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| Is there a god?
Posted: 5/4/2008 12:07:35 PM | I believe in one God, the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth, and of all things visible and invisible.
And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only-begotten Son of God, begotten of the Father before all worlds; God of God, Light of Light, very God of very God; begotten, not made, being of one substance with the Father, by whom all things were made.
Who, for us and for our salvation, came down from heaven, and was incarnate by the Holy Spirit of the virgin Mary, and was made man; and was crucified also for us under Pontius Pilate; He suffered and was buried; and the third day He rose again, according to the Scriptures; and ascended into heaven, and sits on the right hand of the Father; and He shall come again, with glory, to judge the quick and the dead; whose kingdom shall have no end.
And I believe in the Holy Ghost, the Lord and Giver of Life; who proceeds from the Father [and the Son]; who with the Father and the Son together is worshipped and glorified; who spoke by the prophets.
And I believe one holy catholic and apostolic Church. I acknowledge one baptism for the remission of sins; and I look for the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the world to come.
Amen. | |
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| Is there a god?
Posted: 5/4/2008 1:30:06 PM | Yes, indeed, there is a God, I believe in it, if you face miracle in your life, you will believe it, and you never ask that question, b/c on my own experience, I feel his presence in everyday of my life, God is a wonderful, he healed my sick, he answered all my prayers, although sometimes I need to wait, but in the end his answer is completely yes. I've seen some people recieve miracle, if you ain't seen them in your two eyes, you wouldn't believe, but in my case, I've seen it not once but more than once.
God bless
God bless | |
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| Is there a god?
Posted: 5/4/2008 2:35:00 PM | Yes, indeed, there is a God, I believe in it, if you face miracle in your life, you will believe it, and you never ask that question, b/c on my own experience, I feel his presence in everyday of my life, God is a wonderful, he healed my sick, he answered all my prayers, although sometimes I need to wait, but in the end his answer is completely yes. I've seen some people recieve miracle, if you ain't seen them in your two eyes, you wouldn't believe, but in my case, I've seen it not once but more than once.
i see it everyday,if you allow the lord in to your heart,you see the miracle of his glory everyday.peace,love and forgivness.these three things are miracles that can only truelly be understood by faith.and with that belief miracles never end. | |
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| Is there a god?
Posted: 5/4/2008 5:22:05 PM | To the above three posts:
Which god is the correct god to worship? Explain why Odin is the "wrong" god to worship. You all realize that the only ones getting into heaven (Valhalla) are those that die in battle... all others go to the underworld... "Hel".
This isn't rhetorical. I really want to know... especially from Rebecca since she's just proselytizing in the forums. Explain why your god is the correct one and ALL other gods are false.
James, Seattle, Washington, USA, Earth | |
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| Is there a god?
Posted: 5/4/2008 6:33:38 PM | Which God is the correct to worship? By his very nature there can only be one God. God must be absolute otherwise he is not God and thus Odin etc do not come into conntention to recive worship. They simply formed a stratum of unrefined folk theology. Therefore the answer to which god is correct to worship becomes simple- God. The question is, which interprittation of god is correct.
This of course ties into to rebeccas 'proselytizing' since she is quoting what is in essence the foundation stone of modern society. Rebecca's god has rather a special precident over Odin by the very fact that events relating to him took place in varyfiable history. | |
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| Is there a god?
Posted: 5/4/2008 6:51:36 PM |
Which God is the correct to worship? By his very nature there can only be one God God must be absolute otherwise he is not God. and thus Odin etc do not come into conntention to recive worship. They simply formed a stratum of unrefined folk theology. Therefore the answer to which god is correct to worship becomes simple- God. The question is, which interprittation of god is correct
This is just one view. The bolded section is essentially the opinion of monotheists but there is nothing of any substance to back it up beyond belief.
Rebecca's god has rather a special precident over Odin by the very fact that events relating to him took place in varyfiable history.
