The conditions for life on earth also create the possibility of lightning, bad weather, etc. The issue is complex, not simplistic. At the end of the day, all that matters is that we are ready to meet our Maker. The rain will fall on the righteous and evil. Earthquakes are not going to be the issue on judgment day.
godrulz
JoinedPosts by godrulz
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109
Could Christians please respond; Is there a penalty for rejecting Jesus?
by nicolaou in.
hell is pretty much out of vogue these days so if this rabid atheist decidedly turns his back on god and/or christ what will become of me?.
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109
Could Christians please respond; Is there a penalty for rejecting Jesus?
by nicolaou in.
hell is pretty much out of vogue these days so if this rabid atheist decidedly turns his back on god and/or christ what will become of me?.
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godrulz
Before the Fall, creation was 'very good'. After the Fall, we know there were changes and even more after the global Flood. The details are not fully revealed, but this aint paradise anymore. Some suggest there was a protective water canopy above the earth. Now we have harmful rays from the sun, etc. Genetic changes, etc. were also introduced over time.
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109
Could Christians please respond; Is there a penalty for rejecting Jesus?
by nicolaou in.
hell is pretty much out of vogue these days so if this rabid atheist decidedly turns his back on god and/or christ what will become of me?.
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godrulz
Satan kills and destroys in an evil way. God, the giver of life, can take it away in righteous judgment. It would not be unwise or unjust to have taken Hitler out before he killed millions. Temporal judgment also happened to the people of God in discipline. How much more to kill a cancer before it affects innocent people? The problem is that you do not understand the blazing holiness/righteousness/justice of God (Moral Governor of the universe) and your own sinfulness or the great wickedness of man. We see centuries of mercy and grace and 3.5 years in the future of the wrath of God. God is patient, merciful, gracious, loving, but He is also holy, just, wrathful.
You want a tame God in your own image. Jesus is God with a face, full of grace, love, truth. He is also the one we see leading the armies of God against evil in Revelation.
Most people would want justice if their family member was raped and murdered, yet you seem to think God is evil in His judgments. You are a lousy godplayer. Buzz off. He is worthy of worship and you are defaming His name out of ignorant arrogance.
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109
Could Christians please respond; Is there a penalty for rejecting Jesus?
by nicolaou in.
hell is pretty much out of vogue these days so if this rabid atheist decidedly turns his back on god and/or christ what will become of me?.
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godrulz
Geological issues can be explained by a global, catastrophic Flood (Noahic). What you guys fail to realize is that creation was originally 'very good' and that it is now fallen, groaning, waiting for a supernatural New Heavens and Earth in the future. We are living in New York, not the New Jerusalem. This is like a garbage can compared to creation restored in the future. The other factor you are missing is that there is a fallen, Satanic/demonic spiritual realm that Jesus dealt with. Not all storms are demonic, but some are. There is a genuine spiritual warfare that is wreaking havoc on the planet and individual lives. God could crush it all in a moment, but there are justice issues with irrevocable, but finite free will. We are in chaotic warfare now. This is not the way God created things nor the way He will leave them in the future. An anti-supernatural worldview leaves us without meaning, hope, purpose. God did not create Satan, but He did create Lucifer. He created paradise, not the present fallen mess.
As a parent, do you control your children? Do your kids do bad things and would you go to jail if they did?
Learn to think, folks. You are finite, but the infinite one has given us insight. He is in control without being all-controlling. One can lose battles and win the war. Revelation shows that the outcome is assured, but not yet. We are in between the now rule of God and the future not yet eschatological rule. We are not in the millennium, so quit expecting it to be paradise now. If we were in the millennium, evil would be taken care of, but you would be toast, so be thankful for this time of mercy/grace that you may repent before justice comes (death is also your enemy, not just His possible soon return).
When you stand before God, the issue will be your personal sin and rejection of Christ, not how good or bad your theodicy (problem of evil) is or how many intellectual answers you have or not. I do not see you proposing a more coherent world view (you don't have one because it is godless and cannot explain reality).
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109
Could Christians please respond; Is there a penalty for rejecting Jesus?
by nicolaou in.
hell is pretty much out of vogue these days so if this rabid atheist decidedly turns his back on god and/or christ what will become of me?.
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godrulz
I do not believe Jesus wanted Jimmy in heaven, per se. That is man's thinking, not Bible. He does want us in heaven, but He is not Satan who comes to kill, rob, destroy, steal. He comes to give life eternal and abundant. What part of free will do you not understand? God is all-powerful, but that does not mean He divorces it from self-control and wisdom. He is not a big Man who steps on ants all day. I have lots of power as a human, but I don't use my full capacity all of the time. Deterministic views (Calvinism/Islam) are wrong views of sovereignty/providence. God could micromanage but He chooses not to for the sake of love and freedom. He is the God who risks. By giving us free will and letting nature take its course, bad things can happen to good people and good things happen to bad people. He macro vs micromanages. He is omnicompetent, not omnicausal. He could be the latter, but it would come at the expense of love, freedom, relationship. The fact that you can reject God shows that He is not controlling everything all of the time, but He could. His attributes relate to His character.
