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@secularmerlin
Embrasing arbitrariness is not the correct way to love The Truth.
If you are relating to The Truth through love of it, there is a right way of doing it.
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@secularmerlin
Definition of arbitrary courtesy of Merriam-webster...
"based on or determined by individual preference or convenience rather than by necessity or the intrinsic nature of something"
The Truth is not arbitrary.
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@secularmerlin
The Truth is not personal whim. I am not making that claim.
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@secularmerlin
Yet, if you love The Truth there is a right way and a wrong way to go about this relationship.
It is easy to embrace arbitrariness, it is very natural. If you love The Truth, this wouldn't be the right way.
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@secularmerlin
Don't believe me, believe God.
That is righteousness in Christianity, not self righteousness.
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@secularmerlin
I do not need to prove that my beliefs reflect reality in anyway. That is not Christianity. Christianity teaches that everyone is wrong and only God is right.
My belief is that God isnright, and thisnis obviously true. My God is The Truth.
How can this be?
Through The Most Perfect Image of The Truth, with The Spirit of Truth, The Ultimate Reality is believed.
A belief in the threeness, a confession of the oneness of the creator of creation.
And Christianity acknowledges this relationship in a way that no other tradition does. They do not acknowledge that we relate to God through an image. An Icon. What is the Icon of Christianity? The Truth. The Ultimate Reality through The Truth.
If a truth dies does The Truth die?
There is a lot more going on with this Christianity the world dismisses than is realized.
Everything about the Christian discipline is about becoming more honest. Being released from the shackles that keep us from being honest.
Does that sound strange? Don't presume to understand my faith better than I.
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@Goldtop
How much of your will is dictated by biology? By environment? By present or past experience?
I see a lot of causal forces here.
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@secularmerlin
Maybe you are missing the whole point. You are after all, trying to argue about the dictionary with me when the dictionary has no bearing on what I believe. The dictionary confirms what I believe.
But besides that, you are missing the whole point. You don't know the purpose of my religion. If I told you, you wouldn't believe me because you think you already know.
So we might be able to get somewhere, but if you won't believe me, what is the point? All I have been doing since I joined this forum is express Christian theology, but I'm surrounded by unbelievers who think they know my faith better than I do.
So what can I do?
It's very simple
God is The Ultimate Reality.
Love God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength. Love others with charity.
My religion is relationship with God. This is something very different than what you think of as religion.
But besides that, you are missing the whole point. You don't know the purpose of my religion. If I told you, you wouldn't believe me because you think you already know.
So we might be able to get somewhere, but if you won't believe me, what is the point? All I have been doing since I joined this forum is express Christian theology, but I'm surrounded by unbelievers who think they know my faith better than I do.
So what can I do?
It's very simple
God is The Ultimate Reality.
Love God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength. Love others with charity.
My religion is relationship with God. This is something very different than what you think of as religion.
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I can't jump to the moon and back, therefore free will is nonsense. Clearly there are limitations on my will.
And I go a step further, that I don't defy physics by existing.
Free will is an illusion.
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The realest truest most existiest reality is what I call God.
People actually argue that this God doesn't exist. Baffling.
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@Outplayz
My God is the essence of real. If your God was more real than mine, your God would be my God.
My God is The Ultimate Reality.
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@Outplayz
I prefer this dictionary definition from Merriam-webster that defines religion as "a cause, principle, or system of beliefs held to with ardor and faith"
I don't think it is even too far of a stretch to call politics a religion.. or even as you put it, "an abhorrent man-made death cult deserving no place in "everyone's life"
Really, I can't tell the difference between a lot of politicians and religious fanatics anyway.
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@Outplayz
@RationalMadman
Maybe we can be like China where they put portraits of their president at the altars of their state sanctioned churches, make children sign papers in school confessing that they follow no religion, and stomp out any private house congregations that might possibly undermine their watchful eye and state ideology.
Then politics and religion can be one.
Maybe we should all emulate them.
Maybe we should chuck anyone who doesn't agree with the state religion into reeducation camps.
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The Ultimate Reality is God.
That is what God with a capital "G" means.
Why do I repeat this over and over?
Because nothing is more effective at exposing atheism for what it fundamentally is. Denial of truth itself, and this is clearly a dangerous and mindlessly superstitious position to take.
Why not expose that these people only say what they think sounds convincing? Why not expose that they inly drag people into large conversations in order that they trap them in their words? Why not expose that they have no argument, only deep seated hatred and theophobia?
But am I calling for the censorship of these workers of rhetoric and sophistry? No, because I know that the more they argue against The Truth, the more they expose their position as being wicked and foolish. Besides that, I'm not a hater. I don't even flag the posts of those who insult me, but believe me, they flag my posts.
And if they had any sense, they'd abandon their superstitions, and switch their debate from "Does God exist?" To "What can be known of God?".
There is nothing in denying The Ultimate Reality. It's a dead tree. I wouldn't have to constantly call attention to this if atheists didn't systematically ignore this understanding of God. It's atheist kryptonite. There is no argument against The Ultimate Reality. To say, "There is no Ultimate Reality is self defeating"
It is the truth that there is no truth! Prove to me that it is true that there is truth!
