Are you really serious when you say, “what fire?”?

Question

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A simple Gospel analogy is that all are trapped in a burning building…and there is only one Way out. Thankfully, God graciously, mercifully, and lovingly opens the Door wide open and allows ANYBODY through. He turns away no one…and all can walk right out and be free.

And non-Christians often say to this, “What fire?”

Tsunamis, Hurricanes, Tornadoes, Floods, Earthquakes…
War, Holocausts, Genocides, Murder, Rape, Terrorism…
Hypocrisy, Sexism, Oppression, Racism…
Disease, Illness, STDs, Cancer, Depression, Anxiety, Schizophrenia, Death…
Corrupted Christianity, False Religions, Cults, Brainwashing, Pedophilic Priests…

Do I really need to go on, and on, and on, and on….?

The Bible calls non-Christians “blind” and even "spiritually dead."

I use to think this was a bit harsh…

But does the shoe fit?

Perhaps it would be nicer to call them an ostrich...and that they just have their head in the sand...?

Blind, dead, or ostrich - what do you think?

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WOW!

I didn't realize how hard it is for people to grasp the abstract...and analogies! Like Jesus speaking in parables...the crowds were often clueless...and Jesus called them "blind".

Very well...open your eyes:
Sin leads to death.
...this via fallen flesh, a fallen world, and fallen angels.
What started this fire? Sin.
And sin abounds more and more...like a fire that consumes everything in its path.

Let's put it this way:
If SIN never existed...you would live forever in a world that would be utopia in comparison to this one.

But the billions of people who have died...show that this "fire" burns everything in its path...

You will die....just like all those outside Noah's Ark.

Being in "Noah's Ark" - is symbolic of being in Christ Jesus, where there is refuge from this fire...and the fire to come in hell for all eternity.
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It really is that simple...

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I keep reading answers...and the ignorance is astonishing...

OK...let's put it another way:
In Heaven, nothing on that list will exist.
In Hell, the torment will be like all of those combined and all at once.

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As for an all-powerful God doing something...?
1) As God, He has no obligation to do anything!
2) YET, HE DID! He loved us so much that He became man - Jesus Christ - and willingly died on the cross, so that whoever beleives in Him shall not perish but have eternal life! You exist in the middle of His tory, history...like the middle of a "movie". In the middle of any great heroic or love movie, things don't seem right...love is failing, things are unfair, injustice runs rampant...but then, in a glorious climactic ending - love and justice are served! And we stand and cheer...or weep for joy!
Such a time is coming...
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Of course these things have always been around, did I say they hadn't? Sin entered in the beginning...even in the Garden of Eden...and has been running rampant since...abounding all the more so that God's grace could abound that much further to show His awesome glory!

What is more glorious...an extremely climactic and unexpected turn of events that comes after a LONG time of building pressure...? Or just a simple puff?

A huge erupting volcano...or one that just sputters a little all the time...?

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Eleventy...I really do enjoy reading your answers, but your constant distraction does grow old, at time. You obsessed with "proof" and are stuck in a catch-22. You would have proof precede faith, when it is the other way around...

But regardless, to answer your question more directly: Fire proves the existence and impact of sin and evil. If there is no God, there can be no evil. Yet, you (and others) just love to gloat over the obvious existence of "evil" while attacking God's omniscience and omnipotence...and God's goodness.

Hopefully, one day you will "see"...like a Saul to Paul conversion - I am quite certain you would be more passionate for the glory of Jesus Christ than most Christians.

...and hopefully, on day you will see the beauty of the Bible...and how Christianity - and Christianity alone - answers all questions and explains all of human behavior and other "mysteries" of the world...

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Don – I wouldn’t normally respond to such an inane argument as in EDIT, but since this “belief” of yours is so rampant and absurd, how can I not speak about how you are a walking contradiction?

An honest atheist would laugh at your argument. You say: “so the safe bet is that all of them are wrong.” Similarly, I have heard others imply, “so the safe bet is that all of them are correct.” Both are equally foolish. If a person says, “there is nothing absolute”, the statement in itself must be false. In like manner, your “belief” that all world views are wrong must necessarily indicate that atheism must be wrong. Truth does not contradict itself – that is impossible.