I think you should see the Historicity of Jesus thread if you are inferring that somehow there is a connection between the Judaeo-Christian deity making actual verifiable appearance in history. Oh sure there are plenty of activities by the followers of the deity but the same goes for Odinists and the followers of any God...this is hardly proof of existence or reality. Russell's Teapot argument comes to mind here. | |
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| Is there a god?
Posted: 5/4/2008 8:10:57 PM | Well firstly there is the substance of logic. Even if we alow for a plethera of divine beings those that are limited cannot be God per se thus most polythistic systems therfore emphisise a supreme being in their mythos, ie Jupiter, by implicit regognition of this problem. If God is bound by anything what so ever he simply cannot be God, a being beyond ourselves and understanding our yes ...but God no. It is a contradiction.
As for the second point i am not aware of this thread but i would point out that i am currently aware of no respected scholar who doubts the basic historicity of jeus whatever the conclusion of this thread.
Thirdly i could not agree more that followers is hardly an indication of reality but since i made no such point you should prehaps refrain from putting words in my mouth. | |
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| Is there a god?
Posted: 5/4/2008 8:20:23 PM | | Haven't had any disciples of Odin knocking on my door before to tell me about his forgiveness and grace so that tells me he isn't too good at motivating his followers to spread the word. | |
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| Is there a god?
Posted: 5/4/2008 8:33:59 PM |
but i would point out that i am currently aware of no respected scholar who doubts the basic historicity of jeus
That just makes you unaware. Any decent historian who isn't unduly influenced by New Testament doctrine, will cede that there is no actual evidence for a biblical Jesus. All references are literary and derive from biblical sources, or from sources highly suspected as being altered by early Christians. There are no independant references to Christ from the time of his supposed life. He is historically and archaeologically invisible outside of the Bible. All of that is discussed in the the thread referred to.
If God is bound by anything what so ever he simply cannot be God, a being beyond ourselves and understanding our yes ...but God no. It is a contradiction
Actually...no. This is only the definition of god chosen by you. This is a "no true Scotsman" fallacy. You establish your own definition to fit the evidence you wish to see, then claim all others to be wrong. Sorry, but there are many concepts of gods which are equally valid to your own. Like your own, not one of them can be substantiated by any evidence or logic. Most, if not all, are actually refuted by evidence AND logic, since not one of them is consistant or predictable. Sure, any one of them could be right...there's just no rational reason to think so. | |
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| Is there a god?
Posted: 5/4/2008 8:38:28 PM |
Haven't had any disciples of Odin knocking on my door before to tell me about his forgiveness and grace so that tells me he isn't too good at motivating his followers to spread the word.
Tells me that followers of Jehovah lack courtesy, and disrespect their fellow humans by annoying the crap out of them. | |
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| Is there a god?
Posted: 5/4/2008 8:45:26 PM | E.Kyro said....
Haven't had any disciples of Odin knocking on my door before to tell me about his forgiveness and grace so that tells me he isn't too good at motivating his followers to spread the word.
According to your logic, the God/Christ of the Book of Mormon would win hands down.....the Mormon door knockers don't seem to have any close competition when it comes to organised and motivated proselytising home invaders. It is arguable whether the dieties in the BOM are the same ones in the N&OTs....but if it assures you that your god is bigger and betterer than any other god....you are welcome to the belief...such as it is. | |
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| Is there a god?
Posted: 5/4/2008 8:46:22 PM |
Haven't had any disciples of Odin knocking on my door before to tell me about his forgiveness and grace so that tells me he isn't too good at motivating his followers to spread the word.
As one other poster pointed out, modern Odinists do not believe in prosletyzing...would that monotheists take a page from this faith 
Mind you if you got invited to an Odinist gathering at least there would likely be mead and wild boar.  
As to the rest, Frog_0 answered the other points well enough. Good old argument from ignorance again.
