Mopac

In other words, you won't accept The Truth unless your demands for a miracle are met.

Well, the only thing you will get is that message, that The Truth is God, and when you deny God, you are denying The Truth. 

You take the universe as God. You are a pantheist.

You are not accepting a definition.

You are talking about rabbits when you say "trees".

My definition is not arbitrary. I did not make it up.

When I say God, I am saying "The Ultimate Reality".

And all you have as an argument is striving over words. You want God to be anything other than what God is so that you actually have ground for an argument. Surely you have the sense to know that arguing against The Truth is utterly futile, which is why you must change the meaning of the word.

There is no argument against The One True God.

But maybe you really don't know any better, and so your good news for the day is that everything you believe about what God is happens to be based on superstition, because The Truth is God.

Believe, the burden is light.

There is nothing mysterious about what I'm saying.

The Truth is The Ultimate Reality 

It is what it is.

Yet here I am asked to give endless descriptions of what is fundamentally greater than any understanding of it. I don't think the problem here is a lack of understanding of what this means... I think it is a refusal to accept what this means.

And why?

Because it makes atheism not only wrong, but patently foolish and obviously wrong.

The atheist position is "The truth is a lie!"

I know you are wrong because you make God something other than the literal Truth.

You are making a straw man because their is no other. way you can argue against God.

Then you are making arbitrary arguments you know aren't valid, because these other gods are created things, not The Truth.

There are no facts and truths without The Truth.

It is the ground of all reality.

It is not simply an essence, it is the very existence that all other existences come from. There can be no existence without it.

I don't think you understand what you are denying, because your denial of this Neccessary Truth undermines all truths.

Except that The Truth is literally the God I believe, so you are wrong

I've seen things for sure.

I am the kind of person who had to learn things the hard way.

For science.

Yes, and psychiatry is what I wouldn't trust.

Don't get me wrong, the pschology field likely attracts a lot of kooks, but there are probably some good ones out there.

I don't know. I do not see either. I was in a mental hospital once under a false accusation of trying to hurt myself and others. These accusations were from a God hater who wanted to silence me. I was taken against my will by paramedics and I got to spend time in the happy farm. I would have been out in 5 days if I would have taken their pills, but I refused, so they kept me there for a whole month.

The things I saw during that time made me lose faith entirely in that institution. They are not really helping people. Besides that, I was imprisoned under false pretenses without any due process.

That was a long time ago though.

That was the first time I was persecuted for my faith. While I was in there, I ministered to people. A friend from the outside gifted me a bible. I was reading outloud the sermon on the mount to a group that wanted to hear it. The staff panicked, shot me with thorazine and I went to sleep. They mocked me for my faith. "Oh, thall shalt not do this and that!" and laughed at me.

The doctors were terrified of all the patients and literally did nothing to help anyone. They would haphazardly prescribe pills after talking with someone for half a minute. 

I do not trust psychiatrists, not one bit. I think their entire "science" is built off of faulty premises. I don't respect their field at all.

So I guess the scientologists are right about this one lol

I've probably done more acid than the lot of you combined, and I still don't think the stuff is harmless. Ever been lost at every intersection in a place you walk through every day? Ever lay in a ditch for several hours watching paint swirl while your hands keep aging into bones and reverse aging into looking young again? Acid is weird stuff.

I am not the least surprised that the OP has never done acid. 

Most of my experiences were positive, but I never did drugs just to get messed up. I found that trying to maintain my composure was how I enjoyed my high the most.

Acid is easily one of the harder drugs to maintain your composure on, but it is really fun to try. Certain things were nearly impossible for me though... like doing anything with money... counting just never made sense to me on acid. Eating wasn't really that fun for me either, everything is alive. You see things you never notice otherwise on acid. It also tends to illicit a constant state of epiphany... like "This is it!".

There is a reason why it was first experimented as a mind control drug. People are very open to things when they are on acid. It is a favorite drug among wizards and sorcerers.

I really would advise people to stay away from drugs, and I would go so far as yo say that people shouldn't trust the field of psychiatry either.

That's what it says, but I'm very apolitical. At some point or another, I think everyone has to come to terms with the fact that we all have to live with other people's bad decisions.