HEAR: God (or gods) either exist, or God (or gods) does not exist. Both can’t be true, and both can’t be false.
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To all: I am not preaching a “health, wealth, and prosperity” Gospel. That is to say, I am not saying that Christians are immune to the impact of sin in this lifetime. Certainly, evil befalls Christian and non-Christian alike. But shall we compare a mere 120 year life (maximum) with an eternity in heaven...or an eternity in hell? BEHOLD: In reality, it is the true, faithful, and loving Christian who runs BACK into the very fire to rescue others...like the fireman, policeman, and others who died to save those from the World Trade Center. NO! Count the cost – I would never want ANY of you to become average, run-of-the-mill worthless professing Christians with Jesus as a fire insurance policy. Embrace Christ and give your very LIFE in love for others, so that they may see Jesus Christ’s sufferings on the cross in your sufferings for them. When Jesus began His ministry at the young age of 30, He only lived another 3 years...

Expect the same if you become a Christian, otherwise forget about the whole thing. Jesus Himself declared He didn’t want such “disciples”. So just be an atheist – eat, drink, and be merry – for tomorrow you die.

Answer 1

Not every fire is a bad thing: Malachi 3:1-4, "Behold, I will send my messenger, and he shall prepare the way before me: and the Lord, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to HIS TEMPLE, even the messenger of the covenant, whom ye delight in: behold, he shall come, saith the Lord of hosts. But who may abide the day of his coming? and who shall stand when he appeareth? for he is like a REFINER'S FIRE, and like fullers sope: And he shall sit as a refiner and PURIFIER of silver: and he shall purify the sons of Levi, and purge them as gold and silver, THAT THEY MAY OFFER UNTO THE LORD AN OFFERING IN RIGHTEOUSNESS. Then shall the offering of Judah and Jersualem be pleasant unto the Lord, AS IN THE DAYS OF OLD, AND AS IN FORMER YEARS." (Before Adam's fall)

We are ALL in need of God's refining fire!!! His fire only destroys the bad things in us ALL, which pulls us down, and we are then pure.

Answer 2

There's not a THING on your list that hasn't ALWAYS been going on.
There have been Tsunamis, Hurricanes, Tornadoes, Floods, Earthquakes, War, Holocausts, Genocides, Murder, Rape, Terrorism, Hypocrisy, Sexism, Oppression, Racism, Disease, Illness, STDs, Cancer, Depression, Anxiety, Schizophrenia, Death, Corrupted Christianity, False Religions, Cults, Brainwashing, Pedophilic Priests…(etc.) since the beginning of time. The only reason it appears to you that it's happening more frequently now is because we have MEDIA to spread the news. Even 100 years ago you never would have even KNOWN about a tsunami that happened in Asia.
Also, a lot of the things on your list are happening LESS now then they did in the years past, (Sexism, Oppression, Racism, Disease, Illness, STDs, Cancer, Depression, Anxiety, Schizophrenia, Death) because of scientific advancement, the development of medicines, advances in psychiatry and understanding of mental illness, and modern laws that are made to protect people from discrimination and oppression.
In the 1660's, approx. 100,000 people in London were wiped out by a plague. ALSO In the1660's, the great fire of London consumed 13,200 houses, 87 parish churches, St. Paul's Cathedral, and is estimated that it destroyed the homes of 70,000 of the City's approx 80,000 inhabitants. (And you think the things you see NOW are a sign of the "end times"??)

Answer 3

i think that blindness is an interesting way for you to put it, being that a fact is a fact. It can be proved yet people like you call others blind, while turning away from cold, hard, provable facts like evolution. As for all the evils of the world let's not forget if you were religious God put all those things here, it also knew that Lucifer would be created only to betray it. thusly it knew full well that it's own creation would be sent away to torture and torment his other creations. sounds like a kid with a magnifying glass to me. It also sounds like a poorly made bedtime story. I don't believe in the Easter bunny and there's just as much proof for that as for god, so i say, if there's a fire it was nothing more than a product of false belief. in other words, you people lit it.