God is wise and there are credible answers for evil, etc. You are fallen, finite, but being a godplayer. Instead of thinking you know it all or could run the universe better than God, you should be seeing God's glorious character, attributes, ways and worship Him.
The message of the Bible is that God is God and you are not. You have it backwards and are dead wrong.
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63
Can you answer: What is "The Truth™"?
by serenitynow! ini mean can someone, preferably an active jw, explain in 5 sentences or less what that really means?.
i ask because of the long post that "20571..." made on another thread about how "the truth" is better than this, that and the other thing.. what does it really mean?.
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godrulz
Genesis is monotheistic. Israel was tempted with polytheism later in her history and God kept banging away at monotheism to counter the idolatry (see Isaiah passages; Shema Deut. 6:4, etc.). The NT progressive revelation fully reveals God's triune nature (which JWs and Jews wrongly think it polytheistic like Mormonism or Hinduism), a strictly monotheistic truth (compound unity vs solitary being like Islam).
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109
Could Christians please respond; Is there a penalty for rejecting Jesus?
by nicolaou in.
hell is pretty much out of vogue these days so if this rabid atheist decidedly turns his back on god and/or christ what will become of me?.
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godrulz
The statement could be qualified. Obviously even atheists can enjoy the life and creation given by God. They just don't give Him glory for it. In light of eternity, what does it prosper a man to gain the whole world and lose his soul (Jesus). The wisest man, Solomon, in Ecclesiastes, had it all. His conclusion was that life under the sun is meaningless and vanity and that we should remember our Creator, the only true source of significance and meaning from an eternal vs temporal perspective. Better?
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63
Can you answer: What is "The Truth™"?
by serenitynow! ini mean can someone, preferably an active jw, explain in 5 sentences or less what that really means?.
i ask because of the long post that "20571..." made on another thread about how "the truth" is better than this, that and the other thing.. what does it really mean?.
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godrulz
The Bible is not an organizational book, but a love letter to individuals. It is not a subjective book, but has one objective, intended meaning/interpretation with many applications by way of principle. The original audience would expect to understand one objective meaning. The challenge is for us to ascertain this and then make trans-cultural/generational applications.
Monotheism predates polytheism. Liberal and cultic theories try to make it sound like monotheism evolved from polytheism, but this is as false as saying that man evolved from apes. Truth shone in the beginning and men fell from it/devolved.
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109
Could Christians please respond; Is there a penalty for rejecting Jesus?
by nicolaou in.
hell is pretty much out of vogue these days so if this rabid atheist decidedly turns his back on god and/or christ what will become of me?.
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godrulz
God does not micromanage creation though he can intervene in it when He wants to. It says He makes the rain fall on the righteous and the wicked. Unbelievers benefit from the goodness and providence of God and believers are not immune to things that are a consequence of the Fall or a non-deterministic, free will universe. Natural disasters, drunk drivers, etc. can affect believer or unbeliever. Both can be raped and murdered. For this to not be possible, God would have to negate free will or make it such that there are no consequences for our actions (anyone about to commit suicide would have an angel or invisible hand stop them, etc.). Theodicy (problem of evil) must factor in the sovereignty of God, free will, etc. Just because God is omnipotent does not mean that He must act all of the time. Justice will happen in the end. We are not immune to circumstances, but He promises to be with us. Even if death, believers have a great hope of future resurrection. Apart from God, there is no meaning to anything and we are all like dogs going to dust. It is a wrong view to think that the universe is deterministic with God being omnicausal instead of macro vs micromanaging. It is also a wrong view to think that God is deist and aloof. Many stories of the hand of God have come out of 911 New York, etc. We do not know why some are spared and others are not. We do know that God is impartial and does not always allow things to happen that we deserve (believers don't deserve disaster and unbelievers don't deserve to be spared if it is based on goodness or being God's child, etc.). A dead believer has hope in eternity, so I would want to see an unbeliever spared for another day to get right with God.
God is sovereign. We don't understand His wisdom and ways, but in the end, we can know He will be just, fair, reward/punish according to truth/righteousness.
All you are doing is showing you do not know Him, trust His character and attributes, etc. (pride, arrogance, rebellion). Someday you will see with a bigger perspective and your mouth will be shut as you see all the factors and why things are the way they are.
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63
Can you answer: What is "The Truth™"?
by serenitynow! ini mean can someone, preferably an active jw, explain in 5 sentences or less what that really means?.
i ask because of the long post that "20571..." made on another thread about how "the truth" is better than this, that and the other thing.. what does it really mean?.
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godrulz
Scripture. This is not circular if the Bible is the Word of God (and there is a case to be made for that). The Deity and resurrection of Christ also makes Christianity unique apart from any other religion.