Why do people rely on nonsense religion? (priests, bible, quote)

[spike1611]

I hesitated upon entering into this fray -- it started out pretty antagonistically, and hasn't really slowed down since.

That being said, I appreciate the candor of Longhornguy. He possesses boldness that I wish Christians had.

I, too, was born in 1986.

But I was born dead.

They tried to get my heart beating, but to no avail.

Then, as they gave up, I lived.

But I am brain-damaged. I am more than half-deaf and half-blind. I have an IQ of 162, but I can't run like the other kids. Mind you, I can run, but it looks pretty dumb.

Although I look like the average guy on the street, the doctors at one point told my mother that I'd never talk or hear.

I was raised in a Christian home, and my father became a missionary to Zambia, Africa.

He died of malaria.

Shortly after, my beloved, unsaved grandfather wanted us to visit him when we came back to the states.

He died before we got there.

We (my mother and the three of us brothers) were going to go back to Zambia, as we were promised we could, but...

The mission board wouldn't let us.

We were promised a hefty sum of money from insurances from relatives, but...

The state took it all.

We moved to NY again, joined a church, and...

Were MISERABLE there.

I went to Bible college, tried to serve the Lord, and...

Developed MRSA, a deadly staph infection.

After surgeries, I was cured, went back to Bible college, and...

Developed varicoceles, a very painful condition, and lost my job.

After learning how to live with that, I went back to Bible college and...

Was expelled for something I did my freshman year.

And now here I am. No girlfriend, no money, no degree, bad health, and no real reason to become a motivational speaker.

But, my friend, there IS a God.

And His name is Jehovah.

But I'm not at all going to try to prove Him to you, because you mentioned that you're not an atheist.

And I'm not going to try to convince you of the inerrancy of the Scriptures. I won't try to convince you that Christianity is real and powerful. You are likely already past the point of other people convincing you of the truth. You've made up your mind.

But I'll say this: When you hit the bottom of the barrel in life, you'll believe in Him, and in His Bible. When you're in a foxhole somewhere (figuratively or even literally), you'll call on Him, doing something that is taught in the Bible. But...most importantly, when you die...you will see Him.

And you will realize that you were wrong. When you see Him, all your speculations and mental meanderings about why the Bible can't be right will vanish. Just...like...that.

I don't know how to prove that to you. I don't know how to say it in a way that would convince you.

But I love you enough to tell you -- there IS still a chance. Look around. "The heavens declare the glory of God (Jehovah, not Allah or Buddha or others), and the firmament sheweth His handiwork." You can still believe. You can still put your trust in Him. He died and rose again for you. I have FAITH that the tomb is still empty, no matter what Satan may try to have us believe by means of a false science or lies.

Buddha never rose again. Allah never existed. Muhammed was a murderer, thief, liar, and fornicator. Hinduism is an invention of the twisted mind. Shinto is demonic untruths. Ghandi never gave salvation. Confucius was confused. But the only grave that is empty is the grave of Jesus Christ, son of God.

I don't like to think of myself as a very dogmatic person. But...in this case, I'll make an exception. The Bible is true. Christianity is real. And those who oppose it are...

Dead wrong. My condolences to those who would be so narrow-minded and scrutinizing (Isn't that what I'M accused of?) of Christianity. Who are we? Who are you to challenge the most sold, read, and trusted book in the world? Are you a scholar? No. You're 21.

Get some notches in your belt first. Wait until you're 70. THEN, after a life filled with experiences and degrees, you can tell me the Bible's not true.

Thanks for reading, friend.

[Marks]

great post, spike1611!

[I LOVE NORTH CAROLINA]

Yes spike1611 that was a beautiful story. It reminds me of Romans 8:28.

[LongHornGuy86]

Well, I've realized that there really is no such thing as intelligent discussion with many of you Christians. When you're not busy hating entire groups of people, or ideas you come up with "stories" as to how your religion saved you.

Spare me! As I stated, I've witnessed more hatred and evil from so-called Christians than any other group of people!

[wildberries61]

There's plenty of evidence if your willing to BELIEVE!!! It's alittle long to get the point across!!!

Tacitus (c. A.D. 56-117) should be among the first of several hostile witnesses called to the stand. He was a member of the Roman provincial upper class with a formal education who held several high positions under different emperors such as Nerva and Trajan (see Tacitus, 1952, p. 7). His famous work, Annals, was a history of Rome written in approximately A.D. 115. In the Annals he told of the Great Fire of Rome, which occurred in A.D. 64. Nero, the Roman emperor in office at the time, was suspected by many of having ordered the city set on fire. Tacitus wrote:

Nero fabricated scapegoats—and punished with every refinement the notoriously depraved Christians (as they were popularly called). Their originator, Christ, had been executed in Tiberius’ reign by the governor of Judea, Pontius Pilatus. But in spite of this temporary setback the deadly superstition had broken out afresh, not only in Judea (where the mischief had started) but even in Rome (1952, 15.44, parenthetical comments in orig.).

