Quote:There is only one God. The Alpha and the Omega. It's not a case of choosing a God among many, there is only one.
That's exactly what almost every believer in every god says. Again, how do you know your god happens to be the correct one? The real god could have been Ahura Mazda or it could have been Zeus. It be Allah. It could be none at all. Simply reaffirming your belief does answer the question - how do you know?
Quote:And I'm particularly interested in what you mean by 'accident of birth'. Can you develop that point?
Pretty simple really. A child born in the slums of Karachi to Muslim parents will probably never be given the opportunity to be saved by your choice of god. Nor a child born to indigenous Australians a thousand years ago. A child born to American Indians 500 years ago. That you have been born and raised in a largely Christian country is an accident of your birth. Had you popped out in Saudi Arabia instead your choice of faith would have been very different.
Quote:Those who humble themselves before God and do not rely on their own righteousness should be OK. I can't say for definite because of John 14:6.
In any case, those who are saved were always going to be saved. It isn't about chance. God chooses who goes to Heaven, we cannot take, pass or fail a 'test'.The unsaved are in Hell because they deserve to be there. The people who are in Heaven also deserve to be in Hell, but they have been saved because God has elected to show them mercy.
So why waste your life in worship or trying to "get everyone to go with you to heaven"? What's the point if your god has already chosen? If it's all pre-determined and nothing we can do can render us worthy, why even try?
You say it's not chance, yet we can't alter the outcome. So what, then, are your god's criteria? And don't just give me some quote such as "who are you to ask".
Quote:You may have read the above and think it is unjust that God chooses some for Heaven and some for Hell. It's a fair question, so let me explain why it is just.
I don't only think it's unjust, I think it's insane, and I think you don't actually understand what your own faith teaches.
Quote:First of all, read Romans 9. This chapter explains how God elects certain individuals for redemption and prepares others for destruction. Secondly, let's remember why people go to Hell. The Bible tells us that we are all sinful and deserve Hell. An omnibenevolent God is a just God, and we all deserve God's righteous judgement. Therefore, those who end up in Hell cannot complain. They are where they deserve to be.
You probably think that it is unfair that God chooses to forgive some individuals, almost at random it seems. But why do you think everyone should be treated the same? If I went up to a group of people queuing in a bank and started handing out £10 notes to every third person, are the ones who don't receive money from me being treated unfairly? No, because they never deserved £10 from me in the first place. It is my money and my prerogative to spend it this way.
It's the same with sinners. God chooses some of us for salvation and prepares most for destruction. That is not unfair.
Well then, you might say, “Why does God blame people for not responding? Haven’t they simply done what he makes them do?” No, don’t say that. Who are you, a mere human being, to argue with God? Should the thing that was created say to the one who created it, “Why have you made me like this?” When a potter makes jars out of clay, doesn’t he have a right to use the same lump of clay to make one jar for decoration and another to throw garbage into? In the same way, even though God has the right to show his anger and his power, he is very patient with those on whom his anger falls, who are destined for destruction. He does this to make the riches of his glory shine even brighter on those to whom he shows mercy, who were prepared in advance for glory.
First point - you're relying on biblical quotes. I gave you my view of the bible on page 12, which you have ignored. Would you like to address those?
But then if you're relying on the bible, once again I don't even think you know what you're preaching. The bible makes plenty of mention that god never predestined all men to hell, that it is man's free will to come to god, accept Jesus as their saviour, and be saved by faith. Yet you're telling us that's not correct and it's all predetermined, completely regardless of our actions?
You're making no sense. You think John 14:6 might apply but you're not sure. Then you choose to ignore it completely, and many other parts of the bible, and tell us it's all predetermined regardless of what we choose in life because some of us are shown 'mercy', apparently at random. I actually think you're confused between god knowing who would be saved, and choosing who would be saved.
I'm disappointed. I thought you might have been intelligent enough to question and look deeper into what you have been instructed to believe. Instead you're coming across as blindly indoctrinated.
Quote:Matthew and Luke provide an accurate, historical description of the birth of the Lord Jesus Christ. So I guess my answer is yes.
You're one of the very few of adult age who actually believe it's a literal account. Even many the most devout smile awkwardly and admit that at the very least, there's plenty of embellishment in there. Even the fact shepherds would not have had their flocks in the freezing hills around Bethlehem in December should raise a little doubt.
Just for the record, I'm not religious, despite being brought up attending church and having had brushes with religion. My interest in the subject comes from an avid interest in history.
