Thanks. I figured you must be a nice guy when you shared that you take care of tree frogs!! Praise God, Christians do not blindly obey the Bible!!!! We follow the Bible because God has given us logical reasons to trust it!!!! Hey, I think I know of an article to say it better than me. There is a difference between faith and blind faith. Blind faith is having a belief that is not rooted in true understanding. The Christian faith is evidence-based faith founded on truth and reality. Here are six reasons why we can trust in a God who we cannot see: Excerpt from https://www.biblestudytools.com/bib...h-reasons-we-can-trust-a-god-we-cant-see.html _________________ _________________ Hopefully this is more of a positive response to you than what I've been doing. Nobody can see clearly into someone else's heart and motivations, so maybe nobody sensed this about me, but I was feeling like I was getting into a trap of trying to correct everyone, which is just not healthy. Now, I am using positive affirmations of truth!!!
It doesnt matter what religion, those who have some type of strong faith, imo, their imagination is what carries them. In otherwords, God is a figment of their imagination. It's like humans saying they understand Martians.
%% [QUOTE="studentofthemarkets.....'' Just thought someone else might find it interesting as well. https://www.gotquestions.org/Jesus-coming-soon.html The Greek word tachu, which is translated “soon” or “quickly,” means “without unnecessary delay.” It does not mean “immediately.” The same word is used in other places in the New Testament, but, interestingly, it is used most often by Jesus in the book of Revelation (Revelation 2:16; 3:11; 11:14; 22:7, 12, and 20). The meaning seems to be that events have been set in motion that will usher in His arrival without any unnecessary delay. Everything is moving along according to God’s timetable. And also: Soon is a relative term. If you are microwaving popcorn, soon means within the next three minutes. If you are awaiting the birth of a child, soon can mean anything up to nine months. So when we ask, “Is Jesus coming soon?” we have to qualify the meaning of soon. Jesus Himself said that He is coming soon: “He who testifies to these things says, ‘Yes, I am coming soon’” (Revelation 22:20). There's more to the article than just these excerpts.[/QUOTE] %% Another mistake some make; a preacher like Dr David Jeremiah, Dr Adrian Rogers , Dr Jack Hayford, has been doing Bible study all thier life + a semi student of the Bible may pretend he or she knows better The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hidden in a field. One day a man found the treasure ...................................................................................Matthew 13,NCV
I have a theory which I've held for a while, 'if you are not honest with yourself you cant trade.' Likewise, if you are not honest with yourself, you'll be self deluded. What does being honest mean? Imo, getting rid of being biased. Very very difficult thing to do.
Overnight said: Where were you BEFORE you were born? Where is your memory of it? Cannot recall it? Interesting. That it is because it does not exist. The same way you will not exist after you die. Overnight said: The only reason you know you are alive is if the body wakes up the next day, and your brain continues to propagate your personality. Once it goes away, i.e. dies and does not wake up, "you" are done forever. I tried to think of a clever way to answer you. I thought about responding to this: "Where were you BEFORE you were born?" with this: The "I" or "You" part of a person must be passed on from another person, because only life can bring forth more life. This seems to be true with plant life as well. A dead seed may have all the needed coding to produce a new plant, but if there is no life in the seed, then it will not germinate. Seed viability basically means the seed is alive and able to germinate and grow into a plant. If a seed is not viable, that means the seed is dead and it will never grow. https://getbusygardening.com/how-to-test-viability-of-old-seeds/ So, your life came from the life of your parents. As I already mentioned. However, you were not in your parents' conscious thoughts...(as far as I know ) and we have no memory of this existence before our own consciousness began. To further explain this I was thinking about using the example of the elements sodium and chlorine that combine to form salt (sodium chloride). Before they were a salt compound, the sodium existed separately from the chlorine. Put together as salt, they have new characteristics. But then, after having got that far, I wasn't sure where to go with this for death. Then I thought about trying to use Einstein's theory that "Energy cannot be created or destroyed." New life isn't a new creation, it is life being passed on from the previous generation, so this fits nicely. And so perhaps life cannot be destroyed either, just as energy cannot. That seemed like a good point until I remembered that plant life and animal life most certainly does get destroyed....they do not go to heaven and once dead, they are dead. Then I thought about the many stories of people that have died and seen white lights and experienced things, and I think some of that may have truly happened, but then often those stories don't match the Biblical description, so I discount them as either hallucinations or experiences of the kingdom of darkness that is trying to deceive people by giving them experiences that are not in accordance with Scripture. So, then, after all these examples and none completely answer your questions of knowing existence before or after death, I have to admit that my own reason for believing as I do in eternal life is simply this: Because the Bible tells me so. (It says there is "eternal life"). And so that brings up the question of whether or not the Bible is telling the truth, and that is too long of a discussion for this post.
And just like that, you have elevated your intellect to a whole new level. I've been thinking about this very question for decades, without distortion from the Bible. And trust me, I have read through the Bible enough to not discount the distinct phraseology it proffers, but to have an honest discussion with myself about whether the Bible can be true. So it all comes down to the basic question of what is the real, because I do not believe in something "just because the Bible told me so." I am glad you have thought this through and can now proceed to the next level of self-discovery, outside of the Biblical narrative. You exercise your mind enough, and you see the conundrum EVERYWHERE.
Yep! David Jeremiah said: Ezekiel’s vision of the Valley of Dry Bones is a dramatic picture of the restoration of the nation of Israel, and it’s one of the most important prophetic chapters in the Bible. Ezekiel 37:11-12 Then he said to me: “Son of man, these bones are the people of Israel. They say, ‘Our bones are dried up and our hope is gone; we are cut off.’ Therefore prophesy and say to them: ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: My people, I am going to open your graves and bring you up from them; I will bring you back to the land of Israel.
And people wonder why the Jews have been hated since the Old Testament has spread it's poison over the world. Fucking chosen-people complex. Even the Hindis have expressed their disdain on this, and they are a peaceful people!