Religious people, can you explain a few things?

Question

I address those who are faithful to a god (or gods). First, let's set some markers to establish a clear inquiry...

1. Is your god omnipotent? In other words, do you believe that your god knows every single thing possible? Do you believe that your god can do anything imaginable? In other words, is that god's power infinite? Is your god perfect?
2. Is your god inherently good, just, and loving?
3. Did your god create the universe, and thus all of us?
4. Does your god wish to be worshiped?

If you answered all of these questions with a yes, please read on. If not, answer and explain why one or more of these 4 criteria do not apply to your faith.

For those who answered yes to all 4...
1. Why did your god create a world where evil and suffering are possible if that god knew such a thing would occur?
2. Why has your god observed this world for so long, yet only revealed his existence via the few old texts that humanity has discovered?
3. Why is humanity imperfect if it's creator is perfect?
4. Why does he require worship?
5. Do some of you believe that faith in your god requires you to force it upon others, and why?

Feel free to answer any or all of these questions. I'd be lying if I said that my motives are completely non-combative, but I really do wish to better understand those of faith. Please regard my questions as a sincere hope to gain that improved understanding.

Answer 1

1. You are getting close to that extremely weak bit of doggerel by Epicurus. In a very real manner of speaking, God created a world where evil and suffering are impossible, the world in which we live. I have addressed this specific issue before, but every time I have done so in this forum, I had to rewrite and drastically truncate my answer due to Yahoo's limitations on the length of answers. For the purposes of your question, I will simply say that to create any other kind of a world than He did would be totally devoid of logic.



2. The God that I recognize has done much more than that. Not only is His existence revealed through the Bible, but also the Vedas, the Avesta, the Qur'an, the Buddhavacana et al., and more recently the Baha'i Scripture. The Baha'i Faith began in 1844, and there is well in excess of the equivalent of 100 volumes. When one looks at the apparently millions of years humanity has been in existence, less than 170 years is not very old. And since they have not been lost, then it is a misstatement to say they have been discovered.



3. Do you expect us to be the equivalent of the Creator? We are an image, and by definition an image cannot equal the original. Besides (said with a grin), are you so sure that we are not perfect?



4. He doesn't. Whether we worship God or not has absolutely no effect on God. It does however have an effect on us.



5. One of the basic principles of the Baha'i Faith is Independent Investigation of Truth. Independent investigation of truth is what led me to being an atheist. Keeping an open mind and reopening my investigation when new material and facts presented themselves is what led me to fully embracing the Baha'i Faith. But altogether it was a journey and investigation that took a quarter of a century to complete. And I still have an open mind. Show me something I missed, I will carefully examine it. But I will follow the truth wherever it may lead. Whether you believe in God or not, I believe you will appreciate the following quote. It is from Baha'i Scripture and it is about keeping an open mind.



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God has given man the eye of investigation by which he may see and recognize truth. He has endowed man with ears that he may hear the message of reality and conferred upon him the gift of reason by which he may discover things for himself. This is his endowment and equipment for the investigation of reality. Man is not intended to see through the eyes of another, hear through another's ears nor comprehend with another's brain. Each human creature has individual endowment, power and responsibility in the creative plan of God. Therefore depend upon your own reason and judgment and adhere to the outcome of your own investigation; otherwise you will be utterly submerged in the sea of ignorance and deprived of all the bounties of God.... man must free himself from the weeds of ignorance, thorns of superstitions and thistles of imitations, that he may discover reality in the harvests of true knowledge. Otherwise the discovery of reality is impossible, contention and divergence of religious belief will always remain and mankind, like ferocious wolves will rage and attack each other in hatred and antagonism.... We must not be content with simply following a certain course because we find our fathers pursued that course. It is the duty of everyone to investigate reality, and investigation of reality by another will not do for us.... Ideas and beliefs left by his fathers and ancestors as a heritage will not suffice, for adherence to these are but imitations and imitations have ever been a cause of disappointment and misguidance. Be investigators of reality, that you may attain the verity of truth and life.