I suppose when you put it that way, I can't say for sure that I disagree.

So you don't even really believe in truth at all, that's what I'm getting out of this.

If the facts change, The Truth changes.

Thats the impression I am getting, and it looks arbitrary to me.

So please, if I am getting the wrong impression, I would like to be set straight here on what it is you are saying.

You say that reason understands truth, that it comprehends truth. To comprehend truth does not imply the creation of truth.

I do not believe it is sound to claim that all of creation cane from reason. I do not believe that all existence comes soley from thought.

And what premises are you starting from?

Prove to me that it is true that there is truth!

If you need evidence that The Truth exists, you don't understand what that means.

The Truth is God.

You have all the evidence you need.

I'm literally talking about The Truth. Not what is said or thought about The Truth, but what The Truth Is.

If you think The Truth is contingent on other things, such as other truths, it is not really The Truth.

The Truth is not contingent on other truths, it is the other way around. A truth would not be True unless The Truth existed.

There are no truths without The Truth. Truths are contingent and relativistic by nature. They only exist in context.

The Truth always is what it is. Eternal Truth.

If you don't believe in The Truth, you don't really believe in truths, and there isn't a way around this. In fact, if The Truth didn't exist, nothing coukd truly exist because The Truth is what makes anything real at all, and truths are only real in some sense. Bu The Truth is real in every sense.

If something exists at all, it is true. So why is this so hard to accept? I am not saying that essence preceeds existence, I am saying that existence is essence... The Essence of God.

So you see, the point being, if you don't believe God exists, you are automatically wrong because existence itself proves God. There is no existence without God because God is existence itself. Eternal Existence. The Ultimate Reality.

So how can anyone not believe God? There is no sensical reason for this at all. It is fundamentally an illogical position to take.

What is truth?

So you don't understand God the way I do, but you still believe God exists because you believe The Truth exists.

I defined God as The Ultimate Reality, and not really me, I didn't make that up.

Understanding of God =/= God.

If you can see that, you can see qhy it isn't necessary that we believe the same, because we are both wrong.

"All things were made by him(reason); and without him was not any thing made that was made."?

Yet, loving God and accepting God as Lord and Savior is universally a good and right thing to do, and that is the grand point.

It is best for you, best for society, and best for the world. When people forsake God in favor of idols, that is when death and destruction follow.

Who is making use of scripture? It is for people to use.

The idea that people are the point of everything is not biblical. God is the point of everything.

Sin is not good for YOU.

Sin is abiding in death rather than life. It is self condemnation.

If you abide in death... well...

Don't be surprised if you suffer for it.

Yeah, you are literally describing Satanism, so you shouldn't really be shocked that you've been accused of being satanic. 

Yet, there is a greater god than yourself, and that God is The Ultimate Reality.

You were born you will die. The One True God is eternal, always existing, never not existing.

But if God loves you, why shouldn't you love yourself? How do you love your neighbor as yourself if you don't love yourself?

But real humility, doesn't come from worshipping the self as God. Real humility comes from worshipping The Truth as God, and The Truth will show you how you are not without sin. Real humility comes from recognizing that despite the things that might make you extraordinary, your righteousness is nothing against the measuring stick of The Truth.

And it is through that sincere humility from realizing that we are all in the mud that makes genuine love for your fellows. After all, as lousy as I truly am, this is the way God made me, and I have been forgiven for my faults. Being forgiven, how can I judge another for their ignorance, even when they are insulting me, slandering me, even persecuting me?

It is the love of The Truth that allows me to love others, and my love for others is the readon I want everyone to know the good news.. that The Truth is God, God is salvation, and that a peace that surpasses all understanding can be realized even in this life through loving God above all other things.

And even if no one were to believe a thing that I say, and all my efforts to spread the good news fall on deaf ears, I am serene and at peace. I do what I do out of love, not this silly notion that I can save anyone. The one who saves is God alone. Love perfected casts out all fear. I do not fear for anyone's salvation. I accept God's will is done regardless of what happens. My peace is with God.

And I pray one day you realize that there is a higher power than yourself, and that higher power is God, The Truth, who is the only One who can save you. It is not by any work of your own. I hope you come to realize that what you may be considering to be success at life is truly vanity, and that in the end, no man can usurp the throne of God.

