Why you should believe? Because you are not alive. Neither was I. We are spiritually dead and destined for death in the eternal sense the Bible speaks of, in being eternally separated from God. And apart from God, it is questionable what existence is truly worth anyway.

Being a Christian doesn't mean an easier life, in fact to live godly in Christ Jesus means persecution (2 Tim. 3:12). What it means is to have eternal life, i.e. reconcilation with our Creator for eternity, and to have abundance of life even in this life (John 10:10).

But let me explain my own history so this may be put in perspective, and you don't think I'm just trying to preach fire and brimstone to you. I didn't grow up a "churched" little Christian. My parents had Bible Story books back in grade school for me to read which is when I was reading all the classics as well, and which made me realize truth lay in the Bible.

But in 5th grade, DCFS accused my dad of rape and he'd spend the next 5 or 6 years in prison. My mom ended up a manic depressant like me who was suicidal and spent time in jail and an asylum. And without even knowing what was going on, I got home one day to find police waiting on the porch, and I was taken from there with my brothers to be placed in a foster home.

We were able to return home to my mom where we spent a lot of time being taken care of by relatives and I suddenly turned anti-social. I took up boxing and martial arts and spent all my time getting in more and more trouble at school, in fights even with my own brothers. This went on until I started examining myself and deploring how evil I'd become. I questioned God and tried bargaining with Him, I sought Him and was drawn to Him by coincidences and ironies, as funny as it sounds.

I don't believe I was an exception, for I've come to realize that all of us are alike, we're in the same boat, an evil race that God deplores. Jesus was the Light of the world because He was unlike us, He was perfect and didn't harm other people like we all do. Yet He didn't spend time condemning people for their evil lifestyles even though He alone had the right to since He was perfect.

He loved the brokenhearted, the ones considered most evil and most rejected by society, the tax collectors who were considered traitors to their Jewish nation, the prostitutes who were reviled for their lifestyles, and the nation's poor like widows and orphans. He told us all to repent (Luke 13:1-5), not to shame and blame us, but to warn us. It wasn't a self-righteous "I'm better than you" but a warning given in love and knowledge of what was to come.

As a Christian I know what it is to live right inside rather then with constant torture within, and to be able to live without worries and fears. I know what it is to have a real, living relationship with the one and only living God. I want everyone to have it, not just because it helps in this life but because it is all that matters for eternity. I want the best for everyone in the world, and I've even learned to forgive those who've most wronged me.

Everything I have found that is true and noble and worthwhile or meaningful in any way has come from my relationship with Jesus. Other ways may be good or have some truth in them but they are not the best and they are not answers. I believe in holding up the Bible to the questions of all, for Acts 17:11 clearly shows it doesn't need to hide from other perspectives. I am always open to talking about the Bible's reliability and validity.

 

 

 

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it's also free will to learn from our mistakes and be better human beings while we are on earth. we tend to see mistakes as a bad thing, but if we learn from them and make better choices in the future, mistakes are actually something good. everyone makes mistakes. it's what we do with them that matter. "god" allows free will. he/she would only hope you live your life the way it was meant....and that would be different for everyone
if there was no free will, and "god" controlled what happens here then obviously the world would be perfect, would it not? unless god loves to impliment all the violence and negativity....

 

 

 

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It would only be perfect if it were made to be perfect. God didnt create the world, cause He saw it to be perfect. God is, also, not the author of evil. However, God does reward and punish on the basis of good and bad behavior.

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believing in god and religion does not always help you, many times i have found myself questioning whether religion/god is for real etc.

at the end of the day, its about belief. if you believe in a religion with heaven and hell, then you may be more inspired to do good and secure a place in heaven, not making it selfless but a good deed is still a good deed.

sometimes in your life, you can find that it becomes near unbearable, and having faith in god can mean that you believe that god can make life better for you, and through this faith, your life can be improved.

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Well the thing is THAT YOU SHOULD NOT BELIEVE IN GOD!!! If you just believe in god than it will bring you happiness and you'll do more good deeds which is good, but it won't give you answers to everything...

What I'm saying is that if you just believe without any real proof that is of no use for real-life questions BUT IT IS GOOD IN A WAY YOU'LL DO MORE GOOD DEEDS AND PROBABLY BE A BETTER PERSON....LOOK AROUND YOURSELF, how things are all in place in nature, after every winter there is a spring and after day there is always night...this cannot be coincidence as far as i see things and i do not believe in GOD (as someone with a white beard up there), but I believe that there is something GOOD in everyone of us which is more or less hidden (this is why we have killers - even in them is good but it is soo well hidden)...