Answer 4

"Tsunamis, Hurricanes, Tornadoes, Floods, Earthquakes…
War, Holocausts, Genocides, Murder, Rape, Terrorism…
Hypocrisy, Sexism, Oppression, Racism…
Disease, Illness, STDs, Cancer, Depression, Anxiety, Schizophrenia, Death…
Corrupted Christianity, False Religions, Cults, Brainwashing, Pedophilic Priests…"

Yet, millions of god's faithful children suffer and die from these things each day, so apparently devotion to god doesn't free you from mortal torment.

What a fickle character that god!

EDIT:
What is truly astonishing is that there are at least a billion Buddhists on this planet who think entirely different from you Christians, who have as much faith as you, yet you are all so arrogant you think out of a billion people, not one of them has a clue. The same holds for Hindus, Muslims, and so on.

Statistically, the chance that Christianity is the correct system to put your faith in is no better than any of the hundreds of other belief systems mankind has invented, so the safe bet is that all of them are wrong. Your claims are entirely subjective opinion. Show some evidence of this god of yours, and then your argument will be more than just hot air.

Answer 5

Are you using....

Tsunamis, Hurricanes, Tornadoes, Floods, Earthquakes…
War, Holocausts, Genocides, Murder, Rape, Terrorism…
Hypocrisy, Sexism, Oppression, Racism…
Disease, Illness, STDs, Cancer, Depression, Anxiety, Schizophrenia, Death…
Corrupted Christianity, False Religions, Cults, Brainwashing, Pedophilic Priests…

as proof of God's existence?



[edit]
"You would have proof precede faith, when it is the other way around..."

I would definitely have proof procede faith...I'd prefer if faith would stay out of our reasoning and conclusions all together... To suggestion that we should believe and then we will see evidence would not be taken seriously in regard to any other extraordinary claim...



"Fire proves the existence and impact of sin and evil."

This is just not true. Fire proves fire. This is like saying water proves Poseidon or Winter proves Jack Frost.



"If there is no God, there can be no evil."

This is symantics. There can be harm, cruelty, pain and some wish to call this evil.

Answer 6

If the earth is "on fire" with problems, then don't reproduce. None of the things you mentioned have ANY connection to the idea that a magic being might actually exist. You seem to genuinely care about people, which is a great start. Now figure out that you're wrong and quit lying to them.

Answer 7

the only one "willfully blind" who suffers from "ostrich syndrome" is theists.

(thank you for stealing MY analogy that I made about theists in another topic about a month ago by the way).

you keep making claims as if you have some kind of factual basis for your beliefs as if it was proof and ignore the fact that there is NO PROOF for the existance of god or that the bible was dictated by god or "god's word".

have your faith, but don't pretend it is anything more than an unsubstantiated statement to say "god exists" or "the bible is true".

Answer 8

edit: ok i get what your saying...

because we are not in a burning building.

you only see it burning because you fail to realize that we have a fireplace.

and the burning building does not mean "rape, oppression, racism, hurricanes"

it is an analogy that your life is in danger and you refuse rescue. to link it with your spiritual life being in danger and refusing salvation....

and it doesnt work, because EVERYONE is in a burning building to someone else... thousands of gods and religious beliefs, all with their own punishments for not believing. everyone has a hundred different burning buildings they are in. lol.

Answer 9

Since it's a gospel analogy I as a non-believer am on the outside watching the building burn.

*pulling up a chair and popcorn*

Answer 10

you cannot seriously think that if I'd start to believe in god all the bad things on your list would suddenly stop for everyone. Though I will believe in god if that will save mankind if you will give one million $ to any non-religious charity of your choice if it turns out not to be true.
The only exit door to stop earthquakes from happening in my personal experience would be if I commit suicide. Are you suggesting I commit suicide?

You need to practice your analogies badly.