i am having a hard time figuring out why christians think their god is anymore real than the other gods. just because a book tells you, does that make it real?
just because harry potter says he's real in the harry potter books, doesn't make him so. he is still just something that's made up.
the other gods had books about them too. the other gods had the virgin birth story as well as many others that are in the bible. most of christianity was "borrowed" from paganism, so how does this make your god more real than the others?
you can't say the truth is in your heart because that's what the followers of the other gods say too.
2007-06-29 06:20:51 · 25 answers · asked by Anonymous in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
I'm starring you just because you keep TRYING, Riegan . . . but look at some of the answers you get:
"How many "other" gods answer your prayers and give you guidance."
Sheeeeeeeeeeeesh . . . .
Can you believe the smug arrogance and self-delusion?
Yo! A-tard! The ancient godhs of my ancestors HAVE, in point of fact, answered my prayers and given me powerful and effective guidance that has changed and improved my life! Why on earth would I be following my ancestral folkways if they DIDN'T WORK? I spent my entire childhood growing up in *that* type of religion!
2007-06-29 06:38:08 · answer #1 · answered by Boar's Heart 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋
I think what the other religions lack, though, is the historical element that is found in Christianity. God didn't interact with the physical universe in some far distant past, but some time just before the books were written (and I believe the evidence favors the Gospels being written before the destruction of the Temple).
Furthermore, I think the alleged similarities between Christianity and pagan religions are overblown or nonexistent, as revealed when one looks at the specifics. For example, Mithras is said to have had a "virgin birth", yet he isn't born in the normal sense of the word. Rather, he emerges full-grown from a rock (although I suppose the rock could be considered a "virgin", but then that would be true of the vast majority of rocks). Another alleged virgin birth is claimed for Horus, yet one account of his conception (there are at least two) reads like early necrophiliac erotica. As for the many "resurrections" found in pagan sources, almost every one of them is a yearly (representing the "rebirth" of fertility) or daily (sun rising/setting) event, rather than a one time deal.
2007-06-29 14:05:02 · answer #2 · answered by Deof Movestofca 7 · 1⤊ 2⤋
The Bible is not like any other book. It is Word of God. It is very reliable. However, it will never make any sense to you if you do not let the Holy Spirit to guide you to understanding.
Jesus confirmed the Old Testament and He promised the New Testament. The Bible is very important to people who love Lord. Through the Bible we can know that God exists, what He is like, how He can overcome evil, that He can perform miracles, and that Jesus is God without ever referring to the Bible as a sacred book.
However, it must be said that while these arguments do not rely on the Bible, they are guided by it. (The same way as you cannot understand His Word without His help, the relationship with living God would be harder to reach without His Word. He has not left us here by ourselves. I love to study His Word.) They take the path of reason to reach these conclusions,but they are directed by te revelation.
Without the Word of God, there is no guarantee that anyone would ever reach these conclusions. Even if they did, there might not be many who found them, and there is no telling how long it would take or how much error might be included along the way.
The Bible is very clear that Jesus is the way and the truth and the life, and no one will enter to the Father's house except through Him.
2007-06-29 15:17:54 · answer #3 · answered by Nina, BaC 7 · 0⤊ 1⤋
It seems to me that it's part of human nature to want to believe in a god of some kind. It's nice to have a church to go to, to be surrounded by people who believe as you do, to listen to a minister tell you how people who believe are blessed, and will go to heaven and all that. It's very comforting.
And people are different. Some people love to wonder about things, others seem to feel they need to have answers, they want to 'know'.
Christians believe the Bible is a 'revelation' from God, that God gave us the Bible so we could learn about him. The people who really want to feel they know the answers figure you either believe it or you don't, so they try to believe every detail. But there are a lot of more liberal, more open-minded Christians who don't believe in the virgin birth or the resurrection.
2007-06-29 13:32:41 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 3⤊ 0⤋
Many religions - most pagan ones - are accepting of other religions and even all the worship of their God/ddess(s). Christianity is not so lenient. It's all in the history. How do you know who your daddy is? Cause your mother tells you so....how do you know your God is the only true God, cause that God tells you so. Logically, it doesn't make sense: of course a jealous God like that is gonna say he's the only true God! But religion defies all logic and it's just best to realize that to each his own - if only Christians would agree.
2007-06-29 13:31:46 · answer #5 · answered by Heathen Mage 3 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Three things.
1. You are stereotyping Christians here. All Christians don't believe that their God is the only God. I, for one, don't believe that. I believe there is a God. Different religions exist to help different people find access to God. There is no single right or wrong way to do it.
2. It is NOT just the Bible that makes most Christians believe in God. You are grossly oversimplifying this.
3. Harry Potter's own author is alive and well and acknowledges writing the book. It is a novel. It is fiction. Everyone knows it was meant to be fiction. Bad example for your argument, whether you be right or wrong.
2007-06-29 13:26:08 · answer #6 · answered by Mr. Taco 7 · 2⤊ 2⤋
They will say you have to have faith. What is faith? Belief that is not based on truth. There could have been a Jesus, but that doesn't mean that what was written about him is true. An example would be if there was a drought. People of the time believed that the drought was gods way of punishing them because they needed to justify it some way and didn't know anything about meterology and weather. I have "faith" that this is the same thing that happend throughout the whole of the bible for things that people of the time could not explain because of lack of knowlege of science.
2007-06-29 13:26:53 · answer #7 · answered by danzahn 5 · 1⤊ 2⤋
The problem with your question is that I'm not answering it for everyone else. If someone else feels that they are right in worshipping satan or the sun or the moon or whatever than that is for them to decide. It is not my place to change their mind. I know that I have made the right decision because when I accepted Jesus as my Saviour he changed my life. I became a different person. I no longer want to make myself happy but want to please Him. That makes me different to those people around me. I have my eyes set on an eternity, this lifetime is but a blink in time to me. There is an outward evidence of a change within me. That's what my God has done for me. My God changes people--when they truly give themselves to Him. You can't believe all who claim the name christian.
2007-06-29 13:49:11 · answer #8 · answered by Maria C 2 · 2⤊ 1⤋
You've hit the nail on the head. Christianity is based on a book, not on the daily appearances of God. If God exists, then he needs to appear before each of us every day. If he's all-powerful, that shouldn't be a problem for him.
2007-06-29 13:32:41 · answer #9 · answered by S K 7 · 1⤊ 1⤋
I've seen and felt God and his power in my life and many others'. He's real because he's shown himself to be. Of course you won't accept this as a valid answer, but I can't help that.
2007-06-29 13:29:59 · answer #10 · answered by Machaira 5 · 2⤊ 1⤋