Where in the Christian bible does it say "God's plan is to keep us thinking (and arguing and confused)"?

1st Thessalonians, 5:21
Critically examine everything. Hold onto the good.

The king called out for the enchanters, astrologers and diviners to be brought and said to these wise men of Babylon, "Whoever reads this writing and tells me what it means will be clothed in purple and have a gold chain placed around his neck, and he will be made the third highest ruler in the kingdom." Then all the king's wise men came in, but they could not read the writing or tell the king what it meant. (Daniel 5:7-8)

Judas was a member of the zealots ( an insurgency group of that time) even before he was selected as an apostle. JC had to know that. At the time JC was selecting his disciples, he was already endowed with the "holy spirit" that guided him!

As a zealot, he believed that the Messiah was the one figure who could liberate Israel. And he was probably reporting this to his handlers. In his experience with JC, he came to believe that he was the Messiah but he mistakenly felt that JC was an earthly/nationalistic Messiah and would need to enact an armed struggle for the cause.

When he saw that JC was not inclined to do that, he tried to force the hand of Jesus to enact a physical conflict. He felt the best way to do it was to have JC incarcerated and knowing how the pharasees detested JC, he acted as the facilitator by "turning him in".

Judas didn't do that because he himself felt that he was a pivotal figure of prophecy, he did it because he was trying to fulfill his own (zealot) agenda. He didn't mean for JC to be detained and executed, but when it happened he was devastated. He then realized his folly.

In short, Judas pursued his agenda because he didn't have any faith in what JC was saying, if he understood him at all! And it was faith in his own agenda that led to his demise.

JC allowed it to unfold because he was following the will of the "Father" so as to "glorify" Him. JC could have opted out at any time but then he would have disregarded the Father and instantly have fallen in disgrace.

I think God made the world as it is...directing it exactly as science reveals it...

Matthew 26:23
23Jesus replied, "The one who has dipped his hand into the bowl with me will betray me. 24The Son of Man will go just as it is written about him. But woe to that man who betrays the Son of Man! It would be better for him if he had not been born."

Why do we limit god(s) to within our 4D boundaries?

Philippians 4:7
And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

And for those asking to see physical proof of the origin of god(s), explain how you want it to be proven within the concept of an infinite regress?

"You realize that IF God created us with a pre-built notion of an "disembodied consciousness with virtually unlimited abilities", we would be EXPECTED to 'come up with' an idea of "god"--as a means for Him/Her/It/They to initiate personal communication with our species, so any argument that we 'learn' the concept of 'god' from culture or we externalize parental roles/powers to an abstract "Thou" will count in support of BOTH theories...

However if you seek proof in terms of the most likely explanation that explains the data, then I'm willing to spend some time and work with you to entertain hypotheses to determine the most likely.

God was begotten by the only ones who needed him to fill a void. Human kind.

He needed Gods to appease & pray to in order to exert at least the illusion of control over his environment

Impossible...It predates writing, though there are archaeological objects, which we speculate...

Religion "became" in order to exploit mans fears and control him.

If "God" is a construct of humans, then the first origins of the concept may rest beyond such a point as to make them directly traceable or understandible by modern humans even with considerable exploration and research.

In any event, I want to warn that the inability to answer any of these questions perfectly could not be reasonably interpreted as proof of your position either.

Were there previous Gods who created the next one and where did they come from? I hope this is more for Theists who sincerely wish to answer that basic question. This is a sincere inquiry.

Genesis 21:33
Abraham planted a tamarisk tree in Beersheba, and there he called upon the name of the LORD, the Eternal God.

No, I grew up in conflicting churches. SDA, Catholic and non-denominational.

The idea of religion, especially modernized, bothers me for many reasons. Guiding the religious pays well, being religious is costly.

18 Therefore, at this time tomorrow I will send the worst hailstorm that has ever fallen on Egypt, from the day it was founded till now. 19 Give an order now to bring your livestock and everything you have in the field to a place of shelter, because the hail will fall on every man and animal that has not been brought in and is still out in the field, and they will die.

He says, listen to me, or I will wipe out your livestock. Does that sound merciful to you?