There is simply no good reason to believe in the reality of one god over another, be they YHWH, Flying Spaghetti Monster, Invisible Pink Unicorn, Zeus, Odin, what have you.
The observation about polytheism is also a naive one that doesn't always hold true and is an EXTREME simplification...doubtless born of ignorance of alternative religious systems. Very often, polytheistic religions only use multiple deities to personify various aspects or areas of control and focus for a single divine agency...each aspect is personified into an individual deity, but they are all only aspects of the One. Hinduism is a perfect example of this. | |
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| Is there a god?
Posted: 5/4/2008 9:31:09 PM | If I'm not mistaken, some of those ancient polytheistic faiths take the notion that the gods basically don't give a damn about man, and don't involve themselves most of the time. Doing something is exceptional.
In a way, this is a bit more tenable than monotheism. Modern monotheistic faiths "blame" God for everything, including contradictory opposites. Some of the followers feel the need to knock on doors to convince others of the validity of their faith. Why? Is there something about monotheism which makes one god all-powerful...until it comes time to convince people he exists? People believed devoutly in gods which existed and didn't give a damn to get involved. Now people believe in a god which exists, is directly involved in everything, yet is so unconvincingly "true" that followers feel the need to browbeat-with-the-book those who are less than convinced. It's a good thing He had one "only begotten son", because He sure got impotent after that. | |
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| Is there a god?
Posted: 5/4/2008 9:42:06 PM | I believe in one God, the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth, and of all things visible and invisible. etc., etc., etc.
Spoken like a true Catholic.
Didn't Jesus saying something about when you pray, do it in secret? | |
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| Is there a god?
Posted: 5/4/2008 10:53:42 PM | guy named ray:
Spoken like a true Catholic.
Didn't Jesus saying something about when you pray, do it in secret?
You're probably thinking of Matthew 6:5-7: "And when ye pray, you shall not be as the hypocrites, that love to stand and pray in the synagogues and corners of the streets, that they may be seen by men: Amen I say to you, they have received their reward. But thou when thou shalt pray, enter into thy chamber, and having shut the door, pray to thy Father in secret, and thy father who seeth in secret will repay thee. And when you are praying, speak not much, as the heathens. For they think that in their much speaking they may be heard."
It's a warning against those who put on an air of piety in public to be recognized, but don't practice that faith at home or have a personal relationship with their God.
That doesn't mean that publicly reciting the Nicene Creed is therefore wrong. Christ also preached and worshiped publicly in the synagogues, and taught His disciples to do the same. And besides, isn't that a perfectly fine answer to the OP: "is there a God?" She states that she believes there is one, and that's that. As St. Peter, whom we believe to be the first pope, instructed: "sanctify the Lord Christ in your hearts, being ready always to satisfy every one that asketh you a reason of that hope which is in you." (1 Peter 3:15) | |
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| Is there a god?
Posted: 5/5/2008 12:03:51 AM | "If god does exist...in his infinite power.... why did he make such a rubbish world... earthquakes, volcanoes, starvation, suffering beyond belief, george bush, gordon brown and the rest of the nasties of the world.
He could have made everything PERFECT.
He could have made us live forever and made it such that THAT was the way it was supposed to be.
If there is a god. He's a complete W***er and I'm glad that I'm be going to hell ."
That is FASCINATING! Well. The world used to be perfect. Earliest generation humans used to live over 800 years, and everything was very lush with a different atmosphere composition, in the beginning. You would not believe how old Noah and his homeboys were.
