I will never answer the majority of the questions unbelievers have about God, questions that deal with proof that God exists; to do so would violate the “faith clause” that is a condition of becoming a Christian.
This part of the contract, which guarantees that a person who repents of their sins and trusts in Christ for forgiveness will have eternal life and not go to Hell, is not found in the fine print but is actually boilerplate stuff.
Here is the “Faith Clause”:
And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him. (Hebrews 11:6)
You see, this is a problem for the atheist. They want proof that God exists first. But their demand to “Show thyself!” falls on deaf ears. God inserted that clause after the fall of Adam, after his disobedience to the terms and conditions of the original contract.
Back in that day, God spoke directly to Adam. They were tight. But Adam, even in his unique relationship to God, had a special clause in his contract, too:
“You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die.” (Genesis 2:16-17)
We know from the Bible that Adam violated the terms of the agreement sending the rest of the human race in a downward spiral of scum and villainy.
Now, for the most part, we no longer hear God’s voice audibly and he rarely shows himself visibly. Still, there are clues that he exists.
As Peter John Kreeft, Ph.D said, “And if that weren’t so, if there were something more
or less than clues, it’s difficult for me to understand how we could really be free to make a choice about him. If we had absolute proof instead of clues, then you could no more deny God than you could deny the sun. If we had no evidence at all, you could never get there. God gives us just enough evidence so that those who want him can have him. Those who want to follow the clues will. “The Bible says, ‘Seek and you shall find.’ It doesn’t say everybody will find him; it doesn’t say nobody will find him. Some will find. Who? Those who seek. Those whose hearts are set on finding him and who follow the clues.”*
Then according to the response of the individual to those clues he will make himself known. After that we must fulfill our obligations to the further tenets of the Faith Clause.
We live by faith, not by sight. (2 Corinthians 5:7)
Now, hear this all you non-believers who demand proof! Read these words of Jesus who spoke them to the hypocrites of his day, too:
“A wicked and adulterous generation asks for a miraculous sign [proof]! But none will be given it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of a huge fish, so the Son of Man will be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. The men of Nineveh will stand up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it; for they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and now one greater than Jonah is here. The Queen of the South will rise at the judgment with this generation and condemn it; for she came from the ends of the earth to listen to Solomon’s wisdom, and now one greater than Solomon is here.
Are you now ready to sign your life away?
Because you already have.
*****
*Peter John Kreeft Ph.D quote from “The Case for Christ” by Lee Strobel, P.40, paperback edition.
Now read my article “Damning Proof” to understand why people would still go to Hell anyway if proof were provided.
Aw, now, Stormpuppets. I’m sorry I’m not formal enough for you. But frankly, since I’m pretty sure I’m older than either Stevie or Richie, they should be offering me more respect. (1 Peter 5:5, Leviticus 19:32) But since “Mr Cynic” would just be silly, I figure we can just give the whole thing a rest.
Richie – well, estimates vary. The Catholics have slightly different numbers than what I’ve seen, as does this guy, but I’m flexible. Since the earliest known fragments of the work are primarily 3rd Century and every other date is an estimate, I’m feeling pretty good about my rough call on it.
Hi Richard,
Any reason why I should believe the Bible instead of the Quran?
Any reason why I should believe what you say instead of what a Muslim says?
When the atheist realizes that his opponent has a stronger position, the atheist must revert to name calling and general incivility in order to save face.
To the unbeliever:
As you have conceded the fact that you are living in sin.
Now repent and believe the gospel.
These nonbelievers keep asking the same old questions. No answer will satisfy these folks.
The atheists ask:
“Why shouldn’t I believe in Allah?”
“Why isn’t the Quran true?”
“Why shouldn’t I pray to Zeus?”
“Why shouldn’t I become Amish?”
“What’s in Area 51?”
“How come I’m not happy?”
“Why is Richard Dawkins so handsome?”
The questions are just a means for them to argue. Christians cannot answer their questions in a way that satisfies them. They don’t want answers they just want to feel justified in their belief that Christianity and Christians are irrational people.
Well, actually, Stormpuppets, only the first 3 are valid questions that you guys have no answers for. As for the last 4, I am pretty happy, Richard Dawkins really doesn’t do it for me, I like modern conveniences too much, and Area 51 is just an advanced aircraft test site.
Richard wrote:
“As you have conceded the fact that you are living in sin.”
I don’t see where anyone conceded this. Please point it out?
Stormpuppets wrote:
“The questions are just a means for them to argue. Christians cannot answer their questions in a way that satisfies them. They don’t want answers they just want to feel justified in their belief that Christianity and Christians are irrational people.”
And with this paragraph here you conclusively show that you have absolutely no idea why I ask these questions.
In short, you’re completely wrong.
I ask those questions because I honestly want to know Richard’s (or your) answers to them.
And seriously, lay off the sockpuppets. It was old days ago.
“the atheist must revert to … general incivility in order to save face.”
Says the person who uses sock-puppets.
