Part 9 of Post Your Tough Questions Regarding Christianity

How childishly presumptive you are.

Now really TBB... Is that the best that you can do?

Not telling lies to an entire congregation would have required the same level of manhood and integrity. But the record shows that you were not and are not that much of a man.

 

In spite of your claim in the first sentence above, you have no proof of that claim. Hypocrite. As pertaining to your question... how the heck am I supposed to know? Do you think that I am God and know what goes on in the minds of every living person? (which includes you)

 

Please show in the content of my last statement where I excluded myself from the "opinion category"? Did I say that I have any irrefutable proof of anything? Come on now ,,, be honest.

 

On the contrary. I quit. I confronted my dishonesty and stopped.
You have made it your online persona, embracing your dishonesty and making it a lifestyle.

 

Honesty and dishonesty. What are those creatures? My online persona is one that demonstrates my desire to confront claims which have not been proven. If that is what you call my online persona, then so be it. That online persona will continue to manifest itself as long as I see through reading that people are making claims that have not been supported with irrefutable evidence to support the claims.

 

Do you want to categorically deny you have made this claim?
For the record?
Do you need to be God to know what ideas you apply to others?
Besides, haven't you stated you are a lesser god?

 

Funny.
That's why I left the pulpit.
Your persona is that of a disingenuous clown.
Interesting you can't parse the concept of honesty.

 

The interesting and yet unresolved thing about you leaving the pulpit is this: You claimed that you were tired of telling lies to the congregation regarding aspects of the Christian faith and its teachings, saying that those things that you told them were lies. YET, you never have proven that those things were lies; and you still went ahead and labeled yourself as a liar by stating that you had told them lies. Now you want to assume the authority to challenge the integrity and degree of honesty of someone else? How novel. Yes! It is interesting how you will not parse the concept of honesty. Then slip into the childlike behavior of 'name calling'.... intellectual dishonesty at its finest.

 

I didn't say you did. Just wanted it to be clear, you offer only opinions.
And I wanted to be clear, your asking for irrefutable proof doesn't mean you have any for your statements/posts/claims/opinions/etc.

 

When put in a corner, you agreed with me that I had lied to the congregation. You remember that exchange?
You so desperately wanted to be able to call me a liar that you agreed that some of your most cherished beliefs are actually falsehoods, just to give your ego a bit of a boost.
How would you know if I am dishonest?
Honesty? Dishonesty? What are these creatures? Isn't that the question you posed?

 

On the contrary. I have and possess the definitive and irrefutable proof called "fact" See here: www.thefreedictionary.com/fact definition 2.c.
"2. c. Something believed to be true or real: a document laced with mistaken facts." As such it is a "fact" until PROVEN to not be a 'fact'. Now do you desire to challenge my belief that the Bible and all of its contents are 'true and real' (Fact). Then come on with that irrefutable proof that shows my BELIEF to be in error or to be a mistaken belief.

 

I agreed that you had said that you lied to your congregation. Nothing else. Then when you were put in a corner to prove that the things you claimed to be lies, you presented NOTHING.

Name one of those 'beliefs' that you allege I claimed to be 'falsehoods'.

Because you said that you told lies to your congregation. Now, either you lied to the congregation or you are currently telling a lie to this congregation of forum members and guests.

Yes those are questions that I posed. Seemingly you don't have an answer.

 

That is an out and out lie. You tried that but I insisted you answer the question of whether or not you did believe I lied to them and you finally said Yes!
You have no integrity at all. That is a shameful thing you are doing.
You know the truth. Integrity is who you are when no one is looking, and you know that you are lying.
How do you live with yourself?
What kind of god could you worship that would find any kind of honor in you?

 

We all have that.
I will not challenge anyone's beliefs. No need to. A fact to you is only good for you.
Fact is, I don't have to show my irrefutable proof.

 

Since you brought up 1 Samuel 15:3 then let me begin by saying, the Amalekite people were evil people and because of their sins & disobedience our righteous God of the Old Testament allowed the killings (punishments) of the Amalekites. God had morally sufficient reasons for ordering the destruction of this nation.

To God, the Amalekite culture, like many other cultures, was full of sinners who would not ever freely choose righteousness, but unlike those people in the Jewish culture, they were completely unredeemable. Such an unredemptive nature was not the result of their having been born into another culture, but because God knew before they were ever born that they would not ever under any circumstances accept God’s gift of salvation.

Exactly what types of people were the Amalekites? Deuteronomy, one of the first five books of the Bible which is largely believed to have been written centuries before 1 Samuel, describes the Amalekites in rather unflattering language. Scripture tell us in Deut. 25:17-19 NLT:

"Never forget what the Amalekites did to you as you came from Egypt. They attacked you when you were exhausted and weary, and they struck down those who were straggling behind. They had no fear of God. Therefore when the Lord your God has given you rest from all your enemies in the land He is giving you as a special possession, you must destroy the Amalekites and erase their memory from under heaven, Never forget this!" (Emphasis added.)

What about the children? This is not an easy question to answer but we must keep several things in mind.
God is sovereign over all of life and can take it whenever He sees fit. God, and God alone, can give life and God alone has the right to take it whenever He so chooses.