I don't care to attempt to type out many evenings of attempting to convince strangers over the internet. But if you are lost and want answers, you can begin searching Dr. Ron Carlson. Begin searching for video debates on evolution vs. creation. Since watching maybe half a dozen viideo debates from assorted authors, I happened to learn multiple things as "fact" (these videos provide references as they go along their debates) including that this "Bible" is written by over 40 different authors, written in several different languages, on one same topic- a son of God, covering the same persons (Jesus and followers), and covering the same events- prophecies to observed crucifixtion and ascension to heaven. The poor carpenter- Jesus, from Joseph and Mary of Nazareth- was the son of god. His awesome miracles documented by multiple different authors. Want to just read miracles? Some bibles categorize at the back if you just want to look up "Fulfilled prophecies", "Miracles", etc. Miracles are found in the "gospels"- near the end of the bibles. IE: Read John. It may be hard as **** to understand as a beginner because there's geography and people and it's a bit much, but the miracles are numerous... each "major" one has it's own heading IE: Jesus walks on water. Jesus feeds 5000. Jesus heals the invalid. etc etc etc.
Find a mentor. HEY! Killing animals was required by God in scripture to redeem sins. Jesus and his death was the "lamb of god". Ahh... hm. We are not pond scum. There are no intermediate fossils in the world's largest fossil museum. We will all die and rot. And we will all rise again and be judged. | |
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| Is there a god?
Posted: 5/5/2008 12:35:24 AM |
Well. The world used to be perfect.
Ah yes the Appeal to Antiquity or the "Golden Age" fallacy. The only problem is that it is utter nonsense that factual evidence utterly refutes.
Earliest generation humans used to live over 800 years, and everything was very lush with a different atmosphere composition, in the beginning. You would not believe how old Noah and his homeboys were.
No we wouldn't believe it. Because any claims that they lived past the usual age for homo sapiens would be utter rubbish, as would be claims about the atmosphere which hard evidence (taken from ice core samples) has proven otherwise. Have you been listening to Kent Hovind?  puh-lease.
I happened to learn multiple things as "fact"
I'm sure you think so, but surrounding them with quotes doesn't make them "fact" anymore than me saying Superman is real...it's a "FACT" see mine's even MORE factual because it's in capital letters!
HEY! Killing animals was required by God in scripture to redeem sins. Jesus and his death was the "lamb of god". Ahh... hm.
Well you're entitled to your belief in Christian theology. But it's hardly a universal reason to believe in a god. Just another brick in the wall. I'd stick to this though, at least you have the theology right, you're science and natural history are abominably bad. Oh and by the by, the above stuff about animals is a Christian view of sacrifice, it is not precisely how the Jews view it...though I wouldn't expect you to know that.
There are no intermediate fossils in the world's largest fossil museum.
That's absolute bullsh*t. Probably repeated a lot at sites like answersingenesis. Alas not true. It's just the typical fallacies "argument from ignorance" and "argument from incredulity" rearing their heads. You don't know what you are looking at, therefore you don't see it. Sad to say, as Christian and doctorate in cellular biology as well as educator and promotor of educating people about natural selection Kenneth Miller said, people who teach about evolution through natural selection are not nearly the shameless self-promotors that YEC's or ID'ers are.
Fortunately they are educated about science which the aforementioned two groups rarely if ever are. As he also noted he was told by one paleontologist who attended frequent lectures that there are so many transitional fossils that paleontologists practically get into fistfights deciding what to name them all.
So aside of what was a thinly veiled prosletyzing tract filled with pseudo-scientific rubbish, was any of that "evidence" for a god...why would it be evidence for "any" god? And why is there an overwhelming assumption among certain posters that evidence for a god MUST be the Christian god over any other? I'm really, really curious about that. Why the inability to step back and just be a little more "philosophical" about the question and just discuss some generic "divinity" as opposed to just trying to railroad this discussion into one's own familiar belief system? | |
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| Is there a god?
Posted: 5/5/2008 6:43:37 AM |
Good old argument from ignorance again.
The argument from ignorance is practiced from the atheists side even more so. Religions and gods are about inward realities rather then the outward manifestations the non-believers are looking for. If the atheist is unwilling to accept and follow the way of life proscribed by a particular deity then they will never experience the reality of that god and thereby can never argue from any place other then ignorance.
