No, I'm not Bible-bashing. I'm just curious for the sake of thought experimentation... What would you do if you were given evidence that proves to YOU personally that Jesus is the son of God, Savior etc.?
2007-03-13 18:28:56 · 21 answers · asked by Studier Alpha 3 in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
I would be shocked for one. But I would have a lot of questions for Jesus, and since He seems to like proving Himself, He shouldn't have a problem answering a few questions.
2007-03-13 18:38:18 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
First of all, according to your question, we are ONLY talking about John 3:16, not the entire Bible, not the Gospel of John, not even the third chapter of said gospel, but JUST verse 16.
With that having been said, let's take a look at exactly what John 3:16 says :
"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life." - NIV
The second part of your question is negated by a closer examination of ONLY John 3:16, when taken out of context with the rest of the Bible's text. Jesus is not named as "the Son", nor is anything mentioned about a "savior". Therefore, accepting evidence for the legitimacy of John 3:16, and John 3:16 ONLY would NOT include acceptance of Jesus, the Holy Ghost, or any other idiom included in the full text of the Bible.
Basically, if I had absolute proof that John 3:16 were "true", I would certainly believe that God loved the world enough to give his Son so we could have eternal life, if of course we believe in the Son (but not necessarily in the god). Anything beyond that is speculative, because I would have to expand your question into broader terms. I can't guess what I'd think about who that God was, who his 'Son' was, what eternal life was, and so on down the line.
Additionally, it would be unlikely that most people would deny the accuracy of J 3:16 if there was such indelible evidence that it "proves itself" to someone. Your assertion that the evidence "proves to YOU personally" is basically answering your own question. Any time something proves itself to "us personally" we believe in that something with all of our heart and mind.
The real question is, "What would we do if we were given evidence that the Holy Bible truly is inerrant and the word of the Christian God"?
Obviously if we separate your questions, the answers are still basically the same. If I was given evidence that proves John 3:16 to me AND/OR if Jesus as God's son and our savior was proved to me, I'd be almost certain that either was true. PROOF is PROOF, and you said the evidence PROVES the theory.
Alas, there has been no such "proof" that I've discovered, and I'm highly skeptical that there ever will be.
2007-03-14 01:54:45 · answer #2 · answered by AtheistIdeas 1 · 1⤊ 0⤋
I wouldn't do anything different, because I already know beyond any measure of doubt that Jesus is the Son of God - I know what i was before I accepted Him as my personal Lord and Savior and i know that i never wanna go back to that old me. why question something I already know the answer too?
2007-03-14 01:35:24 · answer #3 · answered by ELM 2 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Well if anyone failed to believe infallible evidence, they'd be pretty foolish wouldn't they?
But the problem is, there is no such evidence that has ever been presented. Nor will it ever be.
How do you know that infallible evidence will never be presented? Because the Christian doctrine states that in order to be "saved", one must have "faith". If infallible evidence were ever presented, there would be no need for "faith", as it would simply be a matter of fact. Hence, the "test" requirement of faith would be eliminated.
So why ponder over impossible hypotheticals?
2007-03-14 01:38:34 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 2⤋
The fly in your pudding is their are five versions of John 3:16 sitting on the desk before me.........you need to state which one you could give "infallible evidence" of and explain why it might not fit the others.
2007-03-14 01:38:41 · answer #5 · answered by Terry 7 · 1⤊ 1⤋
John 3:16 is true. And that being the case, you should heed the message in this verse. Jesus loves you so much that he died for you. And He is the only way to heaven. John 14:6. Failure to believe that He is the son of God can have devastating eternal consequences. Cp. John 8:29
2007-03-14 01:33:00 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 3⤋
Most people these days do not even know what it means. Proof: If you believe in someone, you follow their instructions.
Most Church Christians say they are saved because they believe that Jesus Existed, was the son of God, died on the cross and rose again. --- Satan believes all those things. Is Satan a Christian. Of course not.
If you believe in Jesus, then it means you follow his instructions. It's as simple as that.
2007-03-14 01:35:22 · answer #7 · answered by MrsOcultyThomas 6 · 2⤊ 0⤋
What if you had infallible evidence that John 3:16 wasn't true?
I don't have to have proof, I have faith.
2007-03-14 01:36:52 · answer #8 · answered by ant 2 · 2⤊ 0⤋
I wouldn't think much of it really. What I'd probably say is "Huh, that's cool. But um, he's like been dead for years now so what difference does it make who he was the son of". Some guy who was killed thousands of years ago. Not much to talk about I don't think.
2007-03-14 01:34:25 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 2⤋
Hm. Id probably think "Well. looks like I've been way off all these years."
Then I'd switch on the TV and zone out.
2007-03-14 01:33:58 · answer #10 · answered by Lars 2 · 2⤊ 1⤋