Cantleave: Hey Punky, have you thought of becoming a Mormon? Speak to Cold Steel, he can show you the “Truth”!
Yes he can, but Punky can’t handle the truth, and I’m not simply being facetious. If there is a God, then it’s only logical that he provides us with a way of not only understanding the truth, but in knowing it’s the truth as well. The existence of God is just that sort of question. We all know the various arguments in favor of there being a God, as we also understand the arguments critics use in denying God. At some point we have what’s either called a “leap of faith,” where we close our eyes and leap into the darkness (hoping there is something there to support us) or we lose faith and begin to question.
I’m now reading a book by the late Edward L. Beach, author of the submarine thriller Run Silent, Run Deep. In his book, Around the World Submerged, Beach describes his circumnavigation of the earth, tracing the route of Magellan’s voyage in the early 1500s in the nuclear sub USS Triton (SSN586). Like his shipmates, Beach had a remarkable understanding of physics and the propulsion system that drove his ship; however, regardless of how reliable nuclear subs may be, they, like the sea, hate static conditions. Thus, no matter how well balanced the buoyancy of the subs may be, nor how accurate the ballast controls are, a submarine at Ø knots at any depth (you choose), is either sinking or it’s rising. If your sub is 80 tons and you add one pound, it will begin to sink, albeit slowly. If you take away one pound, it will eventually rise to the surface. And since there’s no way yet devised by man to keep the sub at a stated weight, it is via the laws of physics either rising or falling.
So likewise is our faith. It can never remain static, but is either rising or falling depending on us and whether we’re adding or taking away. In the LDS, or “Mormon” faith, we depend on prayer and the power of the Spirit to guide us to truth. James 1:5-8 states:
If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him. But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed. For let not that man think that he shall receive any thing of the Lord. A double minded man is unstable in all his ways.
For some reason, we Mormons are given a certain amount of grief over asking people to read and study the Book of Mormon and other things, and then pray about it, despite the above quote. But nevertheless, there it is. According to James, the Lord is quick to reveal truth to his children; but it requires some effort on one’s part. But if that person is all over the board about something, chances are he’ll have to narrow it down, be humble and be ready to accept the answer when it comes.
Punkofnice: There is no evidence for god existing in the first place beyond the delusions of men. It’s all just humans that commit these atrocities. There’s no need to go on defending the indefensible. It’s men that have used the scriptures and other equally dangerous so called ‘holy books’ to commit vile crimes and get away with it in the name of god. There is no excuse. If god does exist then he's a turd.
No evidence? There is evidence everywhere one looks, according to the prophets, for everything denotes the existence of a God. The intricate beauty of a flower, the variety of life on the earth, the distance of Earth to the Sun, the precise placement of a moon to stabilize the planet and ensure a precise and static Equator. In fact, many people believe our moon is not of this solar system, but was somehow captured by the gravity of Earth.
I remember one of my professors quoting an ancient document of some kind, though, sadly, I can’t recall any more details. But I remembered vividly what it said. This ancient writer had written, “For every system is a system amongst like systems.” Whether someone studies astrophysics or microphysics; whether you’re looking into the vastness of space or studying subatomic particles, there is precise order that allows foundations upon which to build. The ancient writer was correct. It’s really a matter of perspective, and the prophets looked ahead to see our day, a day when we reject God and cling to our own wisdom, putting all our faith in the arm of flesh.