16 There are six things the LORD hates,
seven that are detestable to him:

How do these nations serve their gods, that I also may do likewise?' 31 "You shall not behave thus toward the Lord your God, for every abominable act which the Lord hates they have done for their gods; for they even burn their sons and daughters in the fire to their gods. (Deut 12)

The Lord tests the righteous and the wicked, And the one who loves violence His soul hates.(Ps 11.5)

"For I, the LORD, love justice; I hate robbery and iniquity. (Is 61.8)

Every authentic human being should scream in outrage at crimes against the elderly, at vandalism of the poor, at oppression of the disadvantaged, at domestic violence, at greed and power-oriented oppression and marginalization, at child abuse (and at the child sacrifice of the false religions Israel adopted from her neighbors!), at institutional hypocrisy that remains arrogantly insensitive to the real needs of real people...Moral outrage by moral agents (us) at moral atrocities is a mark of moral authenticity-why would we expect the Author of moral agents to be 'less moral' than we?

I find fault in those who follow something they know nothing about, I find fault in those who follow something they have reasonable doubt to be true, I find fault in those using religion as a magic cloak to shield them from the judgment and consequence of their actions and I find fault in those using religion when it is convenient for them.

I'm asking why all of the religious people I know use the Old Testament, before this forgiveness and compassion transformation happened, as explanations and rules for beliefs. If this was before the Holy Trinity, shouldn't it be taught from a historical view and not as a religious guide?

In the Old Testament, God was spiteful, hateful and without compassion. He had rules, and they had harsh punishments. So, in turn, many Christians live their lives by those rules and use the reason that they follow those rules to be the possible consequences. Fine, it's not like their being hypocritical in doing so, really, even though the New Testament tells them that God will forgive them if they repent and intend never to sin again. So then why do these same people sin knowingly and then use the New Testament to explain that they can be forgiven?

i think the reason you may get berated here is that this is a science and philosophy forum. We are here to debate, using logic and evidence, and reasoning. Quoting scripture and saying "god is great" does not employ those skills. You're more than welcome to stay....but debate using debate tools.

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These questions are rhetorical. I would love to hear a defense of this by believers.

And science doesnt go around telling everyone how unworthy they are...

Jesus was right. Their "father was a liar and the father of lies and a murderer from the start2. John 8

You Are of Your Father the Devil
39They answered him,(BL) "Abraham is our father." Jesus said to them, (BM) "If you were Abraham’s children, you would be doing the works Abraham did, 40but now(BN) you seek to kill me, a man who has told you the truth(BO) that I heard from God. This is not what Abraham did. 41You are doing the works your father did." They said to him,(BP) "We were not born of sexual immorality. We have(BQ) one Father—even God." 42Jesus said to them, (BR) "If God were your Father, you would love me, for(BS) I came from God and(BT) I am here.(BU) I came not of my own accord, but(BV) he sent me. 43(BW) Why do you not understand what I say? It is because you cannot(BX) bear to hear my word. 44(BY) You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father’s desires.(BZ) He was a murderer from the beginning, and(CA) has nothing to do with the truth, because there is no truth in him.(CB) When he lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of lies. 45But because I tell the truth, you do not believe me. 46Which one of you convicts me of sin? If I tell the truth, why do you not believe me? 47(CC) Whoever is of God hears the words of God.(CD) The reason why you do not hear them is that(CE) you are not of God."

Proverbs 25:8-11

What your eyes have seen
do not hastily bring into court,
for what will you do in the end,
when your neighbor puts you to shame?
Argue your case with your neighbor himself,
and do not reveal another's secret,
lest he who hears you bring shame upon you,
and your ill repute have no end.

Number one reason it is repulsive is that it provides a means for those of "faith," to avoid personal responsibility for anything and everything they do.

... isn't agnosticism just keeping an open mind?

... isn't it dishonest to choose a side when you wholly disagree with points on both sides of the argument?

... extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence?

Yet Bush and his swollowers pretended to be Christian or Biblical. Funny stuff.

1 Corinthians 1:27
God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise.

And yet...

1 Corinthians 14:33
For God is not the author of confusion....

"Enter by the narrow gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it"

... speak in tongues, get baptized, give testimonies, tithe, show the beatitudes, do wondrous miracles, and attend church like a person with serious diarrhea.

Believe in me or DIE...wait even worse, be tortured for all eternity (sheesh God takes the cake for ultimate torturer)?

Say sorry or I'll but rape you for eternity?

Is fear really conducive with love?

I'm positive I'm wrong...