The deity that has the greater reality can be determined from which one can affect the greatest positive change in the life of an individual follower. If followers of Odin become alcoholic gluttons, then one would have to question the rationale of following him and since I like pasta I would feel like a cannibal if I was a follower of the FSM, although I guess it could be like a eucharist.
The fact that the Abrahamic religions have so many followers and has outlasted all the other deities, is a strong indication as to which one has the greatest impact on the individual believer. | |
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| Is there a god?
Posted: 5/5/2008 6:58:03 AM | seattlerain1 write:
Which god is the correct god to worship? Explain why Odin is the "wrong" god to worship. You all realize that the only ones getting into heaven (Valhalla) are those that die in battle... all others go to the underworld... "Hel".
I don't think that I have read where Rebecca or anyone else in recent posts has made mention of any one god by name. Nor do I recall reading where Rebecca nor anyone in recent posts have tried to curtail your right to believe in whatsoever you may choose to believe in.
I think she was quite clear in her proclamation of faith. The question was not how many have read up on ancient pagan gods, whose correspondances they can regurgitate on command.
Rather, the question as I read it was IS THERE A GOD, and Rebecca seemed to respond by reciting her belief that a God does exist.
I guess the more appropriate question is: Why do you, while pretending to hide behind "freedom of belief" take such glee in bashing someone when they merely proclaim their belief as revelevent to a question which was asked in a civilised and open forum?
You and those like you sicken me with your tendency to invoke the rights and privilledges of free-thinking Americans while then turning around and whiping your feet on this very same freedom. | |
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| Is there a god?
Posted: 5/5/2008 7:17:34 AM | seattlerain1 writes
"Which god is the correct god to worship?"
Dude... you need little old me to tell such a strapping your lad as yourself who you should belive in and why? You seem so confident and self-assured and yet you posit to a girl a question about how you should believe, you do honor to your family.
Where you write:
"Explain why Odin is the "wrong" god to worship."
uuuuum, right... well in the Bible it said we shall judge not lest we be judged... but you seem to be on the right track since in every post I have read in here by you seems to be a confused jumble of ranting about how everyone is out to get you and attack your worship when nobody, including myself has.
Where you write:
"You all realize that the only ones getting into heaven (Valhalla) are those that die in battle... all others go to the underworld... "Hel"."
Nice, you remind me of a freckled faced Jihadist with talk like that. Are you recommending that your criteria for worship is the god that is going to send you into war the quickest? Because if so, I encourage you to get a tattoo of George W. Bush on your ass and go running of to Iraq where you can worship more freely.
Where you write:
"This isn't rhetorical. I really want to know... especially from Rebecca since she's just proselytizing in the forums. Explain why your god is the correct one and ALL other gods are false."
This isn't rhetorical but it is gibberish and mindless at that. Who the hell are you to start barking our orders to me as to what I will or won't explain, I don't answer to you.
And as for the name of the thread... it isn't answer to dweebs who think they know a thing or two about Norse mythology - it's "is there a god"...
EVERYONE, please forgive me for having the backbone to proclaim my faith in answer to the question posted. | |
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| Is there a god?
Posted: 5/5/2008 7:18:33 AM |
It's a warning against those who put on an air of piety in public to be recognized, but don't practice that faith at home or have a personal relationship with their God.
So if you practice the faith at home or have a personal relationship with your god, you can "put on an air of piety in public."
Didn't Jesus say something about the people who said prayers like the Nicene Creed? Something about his father doesn't really listen to tape recordings? | |
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| Is there a god?
Posted: 5/5/2008 7:19:50 AM | Dreamboat Said: seattlerain1 write: Which god is the correct god to worship? Explain why Odin is the "wrong" god to worship. You all realize that the only ones getting into heaven (Valhalla) are those that die in battle... all others go to the underworld... "Hel".
I think I was quite clear in her proclamation of faith. The question was not how many nerds have read up on ancient pagan gods, whose feable correspondances they can regurgitate on command.
