To Brianfloss
Admittadly fear is what I used to feel. 40 years of trying to worship a god that would not reveal himself. A book of contradictory riddles that allow those who claim to understand them, to minipulate and control others, abandoning completely those who ask questions, they have no answers to. They break up families,they cover up abuse, they deny medical care, they limit education all in the name of a god who IS LOVE. Fear? No not fear. Dredging up the past? Ha! To your god a day is a 1000 years so 2008 is not a very deep dredge and, frankly the argument is the same on your side in those old posts, So what are you afraid of.
Allow me to ask this question. The wrong that you experienced, was that a logical outworking of what Jesus taught, or was it contrary to Jesus’ teachings? Judge a movement by its originator, not its followers. Some followers will always abuse in order to control. That is human nature, especially in religious matters gone wrong. I have been burned once also. I believe ‘fool me one shame on you’, “fool me twice shame on me.’ Wake up one morning and realized everything I was taught was a lie. I did not give up on God, I gave up on the WTS.
But if there is a god who requires that you believe in him for salvation ( whatever that means to you) , why not give some compelling evidence to mankind, or screw mankind why not give some compelling evidence to me I have certainly given an honest effort searching. He allegedly gave us the Bible but the Bible doesn't stand up to scrutiny. Garden of eden, flood. 40 years wandering in the dessert. The list goes on. Even if science has been deceived by the devil why were the people that lived thousands of years ago allowed to see miracles and tangeble evidence of god but we must rely on faith alone. It's backwards there understanding of the world would have been more likely to let faith be their guide. Surely god knew that science would say that man was far older then eden. That the animals we have today couldn't be here from a worldwide flood just a few thousand years ago. He knew that there would be no evidence of hundreds of thousands of people lost in the desert for 40 years. And whether or not science is right or the devil is blinding mans eyes, why do ancient people get to see god and we don't.
The historical evidence for the life, death and resurrection of Jesus is overwhelming. The prophetic element in the Old Testament that is fulfilled in the New Testament, we see the miraculous. We have 66 books, written by over 40 authors, over 1500 years, books on prophecy, philosophy, and history. After 2000 years of textural scrutiny, the hardest skeptic will tell you there is no document in early history that has the internal collaboration, documentation- historical and archaeological that the Bible has.
The problem is not more evidence, that problem is that we want it our way. Again I am sorry for what happened. Man abusing religion to control others does not equate to there being no God.