .
2007-02-23 09:37:49 · answer #8 · answered by Raj 3 · 0⤊ 2⤋
It is not impossible for a heart to accept the things of God. Even those who do not know Him or purposefully reject God are still being called by Him. He has designed each person and has placed a void within hearts that only He can fill...it is just a matter of time that we will witness the brokenness of each heart being mended, repaired and restored as God originally intended. Wisdom tells us to live our lives focused on fulfilling our God given propose. By living such a way to reflect the love of Jesus, we draw the thirsty to His life giving water and light the way for them to find their Heavenly Father.
2007-02-23 10:11:44 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 0⤋
The esscence of mystery is that it needs to be solved. The fact that we question and solve problems and learn how to overcome is how we are where we are today. If you're a bible nut, blame God and his gift of free will that makes us question. It is an essential human gift. By the way, science told me what was in the air and how it works, so that is why I cannot see the air I breathe but trust that it is there.
2007-02-23 09:15:33 · answer #10 · answered by Mike 4 · 0⤊ 1⤋