I haven't really read up a lot on Odin, and I only use him as an example because most people know of Valalla and Hel. My point was that there is as much evidence for this god as any other. You and are are in 100% agreement; we believe Odin to be a myth.
I guess the more appropriate question is: Why do you, while pretending to hide behind "freedom of belief" take such glee in bashing someone when they merely proclaim their belief as revelevent to a question which was asked in a civilised and open forum?
I'm not pretending or hiding behind anything. I put the Christian god on the same level as Odin and the rest of the godly pantheon; that's all. Where did I bash anyone? If you think saying that the Christian god is a myth like all the others is somehow "bashing", well... in that case you're overly sensitive. Rebeca didn't just "answer" this thread's question... she started proselytizing by quoting her holy scriptures.
You and those like you sicken me with your tendency to invoke the rights and privilledges of free-thinking Americans while then turning around and whiping your feet on this very same freedom.
I've done no such thing. I feel it's everyone's right to practice their spirituality as they see it. This particular thread asks about gods (not capital 'g' god). My only personal problem with people of religion is when they try to force me to follow their religious dogma through LAW. (but that's a discussion for another thread)
James, Seattle, Washington, Earth, Outer spiral arm of the Milky Way, our universe, but all of that on an atom of a flee of a really, really, really large dog that we have dyslexically identified as 'god'. | |
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| Is there a god?
Posted: 5/5/2008 7:59:34 AM | RE msg 387 by themadfiddler:
As one other poster pointed out, modern Odinists do not believe in prosletyzing...would that monotheists take a page from this faith Monotheistic religions do NOT believe in proselytising. Only SOME monotheistic religions believe in proselytising. It would also be naive of me to assume that ALL non-monotheistic religions do not believe in proselytising. Please stop generalising.
Mind you if you got invited to an Odinist gathering at least there would likely be mead and wild boar. Why would you make such an assumption? Why would you assume that all religious gatherings that are non of an Odinist persuasion would have no food. Besides, would you really eat raw wild boar? 
There is simply no good reason to believe in the reality of one god over another, be they YHWH, Flying Spaghetti Monster, Invisible Pink Unicorn, Zeus, Odin, what have you. There is a MASSIVE difference between the belief in the monotheistic G-d and the Flying Spaghetti Monster, the Invisible Pink Unicorn, Zeus and Odin. All of the latter are finite beings. They are things, and are therefore limited in size, and therefore in capacity and in intelligence. As an example, Odin wasn't born with his all-seeing eye. A common view of the monotheistic G-d is that G-d is omnipresent, omnipotent, and omniscient, in a way that is only comparable with a Universal Consciousness. So you cannot consider them in the same boat, especially when some physicists believe that quantum physics is intimately linked to consciousness, and some people are of the opinion that the universe requires a universal consciousness in order for some parts of quantum physics to work in the first place.
You cannot compare a being that is much more powerful than you, but nevertheless, not all-powerful, to an omnipotent G-d. That would be like making a guy with a gun into a god, which is more likely where the idea of polytheistic religions came from in the first place, considering how Pharaohs and the Roman Emperors claimed to be divine, despite their obvious mortal state.
The observation about polytheism is also a naive one that doesn't always hold true and is an EXTREME simplification...doubtless born of ignorance of alternative religious systems. Very often, polytheistic religions only use multiple deities to personify various aspects or areas of control and focus for a single divine agency...each aspect is personified into an individual deity, but they are all only aspects of the One. Hinduism is a perfect example of this. Monotheistic religions do the same thing. But monotheistic religions and polytheistic religions differ in how they view those aspects. Monotheistic religions claim that those aspects are integrated aspects of the same G-d. Polytheistic religions cannot believe the same, because if they did, they would not be polytheistic. So if polytheistic religions believe that all those deities are aspects of the same being, then they have to non-integrated aspects. It's the difference between you having different emotions and someone with MPD. You wouldn't kill someone, because your personality is integrated, and your conscience wouldn't let you. If you did kill someone, it would be with the awareness of your conscience. But someone with MPD can be totally against murder, and still kill someone for sport, because the conscience would be part of one personality, one aspect, and the killing was done by another aspect, another personality, and they are not integrated, so they don't have to communicate, and so they act as if they are 2 separate entities. This is why the Greek gods were considered capricious and unfair, even though they are all aspects of Nature, because they are not integrated in Greek thought, and so you can have one god that is a god of war and killing, and one god that is a god of fertility, and they don't have to agree. Monotheism implies that all aspects are the same personality, and so they must agree.
