to answer all the hard questions with "god gave us free will" seems to be a cop out to me?

Question

it seems like the answers from the believers just talk in circles. there seems to be very little depth in the bible's teachings. "god did it" "satan did it" "god gave us free will" "the bible says so" these are considered intelligent answers to the ones who use them.

i don't think it's enough. i want to know *why*.

i want to eat from the tree of knowlege - why is that such a bad thing? "because god says so".

why do people follow their faith so blindly? why are they afraid to ask questions? why do people have to thank god for the good things and blame their own misdoings on the work of satan's influence?

i truly feel that people can believe in whatever religion they choose, but i don't think it gives any validity to your beliefs when you can't answer the tough questions properly, especially when you're trying to spread the word of "truth" to the non believers.

James - there are many questions up there - pick a few and answer them if you really want to earn your 2 points and go for 10

Milla - LOL

Answer 1

What's the question? "to answer all the hard questions with "god gave us free will" seems to be a cop out to me? " is a statement, not a question.

Answer 2

I think that you don't understand what free will means. It isn't a cop out. The problem is the forum that we're in. The kind of questions that you're asking should be asked in person or in a longer dialogue where such things can be fully explored. The free will issue alone could take pages and pages to be explained and explored fully. If you're serious about wanting to know, I suggest you start reading. CS Lewis is a good place to start. Eventually you'll want to dig deeper into older writings such as Bunyan or St Augustine.

I don't follow my faith blindly. I question things all the time. I thank God for good things because all good things come from God. And I accept responsibility for the poor choices I make because even if my temptations are of Satan, I make my own choices. (that's free will by the way). Existentialism started as a christian philosophy. Basically we have the complete freedom to do anything we choose. But we also have the complete responsibility for our choices and their consequences.

I agree with you on that last point. When I first became a christian, one of the first books I bought was called "Know Why You Believe" It clarified things tremendously.

Answer 3

Well, God put the fruit there, not to have something you couldn't have (He gave them the ENTIRE GARDEN) But he wanted them to CHOOSE Him over some fruit, as He would have given them an eternal paradise (if they would have eaten of the other tree) And another thing, God is NOT into *religion* He is looking for a personal relationship, (you know, the one we screwed up) that we has before. So sending his son trying to restore what we destroyed isn't such a bad deal (considering we wanted FRUIT more than God)
And real faith isn't blind, it See's a bigger picture, Trusting in someone who See's all time Past, Present, and Future, and one. And ACTING ON IT. *Religious* people believe in paying off some debt and always living apart from them (whatever god they call) and can never pay it off. Muslims don't know how much they have to pray in order to go to a better place. You can't re-pay a debt so huge without help.

Answer 4

Thats sort of why I don't answer questions that I don't know a lot about. God's teachings are very deep, once you understand a few key things, it gets far deeper than "God says so". I don't know for sure, but I would bet that a vast majority of people with faith did not come to that decision lightly, or blindly. I came to truly accept my faith after examining all the events in my 24 years on Earth (well except for maybe the first 3 or 4). I ask questions constantly. I ask myself, I ask others, I ask God. I believe God wants us to ask questions, how do you find answers without asking a question first? Nobody has to thank God for anything...this is free will. But when you know that God is The Creator, The Provider, The one that holds everything in his palm, you will thank him for what you are blessed with. Believing in God means you believe in his adversaries....these are not limited just to Satan. When you understand God more fully you come to understand how powerful Satan really is.

Answer 5

Ok, Let us look at some of your questions.

You want. That is a bad start to any defense. Let us step out of the garden and into the home. I tell my child do not eat the cookies. I trust my children to obey me and "I said so." If they disobey what do you think I am going to do? Did you say punish them? (Note: if you did not do not have children) Now, if my children obey me I will give them the cookies later because they were faithful. I believe had Adam and Eve listened they would have been rewarded with the fruit, but we will never no.

I think blind faith has its place, but again that is the starting point and you should grow and learn to go deeper. Thanking God for all good things and I believe you can thank him for the bad things too. Satan is the root of evil not the sole contributer to all your woes. The world is hard wired for evil and he does not have to directly do squat.

It is your "Free will" to believe what you want about religion, but you are wrong and one day you might figure that out. I confess I am not the best at all the "Tough" questions, but if you wish to shoot them my way I will do my best to answer them. But, I warn you if God says not to do it that is reason enough. The created does not have the right to tell the creator what is fair and what is not. His house his rules. This is how I raise my children and it is a good way until they understand the world.

I also promise to tone it down for you and not "attack" you but the word is a two edged sword and it cuts you and me equally.

