If God truly loved humans...why not reveal himself ? So that they could make an informed decision ?

by smiddy 117 Replies latest watchtower beliefs

• 

  tec

  No problem, and thanks for clearing that up, Present Truth. I understand what you mean by 'fixed' questioning and reasoning, too. But some people are afraid to look into things other than what is approved, I think. Perhaps they are afraid that might hurt or take their faith. But there are also many who are not afraid, and who have looked out at what might once have been uncomfortable to them, and their faith is still strong, or sometimes even stronger.

  I'm not so big on 'religion', either ;)

  Tammy
• 

  Joey Jo-Jo

  Atheism have their flaws and personaly I think I will never be one because me and my parents experienced things that could just not be explained, also who created the very first thing from the universe? for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction but who created the very first action?? all holy books and religions have big flaws, being the case I don't think I am shunning GOD or Gods or GODS.

  Atheism which they prove and mock GOD dont really believe that GOD is real so technically they are not shunning because you can not shun something that is not there.
• 

  smiddy

  Hey Guys

  Some of you have gone off on a tangent (typical jehovah`s witness strategy,even if you didn`t intentionally mean to) Keep to the subject knowing their are more non christian people on earth today,and the gap gets wider with every passing hour,so why are beleivers relying on something that was written ( or supposedly written ) 2000 odd years ago??? Where is GOD today???

  smiddy
• 

  The_Present_Truth

  Smiddy,

  It's a good question Smiddy. Apologies for being one that got sidetracked on the thread. You know, I suppose there are a group of people that feel God has revealed himself through both Scripture and creation and based on that they HAVE made an informed choice - either for or against worshiping him. Of course, that only addresses the God of the Bible. The rest of the population would reference Creation and some other written work likely.

  God has an open invitation into my life. As I said, there's still some belief left in me for him, just not religion. Unless of course he can point me to one that is most obviously being blessed by him with actions, growth, evidence of love in its dealings, not buried in religious dogma, and doesn't need my money.

  I will say this, when I first began to search online for answers and I ended up on Randy Waters site, there was an interview with him. In it, he made some comment about the fact that there were things in this life that he would never find the answers to and that was ok. Becoming "ok" with that brought some level of peace. I can relate to that. As a JW, we were taught that we had to have an argument or explanation for everything. That's a tall order. Personally, I think it takes more faith to just let those unexplainable things go and leave that to God, while we focus on the things in our life that we can explain and influence. I doubt seriously that a loving God is going to hold us responsible for things that were beyond our comprehension due to them being conveyed incorrectly perhaps or in code. Things we can help and understand though - like how we interact with our fellow man, I could see being held responsible for to some degree.

  What is evident is mankind's need "as a whole" to worship something. That is what sets us apart from the rest of the animal population. The mere fact that this is so indicates that "Something" or "Someone" has a presence that needs to be recognized. It's something that is nearly as strong as other forces of nature. Perhaps therein we find God.
• 

  designs

  Our ancient ancestors offered up portions of their livelyhood to the Gods they imagined or to Nature, today we Recycle.

  I like some of the Naturalists of the 1800s and 1900s. They were visionaries about how to preserve Nature and set aside regions for future generations. Like the old man I met 20 years ago whose father had planted an Apple orchard near the Palomar Observatory in the late 1800s is a good example. The Orchard is still there still producing fruit protected now by the National Forest. You can take a nice day hike out of Doan's Pond and walk among the trees.
• 

  Heaven

  Actually, keeping some continuity in our discussion, the premise was that if God had fixed the initial problem of sin back in Eden and restored mankind to perfection you said:

  ... then we wouldn't be here. The Earth would have filled up long, long ago and God would have had to stop procreation of humans.

  Well, your father is suggesting that as we procreated, the Garden of Eden would have had to expand. The Garden was not the entire Earth. Once Adam and Eve were given the big boot, they had to deal with a very different and harsher environment that the one in the Garden. So there were 2 different environments on the Earth back then.

  So it seems to me that your father is suggesting that as our populations expanded, God would have to be doing some Earthly cleanup because things like radioactive elements, sinkholes, volcanoes, quicksand, bogs, marshes, meteor craters, deserts, inaccessible mountain regions, salt flats etc etc that were all created by God would have had to go. But didn't God finish creating after the 6th day? So your father is suggesting that God would start creating again. No where in the Bible does any of this exist. This is pure fantasy on your father's part. A nice bedtime story, nothing more.

  Keep in mind, if God had restored mankind to perfection right then, the water canopy would likely still be in place and the earth would be a paradise with perfect living conditions regardless of where you were. So no need to rule out any acreage. It would all be perfect - (paradise remember?).

  Oh right. The big bag of water surrounding the Earth story that cannot be proven. Again, I point out that the environment outside of the Garden of Eden was not the same lovely environment as inside, even with the bag o' water. I have long since given up believing in the stories from the Bible.

  And for kicks, just what do you think God had planned for mankind in the way of procreation and expanding populations.

  As a child, I was told God turned his back on all mankind. At this point in my life, I do not believe in the God of the Holy Bible. Therefore, I do not believe "God" planned or is planning anything.
• 

  The_Present_Truth

  Heaven,

  I totally understand why you feel the way you do. If you read my comments above you'll see I have my own doubts about the "story" set forth in the Bible. Since this part of our discussion is off topic and Smiddy has asked us to stay on topic we can talk about it off to the side if you like. Or not. Either way.
• 

  smiddy

  BTTT