ok, so i assumed, with your catholic background (do i remember correctly?) that this would make sense. i apologize. what i was trying to say is that you all make this more complicated than it is. you focus on everything else EXCEPT what matters. GOD LOVES YOU. he took human form and allowed his perfect being to be punished for OUR sins. this single act of kindness/goodness overcame ALL evil/sin. One man/one sacrifice. "one and done" "one shot, one kill"...all kinds of ways of saying it. so you can contort things and come up with all the odd scenarios that don't make sense you our little brains, but at the end of the day, whatever it is, it'll make sense one day. i don't get caught up in all the noise/minutia. maybe i'm just not smart enough. regardless, i DO understand the thing that matters. God loves me and has made me a better man and he has put love into my world/life and allowed my transgressions/imperfections to be discounted/removed. For that, I am forever indebted and will strive to do my best to make the world a better place by loving others and by spreading God's message to any and all who i meet. i do this out of freewill. God does not make me do it. it just seems right to me that if he died for me, i should do everything i can in my lacking, human way, to make the world a better place. as to church/the bible, again, you don't 'need' them for salvation. you need them for edification. i thought my motorcycle analogy was a good one, but maybe not. sorry. however, once you are a believer, you WANT them. you want to worship God (purpose of church). you want to fellowship with others, etc. i also want to read God's word to prepare myself for living. with God's forgiveness and influence (holy spirit), i can walk through life without those things, but just like anything, the more you immerse yourself in the topic, the better understanding you will have. hope that makes better sense than my first one line "pop off" response.
No you did not answer. You spouted platitudes. Still not getting why this perfect being had to give free will (and therefore sin) to give the ability to love. Kind of an asshole move there. I have had tons of people explain Christ to me. I'd rather hang with the pygmys... As for the whole - now you know therefore you must do as you're told by (insert religion here) - what an utter crock of poo Even Jesus wouldn't have agreed to that silliness. Funny how far the bible and teachings are from the basics teachings the brown guy did a couple thousand years ago... Oh yeah, I'm sure there was a dude back then who preached love and all that. Just don't think his dad needs to be more than a carpenter or whoever mom banged and didn't want Joseph to know about.
Nope, still makes no sense. If Jesus covered all the sin bases, why do kids still get cancer? This isn't minutia. This is pretty big time in the overall basics of Christianity. You said god was easy to understand, but now you need edification? Huh? If you can be fine without understanding what is the point of wasting time trying to understand rather than doing good things? Seems like god wouldn't like the time suck...
Well if there's dogs, then there has to be cats. And rats. And bats. How far back do we go? Wooly mammoth? Saber tooth tigers? Shit, if there's pterodactyls and T-Rex' I might have to change my mind on this heaven thing .. Or, as I'll call it henceforth: Jeezracket Park. Where do I get my tickets?
no, it isn't a platitude. it is THE basis for Christianity. You may not like it. You may not have understood that. But, a platitude it is not. line 2: sounds like something said by one, not about one. line 3: i never said "you must" do this or that. as a matter of fact, i spent time specifically saying nothing else mattered. yet, you still spout the same ol tripe. For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten son, that who so ever believeth, shall have eternal life.....that is the most beautiful words in the world. i am sorry you don't get that.
the bible never says life will be easy. Jesus covered the impact of sin on eternity. i sin on earth....there is pain because of that sin. Jesus covers that sin with his life. I am forgiven and will be in heaven with God. pretty simple concept in my mind. so, the little girl has cancer. cancer is in the world because of sin. i never said she got cancer because of her sin/forgiven or not. it isn't a 1 to 1 type scenario. for He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. you may not understand that, you may not believe it, but it is so.
i like life. i like the world we live in. i understand it is temporary in its present state. i appreciate free will. i appreciate love i understand the pain of suffering in my family. i understand the struggle of working to provide. i understand the challenge of growing older. i understand there are bad things in the world. as i'm just passing through, i take the good with the bad. i understand that i don't understand everything. i dont understand God's reasons for everything. however, as i know he is the definition of Good and Love, i trust him that there is good to come and that there is a reason behind everything.