Tacitus hated both Christians and their namesake, Christ. He therefore had nothing positive to say about what he referred to as a “deadly superstition.” He did, however, have something to say about it. His testimony establishes beyond any reasonable doubt that the Christian religion not only was relevant historically, but that Christ, as its originator, was a verifiable historical figure of such prominence that He even attracted the attention of the Roman emperor himself!

Celsus, a second-century pagan philosopher, produced a vehement attack upon Christianity by the title of True Discourse (c. A.D. 178). In that vile document, Celsus argued that Christ owed his existence to the result of fornication between Mary and a Roman soldier named Panthera. As he matured, Jesus began to call himself God—an action, said Celsus, which caused his Jewish brethren to kill him. Yet as denigrating as his attack was, Celsus never went so far as to suggest that Christ did not exist.

The famous humanist, Will Durant, was an avowed atheist, yet he wrote: “The greatest question of our time is not communism vs. individualism, not Europe vs. America, not even the East vs. the West; it is whether men can bear to live without God” (1932, p. 23). Comments like those of Renan, Wells, and Durant document the fact that, on occasion, even unbelievers have written convincingly about God and Christ.

Or consider H.G. Wells who, in 1931, authored The Outline of History. On page 270 of that famous work, Wells referred to Jesus as “a prophet of unprecedented power.” No one who knew Wells (a man who certainly did not believe in the divinity of Christ) ever would accuse his account of being flawed by “Christian interpolation.

Harvey could not deny the fact that Jesus lived on this Earth. Critics do not like having to admit it, but they cannot successfully deny the fact that Jesus had a greater impact on the world than any single life before or after. Nor can they deny the fact that Jesus died at the hands of Pontius Pilate. Harvey and others can say only that such facts “do not really matter.” I contend that the facts that establish the existence of Jesus Christ of Nazareth really do matter.

As the earliest apologists of Christianity welcomed a full examination of the credentials of the message that they preached, so do we today. These credentials have been weighed in the balance and not found wanting. The simple fact of the matter is that Jesus Christ did exist and live among men.

It is impossible to say that no one has the right to be an agnostic. But no one has the right to be an agnostic till he has thus dealt with the question, and faced this fact with an open mind. After that, he may be an agnostic—if he can (Anderson, 1985, p. 12).

For more information check out..........http://www.inplainsite.org/html/hist...us_christ.html

[Lucidus]

Nice post spike it is very beautiful, but I have a couple of questions if you don't mind.

Originally Posted by spike1611

But I'll say this: When you hit the bottom of the barrel in life, you'll believe in Him, and in His Bible. When you're in a foxhole somewhere (figuratively or even literally), you'll call on Him, doing something that is taught in the Bible. But...most importantly, when you die...you will see Him.

By this do mean that most believers turn to faith out of desperation?

Originally Posted by spike1611

Buddha never rose again. Allah never existed. Muhammed was a murderer, thief, liar, and fornicator. Hinduism is an invention of the twisted mind. Shinto is demonic untruths. Ghandi never gave salvation. Confucius was confused. But the only grave that is empty is the grave of Jesus Christ, son of God.

It seems that you are pretty skeptical of other people's faiths. Have you applied that same skepticism to your own?

[Nea1]

I believe Jesus was real, I believe he died on the cross for his beliefs, it is the rest of the story that loses me.

[I LOVE NORTH CAROLINA]

Originally Posted by LongHornGuy86

Well, I've realized that there really is no such thing as intelligent discussion with many of you Christians. When you're not busy hating entire groups of people, or ideas you come up with "stories" as to how your religion saved you.

Spare me! As I stated, I've witnessed more hatred and evil from so-called Christians than any other group of people!

I don't hate anyone and it's NOT religion that saves people it's JESUS.

[Nea1]

Originally Posted by I LOVE NORTH CAROLINA

I don't hate anyone and it's NOT religion that saves people it's JESUS.

Does that mean one could believe in Jesus but not the rest?

[I LOVE NORTH CAROLINA]

Originally Posted by Nea1

Does that mean one could believe in Jesus but not the rest?

Not sure what you mean by not believing the rest?