greendoor wrote:Ed - interesting viewpoint. You seem to be well versed in scripture. I'm guessing you were raised as a Christian, and decided it didn't suit you, but need to be able to justify your choices to yourself.
Just what is it that you think I am now then? I certainly don't think or feel I need to justify myself to anyone else, but like any sane, rational person I do reevaluate my decisions periodically. Don't you?
You are a Christian. You believe in the literal Bible. Therefore all Christians must believe in the literal Bible? I know not all Christians believe in the Bible as literally written, so that statement is erroneous, but I can respect that you do and I would never tell you that you are wrong.greendoor wrote:But Christians do believe that the bible is the Word of God, directly written by the Holy Spirit. Because the text itself says as much. There is even a curse on those who would dare change the text. But the text also says that the bible can only be interpreted by the Holy Spirit. I've seen many people attempt to interpret the bible and get egg all over their face.
I don't know why you seem to feel the need to force your beliefs around the Bible being literally true? But you do and that's fine. It just seems like you are the one trying to justify your decisions by continually saying it and also harping on Atheists. You still didn't answer my question. In your mind, do they have a God given right to exercise their measure of free will to not believe and can you respect that?greendoor wrote:This is the only way the text of the bible can be literally true. And I would say that any scholar who suggests that the bible need not be literally true is walking on very thin ice. Let God be true and every man a liar, as it says.
Again it's your choice, but if you believe in a God this big and mind boggling, why bring God down by forcing on a gender? IMHO you are making an interpretation of the Bible yourself. God created you in "His" image. To many God also supposedly is a trinity. Do you really know what all that means? I know many believe God is a white male biped because "the Bible 'says'" and because they happen to be.
Atheists likely do believe that their choices here matter. They would not want to do things that make them miserable or leads to their death, and implying that Atheists also have faith in order for them not to believe sounds like justifying to me.greendoor wrote:Do our beliefs and choices here matter? Well obviously that depends on whether life is really All or Nothing ...
Either way you look at it - the Universe is pretty weird. I don't have the faith to believe it's all ultimately Nothing. Looks like Something to me ...
You seem to have the answers to life, the universe and everything, but I doubt you will find 42 in the Bible parity.