And this is certainly important enough to "preach" when truth is so integral to good debate. Besides, I can't help but see there is a double standard here, because these deniers of God make sure to preach that God doesn't exist everywhere they go. Their position is weak, which is why now they are trying to get me silenced.
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@Plisken
He isn't interested in knowing anything. He only cares about sounding convincing. He takes his ability to sound convincing as proof that there is no truth.
He doesn't believe in truth. It's all rhetoric.
But it probably wouldn't be right to believe me on my words. Watch, he's a devil in disguise. He gives himself away.
Ultimate reality
Ultimately real
He doesn't believe in truth. Thats why he's asking. You gave a good answer. He isn't asking you so he can know anything, he simply wants to trap you in your words.
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"He is proud, knowing nothing, but doting about questions and strifes of words, whereof cometh envy, strife, railings, evil surmisings,
Perverse disputings of men of corrupt minds, and destitute of the truth, supposing that gain is godliness: from such withdraw thyself."
Everything has been determined, everything is known, everything is finished in The Ultimate Reality. That is what I believe.
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I stand by what I said, and I don't need to justify having such a viewpoint.
I dehumanize no one.
I do know what the bible says, that he who loves God loves his brother, and if you hate your brother the truth is not in you. There are a few of you atheists who both deny God and hate me, scripture makes it clear that The Truth is not in you.
And it is very clear, at least to me, and I would argue anyone with a sense of discernment, that the arguments coming from this group of God deniers has very little to do with what is true, and more or less to do with what sounds convincing. Its rhetoric. Even still, this type of behavior is expected from people who have a position that literally means "there is no truth". In other words, the lot of you are admittted liars, lying as much as you can. You don't really believe anything you say. You simply debate out of amusement.
Really, it's a waste of time debating with this miserable lot, because they don't really love the truth. I'm not really interested in these TRUE ATHEISTS. After all, telling them that The Truth is God doesn't mean anything to those who don't believe in truth.
But I do believe that even ones such as these can turn away from their wickedness, and turn towards The Truth. If they did so, they would be healed.
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@disgusted
My claim is that when I say, "God", I am talking about The Ultimate Reality.
My claim has been thoroughly demonstrated.
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@Stephen
@Goldtop
Believe what you all want to believe, but it isn't what I believe.
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@Paul
There is something inherently abominable about someone belonging to a nation of priests who doesn't believe in God.
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@disgusted
Aren't you getting tired of this game? Why not just admit you are wrong?
You can't be this oblivious.
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@disgusted
Superstition
Full Definition
- 1 a : a belief or practice resulting from ignorance, fear of the unknown, trust in magic or chance, or a false conception of causationb : an irrational abject attitude of mind toward the supernatural, nature, or God resulting from superstition
- 2 : a notion maintained despite evidence to the contrary
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@disgusted
My argument is older than any of these languages, theophobe.
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@Goldtop
No, this is a dour warning, not mere mockery. A society that prefers the satisfying of its lusts over The Truth is on the way to tyranny.
Such a society is like a junkie with needles hanging out of its arms in the alley. There is nothing there but death.
Here is what the Merriam-webster unabridged dictionary tells us about the ultimate reality....
Definition of ultimate reality
: something that is the supreme, final, and fundamental power in all reality ultimate reality in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam is God
THE TRUTH
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@disgusted
My argument is older than the English language.
Your argument is theophobia.
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@disgusted
Literally the first definition of "being" in oxford
"Existence"
The God Inrecognize is The Ultimate Reality. The Supreme Being.
It is nice to have my God confirmed by a cloud of witnesses.
Not that my God needs anyone to believe in it to exist. My God exists even if everyone is dead. Your god dies with you.
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@Goldtop
There was no mistake. It only looks like a mistake to you because you aren't accepting that God is omnipotent, sovereign over everything.
That means even you only act according to God's will.
So you are being superstitious.
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@disgusted
I wasn't talking about the UN in my original post.
And what I said still stands.
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@disgusted
You have an understanding of God that isn't The Ultimate Reality, which makes you superstitious.
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@Paul
Satanists like to say they are atheists, but really they take themselves as being their own god.
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@disgusted
Supreme Being means the same thing as Ultimate Reality.
Being means existence.
I am accurately presenting the monotheistic position.
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@Paul
I personally enjoy church. I have friends who take their faith seriously, which I like. I am split between 2 churches on Sunday, though they are related and organized from the same building. Half of the month I play either electric guitar or bass in the worship band. The other half of the month I help out at the church that is primarily set up to minister to those who live outside. I also do things during the week as well, I am very involved in the church.
Even what I do here is kind of an extension of a lot of the things I do for the church. I do a lot of educational work. A lot of charity work. My mission here is pretty simple. Inform people that The Truth is God. People are very superstitious about God.
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@mustardness
I'm pretty sure that sobbing during a lie detector test throws off the accuracy.
Just sayin'.
Besides, I'm not sure if you can call yourself a doctor of psychology if you can't bs your way through a lie detector test.