(Abdu'l-Baha, Foundations of World Unity, p. 76)

Answer 2

I answered yes to the first 4 questions so for the second part, 1; That's like asking people why they have children knowing that they won't be perfect. You have children because you want to love them and be loved in return but you also parent w/ the knowledge that all you can do is give them a good upbringing and then the freedom to grow. God created us and put us in Eden. The Garden was paradise and it wasn't until the original sin that things fell apart. There is a difference between being omnipotent and being controlling. The only way that God could have eliminated evil would have been to eliminate free will. If that was the case we would all be perfect robots and our "love" would be a controlled mechanism not a chosen emotion. As far as suffering I have moments when things go awry that I question why God has allowed certain things and each time I am met with 2 thoughts; much of the suffering we experience is brought on ourselves, our misdeeds and disobedience result in our suffering and other peoples' and the suffering that cannot be helped by people can help people. It is in the darkest hours that some will come to know God. Without rain sunshine could not be appreciated. 2:God has revealed himself in plenty of ways but if your heart is hardened against Him you will either ignore the presence or find an alternate explanation. I am not a Christian because the Bible told me to be or made me afraid of "the big man in the sky," I believe in God because I feel a love and peace that surpasses understanding. I can't assign any earthly reasons for the joy that I have. He revealed Himself to me and countless others because we wanted to see and believe. 3: I don't profess to have all the answers so here I will say that I don't know. It honestly never bothered me and still doesn't. 4: To say that God requires worship is not entirely true. He requests it, commands it even but does not need it for himself. It is my belief that God calls us to worship Him for our benefit. I think it is in our nature to cling to and revere/admire so if we were not worshiping God we would be worshiping something that was of no good to us or the building up of the Kingdom. 5: I absolutely do not believe that and no true Christian can. To address what I said in 4 "building up the Kingdom" is the Great Commission. Our huge duty as Christians is to go into the world making disciples and baptizing people. Some people misinterpret that and think it means to run around forcing Christianity down peoples' throats. There are 2 laws that are above all others and that is to love God and to love others as we love ourselves.Nowhere in the Bible does it tell us to condemn judge or harass people into conversion and that is how most people try to "spread the word." That is an absolute contradiction of God and his mercy. I hope that helps with your understanding if not your belief.

Answer 3

I answered all "yes"so I'll just go on:

1. God did not create the world with evil in it. It was the humans' actions that cause evil to come and God didn't reverse it because he gave us all free choice in the beginning (who wants a bunch of computerized slaves with no brain of their own?)

Reference: "Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all men, because all sinned--" - Romans 5:12



2. Our religion is based on faith. He is GOD! The most powerful being in the universe! Tell me what logical reason is there for God having to prove His existence to us? Either we believe or we don't.. Once again, free choice.

Reference: ""Without faith it is impossible to please [God], for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him." - Hebrews 11:6



3. Because we sinned, sweetheart :)

Reference: I don't think I need one. You should be smart enough to understand



4. Are you telling me that you are going to put a whole bunch of energy into something to NOT be praised? I sing, and after a concert, if I wasn't thanked, I'd feel bad.. He isn't forcing us to praise him and worship him, it's our choice but to us, it's the right thing to do.. Wheel and come again



5.Yes, we are supposed to spread the good news but not make everyone miserable. So no we should not "force it upon others."However, we are to love everyone and part of love is making sure that their lives are spared. Which means telling others about our God.. Yes,some have taken it to the extreme (mostly older folks) but you can't single out everyone

Reference: "And he said to them, “Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation." - Mark 16:15

As soon as I read these questions, I knew that you weren't really out to hear our sides (Well not entirely), but to counter it. I just want to say that this is what I believe and it's not changing. I respect your religion (or lack thereof), so you should respect mine.



Question:

To your answer to question 2, isn't that a bit like a parent not caring whether or not their children know them?



Answer:

Actually, I think it's more " I am telling you that I exist but if you don't want to believe me, that's your business." Of course He cares if we think He exist but He gave us FREE WILL so if he just shoves it down our throats, that would defeat the purpose, now wouldn't it?

God does however love when a sinner repents :)

"I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent." - Luke 15:7

Answer 4

1. Nope, none. The concept of even one omnipotent, omniscient, perfect god is ridiculous.

2. Nope, none. At least one is trying to kill me, and has also tried to kill another god that is good to me. Good and evil are subjective anyway, for all I know the gods I call good are called bad by their peers.

3. Nope, none. This whole idea only works if 'god' is a sentient ultimate reality. Mine aren't.

4. Some do, yes.



1. N/A

2. N/A

3. N/A

4. Not required, optional. I only worship the ones that have a special and friendly connection to me, as part of building and maintaining our relationship.

5. Nope.



Interesting query.

Answer 5

To all of the first four questions, yes, with

exception to the common use of the word

"worship" which is simple reverence.



To the next set of questions:

1: The solution to the dilemna you describe

is that we wake up and grow up.

2: When people insist that God has revealed

himself to them directly it shows at least a

possibilty that this is available to others.

3: We are given room to grow.

4: Respect is part of growth.

