by Agent 1 of 1 60 Replies latest watchtower bible
Why do we have to have faith, if we are to be saved?
A very good question and one I have not had an adequate answer to within myself.
I reason that faith adds to the character of an individual and possibly adds the dimension of being able to look beyond the surface, enhancing our ability to gain insight and wisdom?
Why are all spirit creatures including God invisible?
Because we have limited sight?
I cannot see electricty, but I feel it's effect.
I don't think any of the above-mentioned items are coincidences. They are "non-incidences", complete absence of anything. Mythologies were invented and refined to explain the world as we see it, and so have to be at least superficially compatible with it. Obviously, this is necessarily the way things must be if those myths are without basis in reality, whereas it is not at all obvious that it need be that way if there realy are gods, monsters, dragons, fairies etc. Any of these entities should be capable of showing itself if it exists, thereby ending debate.
Why do we have to have faith, if we are to be saved?
A very good question and one I have not had an adequate answer to within myself.I reason that faith adds to the character of an individual and possibly adds the dimension of being able to look beyond the surface, enhancing our ability to gain insight and wisdom?
The Bible is a book of faith and belief, first off. If we believe that God exists and he sent his son to earth as a ransomer to save mankind and put faith in that, then I think they both would be very proud of us that we believed what was written in the gospels about Jesus,although we weren't there at the time he lived and died and saw his miracles. I hold on to this scriputre, 2nd part: "Nevertheless, when the Son of man returns, will he really find faith on the earth?" It's a rhetorical question and can only be answered by those who want faith or have faith. Plus it seems this all that's being asked of us humans.
Why are there no miricles today?
Because the miracles were written about to build Faith. If we would see them today, it wouldnt be faith. It would be fact. According to christianity, God requires faith in him. If he was to prove his being by talking with you and doing miracles, then there wouldnt be faith in him. It would be just another accepted fact like gravity.
If you require facts to confirm you beliefs (as I do) then religion is not for you. Science is. if you want to believe in things with out physical proof, then religion can give you answers. (Antecdotal evidence does not count as proofs & facts)
These coincidences exist because:
"God is an imaginary friend for grown ups"
Morgan Freeman, speaking to Owen Wilson, in the movie The Big Bounce
Truth:
I've had this argument out with REM, et al., before:
"Anecdotal evidence" may be considered "weak evidence", but hardly "no evidence at all".
LittleToe: I suppose I'm a little overzealuos with that. I require much more than a anecdotal evidence to base by beliefs on. If I didn't, I'd buy every diet pill and visit all the pychics for winning lotto numbers. I suppose it could be considered weak, perhaps to add some validity to a claim that already has some proof.
My point was Anecdotal evidence is not proof &/or facts.
Good questions, but they relate to the common delimma for non-believers who want "visible" proof of God. That's how we confirm certain things, through out senses. Even though the wind is invisible or transparent we still know its there by the effects. Same situation in Noah's Day. God was very understated except through his creations and then he brought on the flood which made everyone 100% believers out of th 99.9% that found "scientific" reasons not to believe it would rain because they had nothing else. So basically, once God comes out of the woodwork again and becomes active in a way the whole world can see then all these questions will be irrelevant. But in the meantime, we are in a special time period and some of the things you mention are actually happening, just not to you. God first appears to his own, then to others at his own SCHEDULE.
Why are all spirit creatures including God invisible?
Why not? The wind is invisible. Mass is cumbersome and spacious, the spirit form allows for more options. Think of them as a concentrated part of an atom that holds it together, like a magnetic field, which is also invisible. It is not restricted by certain mechanical or structural limitations of things that have dense makeup.
Why did Adam and Eve have to be the first ones to sin, thus not giving us proof of perfect, everlasting humans?
Satan was the first to sin, and the idea of killing off all mankind was the goal. It could be done if Adam was led to sin before any of his children were born.
Why are there no miracles in our day?
The general age of miracles has given away to "knowledge" and Scripture. We have scripture now. But there are still miracles coming forth, such as Armageddon and the miracles of the millennium. Then this question will be irrelevant. But since we are past the second coming, which was a miracle, the one "miracle" that was promised was the "sign of the son of man" which would appear "in the heavens" visible to those searching for Christ. It depicts the Messiah's face at the second coming as the "son of man", a sleeping child. That has happened. It has appeared to the anointed and it was photographed and you can see a samle of it at geocities.com/siaxares/sondove.html. So there ARE miracles occurring now, finally and there will be more as Armageddon approaches.