Answer 6

I don't follow faith blindly and free will is the correct answer to many questions, whether you accept it or not. I don't have to know the reasons for everything God does and God does not answer to me. I'm not afraid of questions, but I don't know all the answers and I'm suspicious of anybody that claims to have all the answers. I do have reasons for believing in God and the Bible. "Evidence That Demands A Verdict" by Josh McDowell has a lot of information about God and the Bible; too much to put here. I have seen miracles; you can call it coincidence if you wish but I think that's just an excuse for people that don't want to believe.
Some people claim "free will" is not in the Bible; actually the Bible does say we can choose whether to serve God or not. God does give us that choice.

Answer 7

Free Choice or Expensive Choice?

Since you are the one who defines "answering properly" you place yourself as judge and jury of what word is acceptable.

If the answer "because god says so" is not sufficient for you; then how will any answer rank before your grandeur? You set yourself up as God.

In your first paragraph you do not accept free will as an answer; yet in your last paragraph you 'believe' that people can 'choose' whatever! The cop out is, you don't seem to know if people have free will or not?

Here is your answer. You do not have free will, nor does anyone else have free will outside of freedom in Jesus Christ. Without Christ every man is in bondage to sin and death. That bondage allows no choice. God gives you a choice and asks you to choose life. The alternative is death.

If the above doesn't seem like free choice, call it expensive choice and put your money down.

Answer 8

Hi Riegan, I don't know that Christians are afraid to ask questions. It's just that they're not afraid to get answers. And once you have a satisfactory answer there's no point in continuing to ask the question. Do you question gravity every day?

Perhaps, because you're not settled on spiritual matters, someone who IS settled seems to you as if they are "blindly following".

Believers or not, people are not always good at explaining why they believe what they do. For example, could you explain WHY you think it's just fine for people to believe in any religion you choose, without talking in circles? I bet you'd find that difficult to explain, too.

Answer 9

I personally believe that God is perfect and complex and wise and at the same time so simple that a child can grasp Him. Things happen in our lives because we make them happen. God is willing to help us, if we ask, but as a species, we are prone to wickedness and rebellion. I think that anyone who blames the devil for their shortcomings is wrong. And someone saying "Because God said so" is choosing not to delve deeper into who God is and why He gives us commandments. There is always a reason for His words, yes, sometimes the reason is only clear in hindsight, but that just makes the evidence of Him more permanent. God does give us free will. because He wanted a creation that would trust Him and commune with him willingly out of love. he didn't want robots programmed to praise Him on the hour. He made us in his image, so we could reason and communicate and put meaning behind our worship. It grieves Him that people have fallen away. But free choice was given to us in perfect love, and when we use it in perfect love, we find that the only intelligent answers are found in Him.

Answer 10

Not all believers tend to answer questions by sending you in circles. Yes God did give us free will. Therefore we have the knowledge of right and wrong. We make the choice to do the correct or wrong thing. Common sense gives us the knowledge of knowing what is going to be consequences of a wrong action. Putting religion aside which if your a believer you rarely do, life is all about making choices. Cute comment about the tree of knowledge hun.. The tree of knowledgeis of good and evil.Eating from the tree of knowledge of good is in your best interest. Eating from the tree of knowledge of evil is not in your best interest. You better be able to judge evil at all times otherwise your going to walk down that road. Thats judging a righteous judgement. Believers are not affraid to ask questions. We question lots of things. But we know that God is working in our lives to help us do the right thing. Believers don't have all the answers to everything. Believing is a Faith. And Faith of things that are not seen.. When people speak of being born again, being born again is the Rebirth of your spirit. And that is your connection with God that was cut off when Adam and Eve brought sin into the world in the Garden of Eden. So anyone who has the Holy Spirit has their conscience reborn and Gods Spirit speaks to our spirit thru our conscience, thru reminding us what He has spoken in His Word. It is a personal response from God that can't be comprehended unless you have experienced the Rebirth of your spirit. What people need to do is to check out every religion to see whether or not it is a mans philosophy. If it a man made philosophy your never going to have the personal relationship with God you would have if God has quickened your spirit.

Answer 11

Loving Jesus is not hard. Accepting His forgiveness and grace is not hard. I do not follow my faith blindly, it's just not hard as hard as some people are making it out to be. I do not blame satan for my wrongdoings or misdoings. I blame myself. I am sinful. I thank and praise the Lord during hard times and good times. People are searching for answers in the wrong places. They try to critique everything just so that they do not have to live up to anything. If you want to know *why* then you have to believe. If you want to know *how* then you need to pick up a Bible and read. It's not hard. It's very easy to love.