Yes, I have thought about this, so please understand that there are people who believe in monotheism and have asked a lot of the questions you have asked yourself, and many more besides, and found answers for themselves for a lot of those questions. I don't expect you to agree with me. That would be expecting you to change your opinion. But I would like to see that people realise that I have thought about these issues, and the mere fact that I have thought about them, and still believe in monotheism, means that it is a lot more solid viewpoint than most people take for granted. | |
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| Is there a god?
Posted: 5/5/2008 8:38:52 AM | Mind you if you got invited to an Odinist gathering at least there would likely be mead and wild boar.
Why would you make such an assumption? Why would you assume that all religious gatherings that are non of an Odinist persuasion would have no food. Besides, would you really eat raw wild boar?
He said their would be alcohol and wild boar... He didn't say other people don't eat. And he NEVER said raw boar. I imagine it would be roasted on a spit.... Mmmmmmmmmmm
here is simply no good reason to believe in the reality of one god over another, be they YHWH, Flying Spaghetti Monster, Invisible Pink Unicorn, Zeus, Odin, what have you.
There is a MASSIVE difference between the belief in the monotheistic God and the Flying Spaghetti Monster, the Invisible Pink Unicorn, Zeus and Odin. All of the latter are finite beings. They are things, and are therefore limited in size, and therefore in capacity and in intelligence.
{and}
You cannot compare a being that is much more powerful than you, but nevertheless, not all-powerful, to an omnipotent G-d.
So basically you're saying "My god can beat up your god". How nice.
Your god used to require blood sacrifices and other pagan-like rituals... Your god even screwed up the creation of man a few times (and some would argue never did get it right). Your god is angry, and vengeful, and keeps changing his rules with the times. In my opinion, all of that make him as limited as the rest of the gods.
Even the Jesus-into-God story required that this god be born of a human woman... just like many of the other mythological gods. He had to live life as a mortal until, upon his death, he would rise to his rightful throne in Heaven and become a god.
Some see the currently believed in gods in the same light that YOU see all of those "ancient gods"... simply as myth. I'm sure you would agree that in their days, worshipers believed in THOSE GODS as fervently as you now believe in yours.
James, Seattle, Washington, USA, Earth | |
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| Is there a god?
Posted: 5/5/2008 10:25:50 AM | guy named ray:
So if you practice the faith at home or have a personal relationship with your god, you can "put on an air of piety in public."
If one practices what he believes, then he should theoretically be pious 24/7, indoors and outdoors. As I said, Christ worshiped and prayed in the synagogues and public places as well as privately, and taught His disciples to do the same. Do you have an argument with that?
Didn't Jesus say something about the people who said prayers like the Nicene Creed? Something about his father doesn't really listen to tape recordings?
No.
However, the verse you are probably thinking of is one that I already quoted in the previous post. It's more well-known in the Protestant King James Bible for using the phrase "vain repetitions" in Matthew 6:7. But a repeated prayer does not mean it's vain, since it can certainly be said anew with fresh devotion every time.
For instance, in Matthew 26:44, Christ is described in the Garden of Gethsemane as having "prayed the third time, saying the selfsame word". The angels in Revelation 4:8 are described as repeating day and night "Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God Almighty, who was and who is and who is to come." The 136th psalm uses the phrase "for His mercy endureth forever" after every verse, like a litany. | |
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