Why does God not speak to us personally? Why is it a one-way communication?
God's primary source of communication, is indeed through the Bible. But he does communicate with some of his anointed ones directly sometimes and through "holy spirit." So it's not just one way. I've had a two-way conversation with God. Of course, you can't believe that and would prefer to think I'm crazy. But if God talked to you and you told anybody nobody would believe you either, right? So it's like a black man getting arrested in L.A. by the police for no reason or getting beat up by the police. Nobody believes it until they SEE IT. The Rodney King beatings were a SHOCK to the world and it caused a lot of disturbances...to everybody but the blacks who live in LA who know this goes on all the time. At any rate, granted it's a personal thing, so I'll acquiesce to just say that this question would not apply to some, including myself. You'll have to wait until Armageddon or until something prophesied in the Bible comes true in your own mind before you believe. Some are far down that path already, though. Especially after 1947.
Why is it that out of any other time period, that we have to be living in the last days?
This is just the way it is, but it is SCHEDULED. For instance, there are SEVEN DAYS of 70 weeks, 490 years each which amount to 3430 years. This is a pattern for the "week" for the Jewish Covenant. From 1996 back to 1435 BCE when Moses was 30 constitutes this "week". So this is a unique period of time in relation to all of history and in particular Jewish history. So it is a time to consider "exceptional" compared to any other time. It just so happens you were born at a very critical time. Others have waited for this time and died. You will see some great works during this post 1996 age.!!!
Why do we have to have faith, if we are to be saved?
That's part of the process for our growth. Our experiences and disposition make a huge difference in the way we see things. If someone won the lottery for 20 million dollars we presume that was a "coincidence". If he announced before the lottery that he was going to win it and it happened, that would not be considered a coincidence and he'd get investigated by the Gambling Commission. So "faith" is there to believe UNTIL the reality kicks in. Right now a lot of reality is kicking in and so you don't need faith any more. For instance, it takes a lot of "faith" to dismiss all the archaeology and history that the academic world is claiming that Jerusalem fell in 587BCE followed by the 1st of Cyrus about 50 years later in 537BCE. That contradicts the Bible. You had to have "faith" to believe the Bible. But not now since the VAT4956 actually has double-dating to the Bible's dating for this period. So that "faith" has been fulfilled. Or those waiting for the second coming at the right time and waiting for the "sign of the son of man in the heavens" had faith before it would happen, but AFTER it occurred and became a reality, you didn't need the faith--the faith was rewarded. Fulfilled. So faith is the "pre" to the "re"-ality. When Armageddon occurs, it will not be an issue of "faith" but fulfilled faith and REALITY. Having people choose and believe beforehand is part of God's elimination process.
There are many other numerous coincidences that people take for granted, when they should be questioning its validity. Where's the proof???
The proof is HAPPENING right now if you're looking for the right thing, in the right place, at the right time. Are you looking to the "heavens" to see the "sign of the son of man" like the Bible says? Well? If you're not looking then how do you expect to believe if it happens? Everything is invisible if one's eyes are closed, right? Maybe that's part of the problem.
Please feel free to add to this thread with any other coincidences you've noticed. Or if you have any proof without any doubts.
I now have proof without any doubts. Check out the "sign of the son of man" at the above webpage. That is actually a photograph of God's "imagery" for the second coming seen by all the anointed individually ("every eye will see him"), another special fulfillment. Now some might not think much of the imagery but it is believed by others who know when and under what circumstances it appeared. It's like the lottery. Lots of figures appear in the clouds all the time. But to plan it, wait for it and to have it appear to this extent on a specific day and time with camera waiting is like tellling someone ahead of time that you are going to win the lottery. It makes a huge difference. Some of us who had "faith" first, are not having "any doubts" now, because the reality of what is about to occur has begun to happen and the "miracles" are already starting for the anointed, soon to be experienced by the whole world. The thing is to get into the "place of safety" first, before the last "flood" comes. It's not about having "faith" but surviving to live forever!
JC
>> Many people down through the ages have claimed experiences in that realm. Thousands of people have had near death experiences where they experiences out of body stuff. While little of this info has been blessed by the scientific priesthood, nevertheless, it suggests that there probably are other dimensions, not easily detected.
The plural of anecdote is not data. ;)
rem