I do not believe that God represents a personification of logic. God represents The Truth, which I believe has greater authority and reality than logic. I of course do believe it is evident that without The Truth, logic loses its meaning.

I do however believe that love of The Truth inclines one to appreciate logic. Logic should never be taken as an idol in place of or before The Truth.

If you with sincerity make habit to pray that God give you strength to do the right thing, you don't think this has an effect on the fortitude of the one praying with sincerity?

If you continually pray with sincerity that God would help you get through life's troubles, you don't think that this wouldn't somehow make you more conscientious of solutions?

If you pray earnestly that God give you The Holy Spirit, you don't think that The Spirit of Truth will be given to you?

There is nothing hard to believe about these examples of prayer.

Yet In my own personal life, I have seen very unexpected and miraculous things happen out of prayer. Things that seem to defy reason, but are too phenomenal to simply dismiss as coincidence. So my own understanding of prayer is very reasoned and rational, but rhese extraordinary instances humble me with the knowledge that some things really can't be totally understood. God knows.

Equating God with The Truth is not incoherent, your understanding of that assertion of identity is incoherent.

Sin is the very real and observable truth that you are wrong. It's part of being human. Admitting sin is to say that you are wrong and that God is right. 

Sin is also knowingly doing something you know isn't right.

But yes, as it is written, 

"thou hast established the earth, and it abideth.

"what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away."

"Behold, the nations are as a drop of a bucket, and are counted as the small dust of the balance"

"All nations before him are as nothing; and they are counted to him less than nothing, and vanity."

"I have seen all the works that are done under the sun; and, behold, all is vanity and vexation of spirit."

The idea that people are the point of everything is not biblical, and cosmic insignificance is inherent in believing in God.

God is easily able to account for the most insignificant things.

Certainly God answers prayers.

But since you find this to be difficult to believe, I'd wager that you don't really have an understanding of how that works that makes sense to you.

If you want The Truth above all things, pray for The Holy Spirit, and God will give you that Spirit of Truth.

That is the best prayer you can make. 

The Ultimate Reality is God, and so that is what is intrinsic. That God is The Truth.

There are those who believe God that do not pray or believe in prayer. It is by our faith that we are justified.

The Truth is the highest good.

There is no problem of evil when you understand good as being The Truth rather than what seems pleasing, beneficial, or in line with personal standards.

God's will is ultimately done, and God is sovereign over all things.

This is, after all. Intrinsic to what "ultimate reality" means.

Accepting this is peace.

The Truth clearly transcends the cultural trappings and the traditions of men

As it is written,

"ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers;"

The Supreme and Ultimate Reality is God, and true religion is always the love of this God.

When we speak of God, we are speaking of The Uncreated through the medium of creation, and indeed, this is how we relate to God. Through the medium of creation.

Those who have no charity will kill each other over what to call a rose. They will kill each ither when they believe the same things, never knowing.

This is why sincere faith is not enough, there must also be charity.

Sincere faith and charity is The Way.

I never claimed to be wise. I do know that The Truth is my God, and if you make God to be anything other than that, you are looking at a false God.

You say that God must have all these qualities, and maybe God does. Tell me how these qualities are intrinsic to what Ultimate Reality means? Because The Ultimate Reality is God.

It is true that Donald Trump is the president of The United States. Before he was president, it was not true. After he leaves office, it will not be true.

A truth is only true in relativity. It is true depending on context. The truth is not eternal.

The Truth by contrast is eternally true. Always was true, always is true, and always will be true. It is not contingent.

There you have the difference between reality and ultimate reality.

But to go a step further, something could not be true unless The Truth was in it. The Truth is what makes anything true. So if a truth dies. The Truth doesn't die.

So if you believe in truth or reality at all, you already believe that God exists whether you are willing to acknowledge God as being such or not.

If a man loves another man, let it be as a brother.

If a woman loves another woman, let it be as a sister.

Men and women are different. It is hard for them to sometimes get along because we are different. Prefering to marry the same sex shows intolerance towards the opposite sex. 

I would not wish for any child to be raised in such a perverse environment. 