5: Understanding answer to #2 shows

that forcing faith is useless.

Answer 6

"Omnipotent" is all-powerful

"Omniscient" is all-knowing.



1) assumes that evil is bad.

Evil can help you grow and develop



2) assumes that God doesn't reveal Himself in esoteric ways such as by dreams, visions, etc



3) I'm working on that one



4) God does not require worship. Worship is for man.



5) I do not force my faith on others.

Answer 7

This is a good question that I'd like to be more detailed with but it's just too late and I'm too sleepy.

So, short answers.

1) I guess not because there are things he will not do and there are laws that he is subject to.

2) Yes!

3) Created (or organized) from materials that have always existed. He can't create something out of nothing. We have always existed, but he was our organizer.

4)Yes. This means to obey. Obedience to his word brings lasting happiness to us and glorifies him.

Answer 8

I believe in one God as the Bible describes.

James 2:19

"Thou believest that there is one god; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble."

Yes, God is omnipotent and He can do anything He wants, BUT He will only do what He already SAID He would do. Yes to all of question 1.

Yes God is good, just and loving. He is a just judge.

Isaiah 45:21

"Tell ye, and bring them near; yea, let them take counsel together: who hath declared this from ancient time? who hath told it from that time? have not I the LORD? and there is no God else beside me; a just god and a Saviour; there is none beside me."

Yes, God created the universe and all of us.

Exodus 34:14

"For thou shalt worship no other god: for the LORD, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God:"



Second part of your questions:

1. God created a place for us without sin. It isn't His fault you sin. You don't have to, but don't blame God for it. Remember this is earth, not heaven.

2. The Bible doesn't say God has observed us for very long, just since the creation of man. He is a patience God waiting for all those He predestined to be saved.

3. Humanity is imperfect because of sin. God doesn't control us like robots. Remember you don't have to sin. That's entirely up to you.

4. Exodus 34:14

"For thou shalt worship no other god: for the LORD, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God:"

5. Faith in my God is predetermined by Him, not me. No, I would never force my God on anyone. I truly believe the Bible so I want to share the gospel, but I understand that God doesn't save everyone.

Answer 9

I answered yes to everything in your questions. I do not wish to offend you with my answer but I also am going to do my best to answer your questions. Yes we believe God is omnipotent. When God first created the world, He made a perfect world, a place with no sin and no work. Only peace and walking in His presence. But when Adam and Eve at the forbidden fruit, which was the first sin, the world became bad. In Romans 6:23, it says "For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord." We have a bad world because sin separates us from God. There are consequences for everything we do, whether good or bad. Jesus came as the mediator between us and God and He is the only way we can get to Heaven. For your second question, God reveals Himself daily to people who seek Him. Deuteronomy 4:29 says "But if from there you seek the LORD your God, you will find him if you look for him with all your heart and with all your soul." It is an amazing experience to even get up in the morning when you know God. Humanity is imperfect because of sin, which I explained earlier. God requires worship because He is good. It is hard to understand, and even though if we compare ourselves to others, we seem okay, when we compare ourselves to God, we are filthy. Sin should mean death. So therefore when we sin, we should be punished for it. But God graciously sent His son to earth to be the ultimate sacrifice so we could live with Him forever. Not only is God good, and deserves praise, but as Christians, we want to praise Him. As for your last question, Christians are not supposed to push their faith onto others, though many do. We are supposed to share our faith in hope that people will discover God. When you have a personal relationship with God, it is the most exciting, exhilarating feeling you will ever have. We want to share it with others to save them from their eternal fates if they are separated from God. I know it sounds bad, but Jesus is the only way to heaven and since we are naturally not good, if we don't go through Jesus, we will go to hell. It isn't because we have a mean God, but it's because we have a just God who will do right to those who do right and wrong to the wrong unless we are covered with the great sacrifice of Jesus, who covers us with His grace. I hope that answered your question. Explore God-He will NEVER let you down, He is always there, will always love you and is amazing, Absolutely amazing.

-Matthew 11:28-29

Answer 10

The questions you've asked are too involved to answer completely in a forum like this, but I'll give you a few short replies:



1. God is omniscient in that He knows everything that can be known. He is omnipotent in that He is able to do anything logically and actually possible.

2. Yes

3. Yes

4. Yes,



As to the second set of questions:



1. First, God made us in His moral image, a state of being that naturally incorporates the aspect of free will. God cannot choose to sin; nevertheless, He does have freedom to do as He pleases within the bounds of His nature. Just because He cannot choose to do wrong does not change the fact that He does make choices. Had God not created man with a free will, we would be less perfectly made in his image. Second, God loved man and wanted man to love Him. But while obedience can be coerced, love must be given freely; and before something can be given, the choice to give it must exist. God wanted man to choose His way, but that meant giving man a choice in the first place. And where man has free will, he can choose to do either good or evil.