I’ll say it once again: You don’t have a leg to stand on.
Atheism requires its followers to argue with Christians at least one hour a day.
And apparently Theism requires the use of stormpuppets to post snark on discsussion threads. And?
“Atheism requires its followers to argue with Christians at least one hour a day.”
While incorrect, I’ll take that over using sock-puppets any day.
Did I mention that you don’t have a leg to stand on?
Atheists come on a blog and demand that their questions are answered. They get really angry when nobody takes the bait.
And sadly no meaningful conversation is being had, this is why feeding the trolls is not recommended.
FLORIDA COURT SETS ATHEIST HOLIDAY
In Florida, an atheist created a case against the upcoming Easter and Passover Holy days. He hired an attorney to bring a discrimination case against Christians, Jews and observances of their holy days. The argument was that it was unfair that atheists had no such recognized days.
The case was brought before a judge. After listening to the passionate presentation by the lawyer, the judge banged his gavel declaring,” Case dismissed!”
The lawyer immediately stood objecting to the ruling saying, “Your honor, how can you possibly dismiss this case? The Christians have Christmas, Easter and others. The Jews have Passover, Yom Kippur and Hanukkah, yet my Client and all other atheists have no such holidays.”
The judge leaned forward in his chair saying, “But you do. Your client, counsel, is woefully ignorant.”
The lawyer said, “Your Honor, we are unaware of any special observance or holiday for atheists.”
The judge said, “The calendar says April 1st is April Fools Day. Psalm 14:1 states, ‘The fool says in his heart, there is no God.’ Thus, it is the opinion of this court, that if your client says there is no God, then he is a fool. Therefore, April 1st is his day. Court is adjourned.”
HOORAY FOR THAT JUDGE
What is up???
Have the unbelieving atheists been defeated or are they sleeping or busy traveling or deeply thinking. Haven’t seen that many posts and was wondering what’s going on? Also one other question, do atheists only post on Christian blogs and sites or do they post on say Buddhists, Hindu, Muslim, or humanist sites? If so could you please post those sites that you frequent so I/people can monitor and post with you my fellow bloggers!!
At noon Elijah began to taunt them. “Shout louder!” he said. “Surely he is a god! Perhaps he is deep in thought, or busy, or traveling. Maybe he is sleeping and must be awakened.” So they shouted louder and slashed themselves with swords and spears, as was their custom, until their blood flowed. Midday passed, and they continued their frantic prophesying until the time for the evening sacrifice. But there was no response, no one answered, no one paid attention. 1Kings 18:27-29
At the time of sacrifice, the prophet Elijah stepped forward and prayed: “LORD, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Israel, let it be known today that you are God in Israel and that I am your servant and have done all these things at your command. Answer me, LORD, answer me, so these people will know that you, LORD, are God, and that you are turning their hearts back again.”
Then the fire of the LORD fell and burned up the sacrifice, the wood, the stones and the soil, and also licked up the water in the trench.
When all the people saw this, they fell prostrate and cried, “The LORD—he is God! The LORD—he is God!”
Then Elijah commanded them, “Seize the prophets of Baal. Don’t let anyone get away!” They seized them, and Elijah had them brought down to the Kishon Valley and slaughtered there.
1 Kings 18: 36-40
Stormpuppets, I hope you don’t believe that such a thing ever actually happened.
An Atheist Got PWNED got pwned.
I’m not sure what to make of this.
1 – You’re so gullible that you believe anything you hear/read as long as it reinforces your beliefs.
2 – You know this is an urban legend but you don’t care, because it’s okay to spread falsehoods that others may take to be real if you think there’s somehow a ‘greater truth’ being supported by the lie.
Question for Christians – When is it okay to spread lies?
Happy 4th of July!
Atheists I hope you have a wonderful day too.
XOXO
[...] understand because you don’t have faith.” Consider this example from Pastor Steve of Stone the Preacher (courtesy of Michael Mock of Mock Ramblings): I will never answer the majority of the questions [...]
Happy 4th of July to my fellow countrymen!
Can we all agree that it is wonderful that we live in a country where there is religious freedom, freedom of assembly, freedom of the press and freedom of speech?
Can I get an Amen?
@Godfrey
Another example of old testament love… God’s holy man immediantly executes people for the crime of being wrong about metaphysical claims. Lovely =)
What an awesome story, Godfrey!
You know, it’s funny. I saw a magician in Vegas do a remarkably similar trick. But that HAD to be coincidence, right?
And incidentally, if you can show me a place in America that is majority Buddhists, Hindu, Muslim, or humanist – or, for that matter, anyone of any religion other than Christianity who is sincerely attempting to impose their religion on everybody else, you’d have a point.
(And please – at the risk of setting up a strawman – don’t go into some meaningless rant about “sharia law is coming to Amurika!” that you saw on Glenn Beck or somewhere: those are laughably easy to debunk. You might even be able to do it yourself, if you actually looked at the issue.)