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@Stephen
The fall of man occured when man, puffed up by his own knowledge, took himself to being the rightfull judge of good and evil.
Sounds like your problem.
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@Paul
Very perceptive you are in that.
Yet this forum is full of people who cannot understand it because their hearts and minds have been clouded. Because of their wickedness, divine simplicity is hidden from them. They don't really want to understand. These people are murderers in their hearts.
But you see how truly simple it is. And yet, nothing is more profound than this divine simplicity. And it is fundamentally love of truth that fuels scientific advancement.
So I would say that your love of science comes from an even deeper love. A love for The Truth.
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All your questions are answered by accepting God as what God is.
The Ultimate Reality.
And the truth is, humanity is always going to be in the dark. You think you aren't in the dark because you have "knowledge".
What is the difference between loving The Truth and embracing delusion? It shouldn't be too hard to figure how embracing delusion is not good for you. Not good for the generations that follow you. It isn't to difficult to see that there is no weapon used against The Truth will kill it. It isn't too hard to see that if something actually happened, it was done in reality. No matter how haughty you are, no amount of fighting the truth will change the fact that the truth is the one who makes your life. You can't do anything apart from God.
We are all wrong, but God is right. Knowledge puffs us up to think we are right. We have no righteousness of our own, but any righteousness we do have comes from God, not ourselves.
So believe in God. Recognize The Truth as being God, and The Truth is bigger than either of us and even the bible itself. The bible testifies of The Truth, it is inspired by God. That doesn't mean it is inerrant or infallible about everything. If it was, the bible would be God. There are people who say the bible is the word of God, but the bible itself says that
"All things were made by The Word; and without The Word was not any thing made that was made."
Obviously, scripture did not create everything, that is preposterous.
So if you want to believe you got it all figured out, go ahead and believe what you want to believe. Don't think for a second that this means you understand what I believe.
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@Paul
And you can't tell the difference between any of these things and God?
You might as well take the most beautiful, awe inspiring thing you've ever personally witnessed and judge it based on writings, paintings, and photographs of it.
Thats the grand canyon. Pictures. Thats tge rocky mountains. Paintings. Thats everything you claim isnawe inspiring and interesting. Writings.
No, I am not elevating created things. You are taking the entire planet Earth, and judging it as uninteresting and common based on the multitude of maps and globes that exist.
You are not respecting God as being The Ultimate Reality. You take this as being an arbitrary placeholder rather than an identity. You think I am making exaggerations or something. No, That is what God means. What is understanding of physics without reality? Poofter. Rules to a fantasy game.
No, you still don't understand what I'm actually saying, but I hope you come to.
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@Stephen
The moral of the garden is that we were given the knowledge of good and evil, that is, the ability to discern between truth and falsehood, but we do not have the perspective. God created everything and said it was good. So when did it become bad? When people took themselves as being the rightful judge of what is good and evil. That was the fall.
We are always wrong. God is The Righteous One.
And as everything was created by and through The Word of God, everything has been reconciled back to God. After all, God did it, and we are saved by and through The Word.
But if you don't believe this, you've really condemned yourself, because nothing else is true. Nothing else can save you. And if you believe this, you will love God as God loved you, and pass this love on to others who were also created by God. You will be moved by the spirit in you to action.
As a good father to a son, so has God loved you. This is how you are to love others. That love will make you grow up, and discard the vanitiies in your life that keep you from doing the right thing. The love of Christ moves mountains. There is nothing better you can do for yourself and others than to ABIDE in The Way, The Truth. And The Life.
If you want to get hung up on little alleged inconsistencies in the bible, you are always going to find something. You would also really be missing the entire point of the whole thing. But if this is what you want to do, look for the skeptics annotated bible, and have a field day. Be secure knowing that you will never run out of topics to make in this forum. Never run out of questions.
Or, and I would suggest this instead, you let go of any assumptions concerning what you think you know about the faith, and learn anew.
The bible is not to be an idol placed before God.
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@disgusted
You don't really know what I believe, and you don't want to know.
You would sooner kill me and my people than try to understand.
Believe what you want to believe.
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@disgusted
That's not my argument, but you don't really care about what I have to say.
Believe what you want to believe.
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People would rather prop up themselves, videogames, movies, lusts of the senses, fantasies, vain imaginings... than The Truth.
If that is really what makes life for you, hey, all I can say is don't be surprised if your idolatries end up steering you and your societies toward oppression and slavery.
Keep it real, thats the best policy. Your masturbations will not profit you.
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@Deb-8-a-bull
Being a mocker and a scoffer is not an argument.
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@Paul
My God is The Supreme and Ultimate Reality, not a book.
Any more superstitions that need to be addressed, or are you going to persist in your unbelief?
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@disgusted
Definition of God courtesy Merriam-webster....
capitalized : the supreme or ultimate reality
And this is the only God I recognize.
Now if you have nothing to add to this topic, can you be a loser somewhere else? You are unteachable, so I'm not interested in hearing what you have to say.
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@disgusted
You don't get to tell me what my faith is, you don't even believe there is truth. Go pollute another topic, loser.
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