2. He has not only revealed Himself through ancient texts. He revealed Himself personally to the people who wrote those texts, to others described in them, and He continues to reveal Himself to people today. The key to having Him reveal Himself to you is to genuinely seek Him with a humble heart: "You will search for Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all of your heart." - Jeremiah 29:13



3. The essential concept to understand here is that, while man was created in an uncorrupted state, God exists in an incorruptible state. God is absolutely perfect. By simple virtue of who and what He is, God cannot fall, He cannot be corrupted, He cannot choose to do evil. God is good. But man, although he was created in a “good,” uncorrupted moral condition, was never incorruptible, and could not be. The simple fact that man was created as a lesser being than God opened the door for the possibility that man’s moral nature could be corrupted. The fact that God cannot create moral beings equal to his own incorruptible moral nature is what makes evil possible in this universe. Even if God had chosen to prevent man from being able to choose evil though, the very act of prohibiting the choice would demonstrate that it would otherwise exist. Therefore, even in a universe where man was incapable of choosing to embrace it, the concept of moral evil, and its potential to corrupt, would still exist.



4. See the following (I wrote it, if that makes any difference): http://articles.faithwriters.com/reprint-article-details.php?article=14178



5. Force? No. I don't believe that at all. As a disciple of Jesus Christ, I have an obligation to tell others about Him, to tell them that He offers them forgiveness of sins, reconciliation to God and eternal life, and to warn them that rejecting Him will result in eternal judgment, but there is not one verse in the Bible that teaches us to force our beliefs on others.



Ultimately, you have the option of putting God to the test. When you have some time, read through the following. It tells you how to have a relationship with God: http://www.oasischristianchurch.org/saved.html, and then pray and sincerely ask God to verify the truth of this and reveal Himself to you. If He sent Jesus into the world to save us, then it follows that He intends for us to know Him. With that in mind, ask Him to verify His Word.

Answer 11

Only a demon would ask such things to try and put doubt into minds, who are ignorant.

The breath taken in is the life God gave.

Do you have a mother and a father? A wife , girlfriend or child?

I can not explain , its a Christan thing , and we all feel the same.

Answer 12

The Scriptures also show that Jehovah is “wise alone.” (Romans 16:27) God’s heavenly angels witnessed many manifestations of this boundless wisdom. They began “shouting in applause” when Jehovah brought forth his earthly creations. (Job 38:4-7) No doubt these intelligent spirit creatures followed events in the garden of Eden with great interest. Would it, then, make sense for a wise God, after creating an awe-inspiring universe and an array of marvelous earthly works, to bring forth under the eyes of his angelic sons two unique creatures who he knew were bound to fail? Clearly, to plan such a calamity would not stand to reason.



Still, someone may object, ‘But how could an all-wise God not have known?’ Granted, a facet of Jehovah’s great wisdom is his capability to know “from the beginning the finale.” (Isaiah 46:9, 10) However, he does not have to use this capability, just as he does not always have to use his immense power to the full. Jehovah wisely uses his ability of foreknowledge selectively. He uses it when it makes sense to do so and fits the circumstances.



The ability to refrain from using foreknowledge can be illustrated with a feature of modern technology. Someone watching a prerecorded sports match has the option to watch the final minutes first in order to know the outcome. But he does not have to start that way. Who could criticize him if he chose to watch the entire match from the beginning? Similarly, the Creator evidently chose not to see how things would turn out. Rather, he chose to wait and, as events unfolded, see how his earthly children would conduct themselves.



As mentioned earlier, Jehovah in his wisdom did not create the first humans as automatons programmed for a fixed course. Instead, he lovingly endowed them with free will. By choosing the right course, they could manifest their love, gratitude, and obedience, thereby bringing added delight to themselves and to Jehovah as their heavenly Father.—Proverbs 27:11; Isaiah 48:18.



The Scriptures show that on many occasions God did not make use of his ability of foreknowledge. For example, when faithful Abraham went to the point of attempting to sacrifice his son, Jehovah could say: “Now I do know that you are God-fearing in that you have not withheld your son, your only one, from me.” (Genesis 22:12) On the other hand, there were also occasions when the bad conduct of certain individuals caused God to “feel hurt.” Would he have felt such pain if he had long known what they would do?—Psalm 78:40, 41; 1 Kings 11:9, 10.