In fact, He ultimately takes every person's life at death. It is not our life to begin with but God's. While it is wrong for us to take a life, except in instances of capital punishment, war, and self-defense, this does not mean that it is wrong for God to do so.

We recognize this when we accuse some person or authority who takes human life as "playing God." God is under no obligation to extend anyone's life for even another day. How and when we die is completely up to Him.

An argument could be made that it would have been cruel for God to take the lives of all the Amalekites except the infants and children. Without the protection and support of their parents, the infants and small children were likely to face death anyway due to starvation. The chances of survival for an orphan in the ancient Near East were not good.

Finally, and most importantly, God may have provided for the salvation for those infants who would not have otherwise attained salvation if they had lived into adulthood. We must remember that the Amalekites were a barbarous and evil culture. If those infants and children had lived into adulthood, it is very likely they would have turned into something similar to their parents. If all infants and young children who die before an age of moral accountability go straight to heaven (as we believe), then those children are in a far better place than if God had allowed them to live and grow to maturity in a depraved culture.

Surely the issue of God commanding violence in the Old Testament is difficult. However, we must remember that God sees things from an eternal perspective, and His ways are not our ways (Isaiah 55:8-9). The Apostle Paul tells us that God is both kind and severe (Romans 11:22). While it is true that God's holy character demands that sin be punished, His grace and mercy remain extended to those who are willing to repent and be saved. The Amalekite destruction provides us with a reminder that while our God is gracious and merciful, He is also a God of holiness and wrath.

 

God got the Pharaoh to release His chosen people (Israelites) after 400 yrs. of bondage being held as slaves in the land of Egypt.

God was now going to take these people to the "Promised Land." that He promised them.

 

Sorry but again I'm not here to prove anything. I believed it happened because I have faith in Almighty God, the Creator of the universe and everything else that exists, that He is telling us the truth as written in the Holy Bible.

If you don't believe it fine...so be it! It is your problem if you insist on proof, I suggest you start doing some research...eh?

 

if someone you know and love decided to buy a used car without checking to see if it actually runs, taking on faith everything claimed by the salesperson, would you consider it a virtue? would this person, in your eyes, become virtuous for not 'doubting'?

 

Reopen the thread and we will start there. That would be the proper thread to discuss those issues in detail as opposed to keeping the thread off topic.

By the way. What kind of god do you now worship who knows that you said the Bible was untrue and the teachings of Christianity were lies? I believe in the Bible your god would be referred to under several different names like Lucifer, Baal, Devil, Satan, etc.

 

My goodness. You finally caught on. Then why do you challenge the basis of the Bible. The Bible (even to its numerous people who were said to author those books) is or was during their time their belief for whatever reason they had that encouraged them to write those books. So you see, it is challenging the Beliefs of numerous people when you challenge that which they Believe. To those people who Believe, the Bible and its contents are FACT and as you said, "is only good for" that person who BELIEVES. So, if you don't have to show any irrefutable proof to finally be an end all to the feuding over whether or not the Bible and its contents are true and real, then those people who do believe that the Bible and its contents are true and real, are under no obligation to show any irrefutable proof or any other proof to you and your ilk.

 

At least you didn't humiliate yourself and defend your lie.
That's progress.
When called out on it, you simply desperately want to change the subject.
I didn't take the thread off topic. I didn't bring up this very old business.
You did.

 

Maybe he thought he was doing research by asking the self-proclaimed expert that was here to answer all the tough questions on Christianity.
When asked one, why do you simply get mad at the inquirer?

 

I think father time erased records considering we are talking about an event that happened around 3,400 yrs ago. That is a very long time ago to hold onto a record of anything but ironically the Bible's record is still here with us...it must be because of the power of Almighty God keeping His book intact, His revelation to us intact...something to think about.

And the thing that is so remarkable about the Holy Bible is that no matter how much effort the critics engage in to destroy its credibility the fact remains they just can't do it, it is here to stay simply because it is the Word of God.

 

Wrong I caught on long ago. Remember a while back they posting back and forth about anyone will believe whatever they want and that is a fact/truth?

Because outside the bible, very little can be verified. And I wonder what makes the bible any more or less accurate than the koran or like religious texts. And why one believes the beliefs they have. Knowledge, curiosity, yearning. Take a pick.

I really only challenge someone when they post claims as if they are 100% certain. And ask for how they are 100% certain. See the noah's flood is real thread.
If someone is going to state that something in the bible is fact, they need to prove it or just pull back and state it is their belief and is based on this scripture or whatever it is that makes them believe that. But you will frequently see one make the claim and flat out deny what is actually written because they could never believe it the way it is written.
Such as, did God harden the pharoahs heart.
http://biblehub.com/exodus/9-12.htm
It is pretty clear what is written.

Then one has to wonder, Moses wrote about the exodus. Was an adopted relative, sort of, of the pharoah, yet in his writings about the exodus events, he doesn't name the pharoah. Strikes me as odd.

 

The hieroglyphs are still here.
Something to think about.
Critics can't destroy what isn't there. So you're right.
They can't destroy the credibility of scripture.