The One underlying reality that all realities exist in, by, and through. The one Reality that is eternal, always been, always is, and always will be. Incomparable, Singular, never changing, all pervasive, all encompassing, REALITY

The way things actually are as opposed to the way things appear to be, are thought of being, etc.

It's the source. The beginning and the end.

Omnipotent, that is, all influence comes from in.

Omnipresent, that is, everywhere at once.

Omnibenevolent, that is, everything it does is good

Omniscient, that is, everything that is known is known in it.

I'm talking about God, the one that is written on the hearts of all. Who is nearer than the breath, who formed us in the womb, sustains us through life, and The Eternal Lord of All. The First and The Last.

The Supreme and Ultimate Reality. The Supreme Being. God.

Really, it is what it is. The Truth. What is The Truth? Exactly what the word means.

Is my understanding of the Truth ahat is ultimately real? No, and indeed, all fall short. If this wasn't the case it wouldn't be what it is.

So we can debate about our understandings of God for eternity, but one thing that is absolutely not up for debate is that the concept of God refers to The Ultimate Reality, and to make God anything less is to speak of some other entity. 

You know what else is flesh driven?

Eating.

A Godly marriage between a man and a woman not only perfects love through love of spouse, but it perfects love through love of children. These children, are better prepared to live a godly life than the orphans who are raised by one or no parents or worse yet, people who have unhealthy and perverse attitudes towards sex.

There is no benefit, and only harm from encouraging people to engage in sodomy.

It doesn't take a brilliant mind to know that The Truth exists.

It takes a haughty mind to deny The Truth.

And so the "wise" are made into fools.

It is what it is.

Exactly what it means.

Understanding of God is not God

The Supreme and Ultimate Reality 

There is nothing rational about atheism towards The One True God. 

You can't make claims about truth while simultaneously denying the reality of The Truth.

Rightly identifying God as The Truth is not a fallacy, that is what the concept of God in monotheism means.

If anything, speaking of God as being anything other than The Truth is a fallacy.

One of the major overarching themes of The New Testament is how the letter kills, but the spirit brings life.

The spirit being Truth and charity.

Sodomy is a symptom of idolatry.

If you need any more proof, look at how many people cannot accept God because they prefer the satisfying of their lusts to The Truth.

Sodomy is destructive, inherently flesh driven, and though the people who engage in these things should be shown charity, it would be wrong to lie to them and say that there is nothing wrong with it.

That is what is written in the dictionary, because in English God and god have different meanings.

You do not have this issue in other languages. For example, in Arabic. Allah means God and Illah means god.

So if you have a problem, write merriam webster a letter, because I didn't write their dictionary.

Which by the way, is a GREAT dictionary.

If you believe that The Truth was invented 3000 years ago, you do not understand what The Truth Is.

Here are some different definitions from merriam webster....

God -  capitalized : the supreme or ultimate reality

Religion - a cause, principle, or system of beliefs held to with ardor and faith

Faith - something that is believed especially withstrong conviction

Superstition - 

"yea, let God be true, but every man a liar; as it is written, That thou mightest be justified in thy sayings, and mightest overcome when thou art judged."

I have always been very clear about my reason for declaring boldly that God is The Supreme and Ultimate Reality.

This is what scripture teaches. This is what thousands of years worth of theology teaches. It is written in dictionaries.

And if none of these sources even existed, it is simply true that there is nothing else that even comes close to being worthy of being called God.

Whether you admit it or not, The Truth is God over your life, and no amount of rebelling against this undermines The Reality of God's sovereignty over all things.

So in actuality, there would be a better case that those who deny The One True God are the ones arbitrarily changing the glory of the uncorruptable God into an image that they can actually argue against. 

There is no argument against God, and you, acknowledging that reality and truth exist even can admit this.

So here is your good news for the day. The Truth is what sets you free, and The Truth is God. Salvation is of God.

The Truth is God. The religion is sincere faith and charity. This is how you love God.

So how do you teach children to be sincere? To be honest? To love others? A good place to start is being be example yourself. Love your spouse. Love your children. Love your fellow man. Don't be rude to those who you think are ignorant. Communicate to edify. Behave in charity, with mercy and truth.