Thus, it is only reasonable to conclude that the all-wise God did not exercise his ability of foreknowledge to know in advance that our first parents would sin. He was not so foolish as to embark on a bizarre venture, using his ability to know the outcome in advance and then staging a mere rerun of what he already knew.

Answer 13

1) God created the Garden of Eden for Adam and Eve to live in and it was perfect, once Adam sinned it wasnt perfect. If God had no punishment for sim then nobody qould obey hom.

Answer 14

As far as the fanatic, she took it as some sort of divine sign when the worm didn't chunk her,but then she was once nutty as fruitcake to start with. The bugs frequently sensed motion or had been drawn to mild or heat, but in my opinion,these had been probably the most creepiest-watching critters EVER

Answer 15

Yes to the first 4.



1. God created everything not to minimize evil but to maximize good. Another way of saying that is he created everything for his glory (Isaiah 43:7). So everything that happens will in the end serve to glorify God. Light shines more brightly in comparison to darkness. We wouldn't know good if we didn't have evil to compare it to. It glorifies God more if we have a will to choose him rather than if he created us as robots; the necessary fallout of that is we can also not choose him, i.e. sin. He abhors sin in and of itself, yet in the eternal scheme of things it is actually working together for his good purposes (ex.=Gen. 50:20). He has promised that all things work together for good for those who love him.



2. Romans 1:18-23 and Romans 2:15 say that God has revealed himself to everyone. We intuitively know that he exists by the things that he has made and we know his law of right and wrong because he has written it on our consciences, in our hearts; we simply suppress that truth. He has chosen to outwardly express himself on certain occasions because it suite his purposes. I suppose he also wants faith to be necessary; for those who know him to strive against the wisdom of the world who claims he can't be known. Also, he works powerfully through the "old texts." His Spirit illuminates hearts after hearing the truth. The texts were written from real events; he didn't merely have someone write a story down, but had them record actual events that he led to happen. History and study of the bible affirm the truth of it for those who believe it. But also, God is still at work in the world. Each true convert to the faith is evidence of that, as are the miracles he works for the progression of his kingdom that are not publicized.



3. Morally, the answer ties in partly with why he allowed sin into the world (answered in #2), but also by definition God is someone perfect who created beings lesser than himself. We would be perfect in accordance with how God designed us to be if not for the infection of sin into the world and the fallout resulting from The Fall.



4. He requires worship because it is both right and he desires our happiness. It is right to value someone in proportion to their worth, and God is infinitely worthy. We would be wrong to value Hitler more than Martin Luther King Jr., and in the same way we are wrong if we do not value God above all things. For the same reason, God must value his own glory above anything else as well or else he would be guilty of idolatry. In addition to those reason, he has also given us many things in this world, even life itself, while forgiving us for our continued sin against him. He deserves our thanks. As the infinitely wise, powerful, and beautiful God in the universe, what is the most loving thing God could give us? Himself! And worship is the culmination of joy; it is the climax of joy. He merely instructs us to follow what is right and enjoy what we love, which for all who know him is himself.



5. Faith in Christianity should result in sharing the good news that Christ died for our sins so that we would not have to suffer the wrath of God against us. Without faith in Christ, there is no substitution in our place and no way for us to be forgiven by God, because along with being a loving God he is also a just God who will be no means clear the guilty. If we are called to love God and love neighbor, we must love God by obeying his command to spread his gospel and we must love man by caring about other's eternal fate. If I find a good movie (or anything good for that matter) I like to share it with others. I also warn others when I find out about something dangerous. How much more then should I desire to share the gospel with others when knowing God is the greatest thing in the universe while being under his wrath is the worst thing in the universe? I share and I entreat and I labor and I plead, but in the end we can't force Christianity on others; only share it in hopes that God's Spirit would enlighten those who hear the testimony of his word and lead them to repentance and faith in him.



Hope that helped. I could talk about any of those subjects much more if you would like, as well as give biblical references; feel free to send me a message if you have further questions. God bless.

Answer 16

I'd like to see the answers

Answer 17

People can make answers. But not reason. (This is your so called freewill.)

God can make reason. But not answer. (This is your so called fate and chance.)



Hope it helps.



"Truth is not a knowledge."



God is truth. Satan is knowledge.

Answer 18

BULLSHIT!!!



For if you were truly interested in knowing for yourself then you would read for yourself rather than take the word of someone you do not even know about their opinion

Answer 19

Go to the east coast of the dead sea and collect brimstone.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XzVR5HTcR1I

Answer 20

whatever god does that is more than we think