Other than that I think that people talk too much about GOD!! Noone knows the answer to the question WHAT IS GOD ACCTUALLY??? And people point their fingers in the sky - it is up there..come on..

Well the truth is that we all seek HAPPINESS and if you look around yourself long enough (many lives), you'll realize that pure joy on this planet without suffering is IMPOSSIBLE...this is why people tend to believe in something like GOD..But this is not a good explanation for me - I cannot just believe that there is something that will help me if i don't help myself...

So I realized that the only way one can be happy is that one is NOT ATTACHED TO ANYTHING and ONE JUST LIVE THE PRESENT MOMENT! I think that if you are capable of not being attached to anything (things, mum, dad, kids, job, car, ANYTHING), you won't have to believe in god...

greetz

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You sound very much like a Buddhavista. If you haven't read any texts on Buddhism, you might want to pick a few up. It still sounds like a very lonely life to me. Regardless of your motivation, what you get out of life is what you feel when you look back at the end of the day.

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Funny on how all of your paragraphs ended with a "..." pattern.

Well the thing is, just cause you dont know all the answers doesnt mean you should not believe in God.

What I'm saying is, you dont need evidence to believe. Blessed is (s)he who believes without evidence.

Other than that I think that, God is righteous, just, omnipotent, loving, created all things, and so many more things. Good (!) that people talk about God, but only if they're not blaspheming about Him.

Well the truth is that, sin is a main source of evil, which makes others suffer. With the removal of sin, all of us can have a better life, and i'm talking about for all eternity. Not on this earth. You are right to say don't attach yourself to the earth. But, you should attach yourself to God.

So I realized that, without God there would be nothing. Without God, we would not be able to be saved. Without God, life cannot continue. Without God, nothing would be possible!

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To truefusion:

I like this style of writing with three dots at the end because I think that my thinking is nothing more than that - my own point of view...And in NO WAY I THINK THAT MY VIEW IS THE ONLY OR THE RIGHT ONE! So this is why three dots are imo the most appropriate ending - they leave things open...

Well..I have a few questions about Him: Who is God if you refer to God as Him and where is God in your opinion...

I believe GOD is the Good that is in everyone of us..

About Attachment: As far as I see things one should NOT be ATTACHED to ANYTHING INCLUDING GOD! Because God is just there like a finger who is pointing you the right path...BUT you should not get attached to this finger (GOD) but go down your path...

Let me rephrase that: Good (or GOD) in you is like a Raft that took you to the other side of the river (or showed you your path)...if you want to continue your path you shouldn't carry your raft with you (or be attached to God)...

I totally agree with that..

To WindAndWater:

Well I have read lots of buddhist books...those books that are buddhism itself not those ABOUT buddhism and they all teach you the same...I find the same ideas in the bible or any other Holy Script that was ever written - as I've pointed out before - There are million ways to the top of the mountain..

Greetz and may God (or whatever you name the divine force) bless you on your path...

They say: "Once you step on the path, you are to find an end one day!"

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Heavensounds:

Wow quite the topic this became. I need to stay on more. anyway. Let me tell you what God is. He is the device creator of all of us. Where is He? Well if you are talking about literally, then in heaven. However, in a spiritual sense, God, when we invite Him into our lives, is in every one of us. god isn't good, He is righteous, and there is a difference. Sure we all have good in us, but none of us is righteous to the point of without sin. If we were, than we would be God. The point is, God created us. We failed Him. He gave us free will and His love and we through it down the drain. Now you have a lot of people don't even believe in God. But He is still there. You may not believe. But does that change anything? No. My point? Something created us, and the entire universe. And it wasn't a big bang, or some bogus evolutionary theory. It was someone that was smart enough to give us all brains, a system more complicated than any programming language or computer any day, and than give us the free will to prove He is fair in giving us a chance to dis obey.

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No you shouldn't maybe you will feel right sometimes because you believe in god but that just how someone came to idea of god who is bigger then this life and will judge to everyone once they die. to me all that sounds like some slave was feeling miserably and searched for reason to keep living and so he invented something that doesn't interfere with life on the earth but will after everyone die.that way slaves had easier time on earth because when his master beat him or something he could tell himself he will suffer in the afterlife(imagination can be very funny).so with believing in god you would become more like that slave and not like free man who you are supposed to be.

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